Ice Patch Archaeology: Fish & Game Photo Shows Why Ancient Ahtna Hunters Hit The Slopes

 2011 Fish & Game Photo Reveals Why Mountainous "Ice Patches" Were Such A Great Place To Hunt (And To Find Ancient Artifacts) 

Caribou escaping the bugs in Western Alaska (Photo, Fish & Game) 

In 2014, people in the Copper Valley met at the Ahtna Heritage Foundation on the Wrangell-St. Elias Park grounds. They were there for a presentation about "Ice Patch Archaeology." 

Local people and scientists had gone up to the ice patches of the Wrangells to see if they could find tools that had been left on the ice centuries ago by Ahtna hunters.

This type of archaeology – where the items being looked for are found, centuries later, at the edges of ice patches that are now melting (often in perfect condition) – is now common in northern lands. 

The reason the hunters had gone to the ice patches was to find caribou. Here's a photo, from current times, showing huge numbers of caribou on the ice patches of Alaska. They're on the ice trying to get away from biting insects. 

READ ABOUT COPPER VALLEY ICE PATCH ARCHAEOLOGY