In the United States, archaeologists and climatologists who jointly surveyed the rocky tundra plateau in the west of Brooks Ridge in Alaska have found hundreds of house remains and stone pyramids, which are about 11 thousand years old.
The research report appeared in the Anchorage Daily News. It was authored by Ned Rosell, Research Fellow at the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute at Fairbanks. The large-scale study began in 2011, when the National Park Service built a meteorological station on Howard Pass. Such objects are intended for autonomous operation in hard-to-reach places throughout Alaska. The station is powered by solar panels, and the received data is sent via space satellites.
This information helped archaeologists choose the most suitable time for the expedition and explore the vast area between the Colville and Noatak rivers. They went there and found out that even in the most extreme weather conditions, large settlements existed in Alaska in ancient times.
Hundreds of remnants of dwellings have been found at Howard Pass, including ring “foundations” on which igloo domed houses were installed, as well as pits for storing food, raw materials and waste from the manufacture of stone tools. In addition, pyramidal piles of stones were found. These structures are far from being as monumental as the pyramids of Egypt, but they are about twice as old as African ones. Scientists believe that the pyramids in Alaska in ancient times served as traps into which people drove caribou - reindeer.
“Locals took advantage of caribou, fish, berries, waterfowl and, in the earliest period, probably bison,” said archaeologist Jeff Rasich of the National Park Service. "Howard Pass is a tundra gate several kilometers wide through which herds of caribou still migrate seasonally from the Western Arctic."
Despite the extremely difficult climatic conditions, this area, according to scientists, has always been rich in food. The natives called Howard Pass by the word "Akutuq". It was the name of their favorite treat, which they made from whipped animal fats, sugar and berries. The snow patterns drawn by the wind on Howard Pass outwardly reminded them of this delicacy.
As for the weather, the climatic anti-record was recorded in these places on February 21, 2013. On that day, the air temperature dropped to about minus 43 degrees Celsius, and the wind was blowing at a speed of about 87 km / h.
And this was not an isolated event. Conditions close to those described were recorded in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The temperature was even lower in the wind. Scientists believe that the Eskimos waited out severe frosts in their homes, after which they went to the pass in search of the frozen caribou carcasses that had died from the cold.
Promotional video:
Author: Denis Peredelsky