Ice Age Hunters

High above river valleys at overlooks like this, Denali’s first human visitors watched for mammoth, giant bison, and caribou. Ridge tops made the best game launching platforms because herds tended to follow sheltered stream corridors. Hunters had to be expert and deadly, because the climate was too harsh for year-round edible plants. Caribou fur made the warmest clothing, and its microscopically hollow hairs are a natural insulator. While they waited, the hunters made knives and repaired and sharpened weapons; archaeologists have discovered spear points and chipped blades in stone cutting holders. The evidence is scant but datable: 10,000 years ago these nomadic hunters, descendants of people who crossed the Bering land bridge, followed caribou trails through Denali.

Healy, Alaska · United States