New insights into Eastern Beringian mortuary behavior: A terminal Pleistocene double infant burial at Upward Sun River

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Main Authors: Potter, Ben A., Irish, Joel D., Reuther, Joshua D., McKinney, Holly J.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: National Academy of Sciences 2014
• Subjects: Social Sciences; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4260572/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25385599; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1413131111

Two interred infants with associated grave goods and a third cremated child represent the earliest known human remains from the North American subarctic, and they provide evidence for novel mortuary behaviors at the end of the last Ice Age. Two bifacial points with decorated foreshafts represent hafted projectiles, confirming earlier conclusions about Paleoindian weapon system form and function. Excellent faunal and other contextual data indicate broad-spectrum foraging behaviors.