BLM Alaska Archaeology

The BLM in Alaska manages thousands of archaeological sites throughout Alaska spanning nearly 15,000 years in age. They contain fascinating evidence of earlier people with different cultures who lived in what is today Alaska.

That evidence includes remains of their distinctive tools, traces of their ancient dwellings, and other evidence that can be used to help us know more about these prehistoric people and how they lived. Also, archaeological sites on BLM-managed lands in Alaska bear evidence of more recent land use by people from historic times about whom there are contemporary written records.

Thus, archaeological sites in Alaska range from over 14,000 years old, to more recent historic sites from the 20th century. They also include sites from the Russian Period that ended in 1867, to those from late 19th and early 20th century gold rushes, to sites within the living memory of many Americans today.

Since the time of Alaska’s statehood in 1959, many significant archaeological discoveries in Alaska on BLM-managed lands have revolutionized our understanding of this state’s most ancient people. They are helping answer the enduring question in archaeology: "When and how did the first people come to the Americas?”

Below is a sample of some of the significant prehistoric and historic archaeological sites managed by the BLM in Alaska today:

Featured Projects 

I. Mesa Site

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Used as early as 14,000 years ago, this ancient game lookout site, sits on a high mesa-like formation on the northern flank of the Brooks Range Mountains.  Ancient stone projectile point made by PaleonIndians are similar to those found in earliest archaeological sites in the western continental United States. Explore the Mesa Site

II. Raven Bluff

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Over 10,000 years old, the Raven Bluff site, in northern Alaska, dates back into the PaleoIndian period. This important archaeological site helps us understand more about the earliest inhabitants of North America. Explore the Raven Bluff site

 

III. Tangle Lakes Archaeological District

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The oldest of the more than 600 recorded sites in the Tangle Lakes region of central Alaska are over 10,000 years old. They provide evidence of ancient hunters using an ice-dominated landscape into more recent times. Explore the Tangle Lakes Archaeological District.

 

IV. Sitka Blockhouse

The BLM manages the Sitka Blockhouse, a​n early 1960s replica of a Russian fortification for the town of Sitka, which was once the capital of Russian America. The original structure was part of a defensive stockade built around Sitka in the early 1800s, with an historic Russian period cemetery nearby. Explore the Sitka Blockhouse

Annual Reports / Program Highlights 

Annual Reports

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Program Highlights

2019 2020 2021 2022

Permits

Archaeology Permits

Brochures 

 

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Alaska Fossil and Artifact Collecting Brochure

 

Tenakee Springs Brochure

History Alaska Homesteading Brochure

 

Scientific & Technical Reports 

Technical reports

Alaska BLM Technical Report 02     
Fort Egbert and the Eagle Historic District: Results of Archaeological and Historic Research, Summer 1977 
Shinkwin, et al. 1978 

Alaska BLM Technical Report 56 
Copper River Places: A Report on Culturally-Important Places to Alaska Native Tribes in Southcentral Alaska 
Kari, Tuttle. 2005 

Open File Reports

Alaska BLM Open File Report 2  
Archaeological Investigations of the DeLong Mountains, Northwest Alaska  
Smith. 1983 

Alaska BLM Open File Report 3  
Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Central Arctic Management Area 
Smith. 1983 
 

Alaska BLM Open File Report 9  
Denali Mine on Valdez Creek, South Central Alaska: A Cultural Resource Evaluation  
Walton, McCaffrey. 1984 
 
Alaska BLM Open File Report 19  
Beaver Creek National Wild River Cultural Resources Inventory  
Will. 1986 
 
Alaska BLM Open File Report 49  
Mining History of the Ruby-Poorman Mining District 
L'Ecuyer. 1993 
  
Alaska BLM Open File Report 57  
Cultural Resource Inventory in the Bendeleben and Darby Mountains, Seward Peninsula, Alaska 
Smith, Vreeman. 1995 

Alaska BLM Open File Report 61  
Prospecting and Mining Activity in the Rampart Manley Hot Springs – Fort Gibbon Mining Districts of Alaska, 1894-present 
L’Ecuyer. 1997 
 
Alaska BLM Open File Report 64  
The Flat Historical Building Survey Report: Flat Alaska 
Buzzell. 1997 
  
Alaska BLM Open File Report 66  
Flat and Iditarod 1993-1995 Oral History Interviews  
Buzzell. 1997 
  
Alaska BLM Open File Report 86  
The Mesa Site: Paleo Indians Above the Arctic Circle 
Kunz, Bever, Adkins. 2003 
  
Alaska BLM Open File Report 109  
Hills Brothers Coffee Can Chronology Field Guide  
Lanford, Mills. 2006 

Areas of interest around Alaska

Campbell Tract WWII

During World War II (1941-1945) the Campbell Tract in southeastern Anchorage, Alaska played a military role in the war.  Remnants of bomber parking pads and taxiways, building foundations, foxholes, and defensive earthworks can still be seen today.  Explore the history of Campbell Tract

 

Fort Egbert

The U. S. Army’s establishment in 1899 of Fort Egbert on the Yukon River, a few miles from Canada, was to bring profound changes to the region and reshape Alaska's ties to the rest of the nation. Explore Fort Egbert and plan your visit

 

Iditarod National Historic Trail

Today’s Iditarod Trail, a symbol of frontier travel and once an important artery of Alaska’s winter commerce, served a string of mining camps, trading posts, and other settlements founded between 1880 and 1920, during Alaska’s Gold Rush Era. Explore the Iditarod National Historic Trail

 

Steele Creek

Dating back to 1898, in its day, the small settlement at Steele Creek served vital needs along the main overland trail between the historic towns of Eagle, along the Yukon River, and Chicken, in the Fortymile drainage. Explore the Steele Creek Historical Site