Freshwater and anadromous fishing in Ice Age Beringia

• Published in: Science Advances
• Main Authors: Potter, B.A., Halffman, C.M., McKinney, H.J., Reuther, J.D., Finney, B.P., Lanoë, F.B., López, J.A., Holmes, C.E., Palmer, E., Capps, M., Kemp, B.M.
• Other Authors: Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, University of Arizona
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2023
• Subjects: Burbot; Alaska; Beringia
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/673824; https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adg6802

While freshwater and anadromous fish have been critical economic resources for late prehistoric and modern Native Americans, the origin and development of fishing is not well understood. We document the earliest known human use of freshwater and anadromous fish in North America by 13,000 and 11,800 years ago, respectively, from primary anthropogenic contexts in central Alaska (eastern Beringia). Fish use appears conditioned by broad climatic factors, as all occurrences but one are within the Younger Dryas chronozone. Earlier Bølling- Allerød and later early Holocene components, while exhibiting similar organic preservation, did not yield evidence of fishing, suggesting that this was a response to changing environmental factors, perhaps reductions in higher ranked resources such as large terrestrial mammals. Late Pleistocene and recent Indigenous peoples harvested similar fish taxa in the region (salmon, burbot, whitefish, and pike). We characterize late Pleistocene fishing in interior Beringia as an important element of broad-spectrum foraging rather than the intensive communal fishing and storage common among recent peoples. © 2023 The Authors. Open access journal This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [e-mail].