Stratigraphy and Radiocarbon Chronology at McDonald Creek: A Multicomponent Pleistocene-Holocene Site in Central Alaska

Summary

This is an abstract from the "McDonald Creek and Blair Lakes: Late Pleistocene-Holocene Human Activity in the Tanana Flats of Central Alaska" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

McDonald Creek, located in the Tanana Flats ~55 km south of Fairbanks, Alaska, rests on an isolated remnant of an ancient alluvial terrace of the Tanana River that hugs the southeast corner of a monadnock rising from the flats. While testing the site, we discovered a well-preserved set of occupation layers dating from nearly 14–5 ka. In every place tested, we found the lowermost occupation layer in addition to at least one or more overlying layers, and each square produced up to 2,500 artifacts, hundreds of bones, and charcoal. Fortunately, one test square centered over two charcoal-rich features dating to ~13.8 ka and ~12.7 ka, respectively. In 2017, we opened a 25 m2 excavation block encompassing this very productive test area. Since then we have completed 18 m2 and would have completed the entire block in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted our fieldwork. Currently we have >50,000 3D-plotted cultural materials from excavation, including lithic and osseous artifacts, faunal remains, paleobotanical remains, hearth features, a possible dwelling, trash pits, and lithic reduction areas. This poster will present an overview of materials, but primarily it will present site stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating to inform on chronology and site formation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• McDonald Creek and Blair Lakes: Late Pleistocene-Holocene Human Activity in the Tanana Flats of Central Alaska

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32669