History
On Your Knees Cave, on Prince of Wales Island in southeastern Alaska, became an important archaeological site after its discovery in 1993. Excavations first revealed animal bones from old bear dens, then in 1996 uncovered human remains, stone tools, and faunal deposits dating to about 10,300 years ago. DNA identified the individual, Shuká Káa, as a young man whose marine-based diet offered key evidence for early coastal lifeways. The site is among the earliest known settlement locations on North America’s Northwest Coast, and obsidian traced to British Columbia suggests long-distance movement or exchange. It also shaped modern Alaskan archaeology through consultation, tribal partnership, and repatriation under federal law.
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Port Protection, Alaska · United States