Climate archaeologists working in the Selwyn Mountains have discovered a series of prehistoric hunting kits exposed by receding ice patches. The artifacts, which include atlatl darts and obsidian scrapers, belong to the ancestors of the Dene people and date back approximately 6,000 years. Remarkably, the willow-bark bindings used to secure the points to their wooden shafts remain perfectly preserved due to the cold environment.
This discovery provides an unprecedented look at the material culture and hunting strategies of early indigenous groups in North America. The rapid melting of these ice patches has created an urgent situation for researchers, who are racing to document and preserve these organic remains before they degrade upon exposure to the air.