History lesson:prehistoric findings excite archaeologists

Valley Life editor

Two rocks may be the secret to unlocking the past of the middle Susitna Valley.

Of course, they aren't just two ordinary rocks, but two rocks that were probably used by people in the Chulitna area thousands of years ago, prior to European contact. The finding, at the Screaming Hawk site, makes archaeologists such as the Mat-Su Borough's Fran Seager-Boss excited.

"It shows an early population there, probably at least 3,000 years ago," Seager-Boss said. "It would tie more into an archaeological finding. We haven't found a single sign of European goods with the artifacts. It's very exciting."

Two artifacts were found at the Screaming Hawk site, named by college student Katy Krasinski after the many hawks that were screaming in the area. She found the first artifact, a large rock that showed fracturing archaeologists look for while surveying. It was found about two feet under the ground -- another reason to believe the artifact is thousands of years old -- and is believed to be used as a tool, such as a "chopper," based on the signs of percussion on the rock.

The other artifact is like a prehistoric "Swiss army knife," said Seager-Boss. It has extremely sharp sides, which would have been used as a knife, and a unique tip that could have been used as scraper.

In all, Seager-Boss and her team of four graduate students -- Krasinski, Daniel Stone, Brian Wygal and Randy Tedor -- found 15 sites they have positively identified, and possibly a 16th, as well as two sites that resulted in prehistoric findings.

Where to look

Seager-Boss and her team selected areas to look for artifacts based largely on topography and locations of items such as rivers and land formations. "Waterways were used for passage by prehistoric people, and small glaciers were used as portages," Seager-Boss said. "The middle Susitna Valley hasn't been developed yet, so we were anxious to get into those waterway areas and be proactive."

The project started in early spring and continued through late June, until vegetation grew too high to continue. Some of the areas were road accessible, while others could only be accessed by a boat. That's the case for the Screaming Hawk site.

Surface shovel testing resulted in the two artifacts -- and sometimes, that can be as scientific as dumb luck, Seager-Boss said.

"Sometimes there are visible clues such as cache pits, but sometimes what you are looking for are invisible," Seager-Boss said. "We found those two artifacts two feet below the surface, digging in 2 meter-by-2 meter squares."

Other projects

Seager-Boss has spent part of summers since 1997 working on another project, the Old Knik Townsite. There, artifacts have been uncovered that show the Knik townsite as a bustling and thriving community in the early 1900s.

"We've found a lot of evidence of single miners and miners who married Native women," Seager-Boss said. "Lots of tobacco tins, bottles. We're still looking for the gambling chip," she said with a chuckle.

The site is owned by Knik Sand and Gravel, and is slated for development.

"They are being very patient and very lenient with us as we go through the site," Seager-Boss said. "Our main thrust is to salvage as many artifacts as we can before there's development."

So far, they have identified what they believe is a blacksmith's shop and the home of a town assayer. A rough map was drawn in 1978, based on recollections by Orville Herning's son, Stanley, who left Knik in 1916 as a 14-year-old boy.

"We know Knik was a pretty good sized town by 1914. It was a major hub for miners and prospectors," Seager-Boss said. "It was a major trading post and starting point for prospectors."

What now?

At the Old Knik Townsite, Seager-Boss and her team will work through the end of the summer, trying to uncover and preserve as many artifacts as possible. That way, they can piece together a history.

"It's nice to be able to validate written recollections," she said.

Eventually, the site will be developed and the history will be lost.

"We're trying to gather as much as we can before that happens, at all the sites," she said.

From the middle Susitna Valley sites, some samples of charcoal are being sent out for carbon dating, but otherwise, the site will sit untouched. They have been mapped and added to the Alaska Heritage Resource Survey list, and could possibly be visited by other archaeologists with the funding to do a major survey.