Rapidly receding permafrost in Canada's Mackenzie River Delta has revealed a treasure trove of perfectly preserved artifacts belonging to the ancestors of the Inuvialuit people. The find includes willow-bark fishing nets, walrus-ivory harpoon heads, and rare fragments of caribou-skin clothing, all dating back approximately 4,500 years.
Local Indigenous heritage monitors are working alongside climate archaeologists to document the site before the organic materials decay upon exposure to air. This discovery provides unprecedented data on prehistoric Arctic adaptation and environmental history, showing how early inhabitants managed fisheries during previous periods of significant climate transition.