New research reveals that the melting of northern British Columbia in Canada has revealed an unknown cache of ancient perishable artifacts, as claimed by archaeologists.
These artifacts, some dating back 7,000 years, hold unique significance, predominantly created from materials that would not normally hold up in warmer climates.
Ranging from basic containers made from tree bark and animal skin to bone and obsidian ice picks and hand axes, these findings emerged near Canada’s Mount Edziza Provincial Park in 2019, detailed in a recent study.
For many thousands of years, and up to the present day, the territory around Mount Edziza Provincial Park has served as a hunting ground for the Tahltan, one of Canada’s indigenous First Nations.
Previous discoveries in the region have revealed stone artifacts and obsidian quarries used to manufacture these tools. However, the recent thaw has exposed a number of ancient objects, including those made from perishable materials such as vegetation and animal by-products, which are typically prone to rapid decomposition and unable to withstand long-term preservation.
“The radiocarbon age in 13 of the perishable artifacts reveals that they span the last 7,000 years,” the researchers report in a paper describing their findings.
During research conducted amid patches of melting ice in the summer of 2019, archaeologists examining the area around Mount Edziza Provincial Park unearthed numerous artifacts, more than 55 of which were made from perishable materials, as reported by The Miami Herald.
Among the perishable artifacts found were wooden tools wrapped in animal skin, estimated to be up to 3,000 years old, as well as wooden staves that were once carried by hunters when they traveled through difficult terrain.
In addition, the discoveries included basketry, projectile shafts, and even ancient footwear made from animal skin.
The findings were revealed by Duncan McLaren and colleagues in a paper, “Ice Patches and Obsidian Quarries: Integrating Research Through Collaborative Archaeology in Tahltan Territory,” published in October in the Journal of Field Archaeology.
