The archaeological site of Ground Hog Bay, located on a coastal terrace in southern Alaska, represents the oldest evidence of human occupation of the northern Northwest Coast.
Ground Hog Bay has evidence of two occupations. The earliest, called Ground Hog Bay, dates to the Paleo-arctic or Archaic tradition, ca 10,000–7,000 BC, and along with other sites such as Hidden Falls, Chuck Lake and Thorne River, is a major example of the early development of the Northwest Coast. A second component, called Ground Hog Bay 2, dates between 8000–4000 BC.
Economy and Subsistence at Ground Hog Bay
Artifacts found at Ground Hog Bay suggest that the inhabitants of this northern region had some maritime capabilities and trading relations with other areas. Fragments of obsidian bifaces, scrapers and other stone tools fragments have been recovered in the deeper deposits of the site, dating to about 9000 BC. It has been attested that the obsidian present at Ground Hog Bay 2 comes from Mt. Edziza, a volcano in British Columbia. This is, therefore, evidence of long distance trade, probably through open sea navigation.
Ground Hog Bay 2 assemblages, dating between 8000 and 4000 BC, contained microblade cores, flakes, chopper, scrapers, and burins, with a high rate of debitage (waste material produced by stone tool making). The presence of lots of debitage suggests that most of the tools were made on site.
No faunal remains have been identified at Ground Hog Bay 2. However, considering the location of the site, on a coastal terrace, archaeologists agree that subsistence was mainly based on marine resources.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Northwest Coast, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Ackerman, Robert E., 1992, Earliest Stone Industries on the North Pacific Coast of North America, Arctic Anthropology, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 18-27
Ames Kenneth M. and Herbert D.G. Maschner, 1999, Peoples of the Northwest Coast. Their Archaeology and Prehistory, Thames and Hudson, London
Moss, Madonna L., 1998, Northern Northwest Coast Regional Overview, Arctic Anthropology, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 88-111