From the Yenisei to the Yukon: Interpreting Lithic Assemblage Variability in Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene Beringia

17. Chindadn in Canada? Emergent Evidence of the Pleistocene Transition in Southeast Beringia as Revealed by the Little John Site, Yukon

289 17. Chindadn in Canada? Emergent Evidence of the Pleistocene Transition in Southeast Beringia as Revealed by the Little John Site, Yukon norman alexander easton, glen r. mackay, patricia bernice young, peter schnurr, and david r. yesner T he Little John site (Borden KdVo-6) is located 12 km north of the village of Beaver Creek, Yukon, about 2 km from the international border with Alaska (figure 17.1). It occupies most of the higher surface of a knoll overlooking the upper reaches of Mirror Creek, known as Cheejil Niik (Grayling Creek) in the local Scottie Creek dialect of the Upper Tanana Athabaskan language (figure 17.2). The site overlooks the basin of the creek from the north and lies within the easternmost extension of the Tanana River drainage. Snag Creek crosses the valley about 7 km east of the site, marking the watershed divide between the Tanana River and upper Yukon River drainage basins. In the Scottie Creek dialect this geographic location is known as Haah Tu Taiy (roughly, “Trail at the End of the Hill”). In 2006, after recognition of its significance and consultation with the White River First Nation, the site was named “Little John,” after Klaa Dii Cheeg (“His Hand Drops”), who in English was called White River Johnny and known affectionately as Little John. Little John is a respected ancestor of many of the contemporary members of the White River First Nation; like his people before him, until his death in 1984, Little John often used this location as a hunting camp and lookout, a practice continued by his descendents today. An examination of the physiographic location of the Little John site suggests why it was occupied early and continuously: the site lies at a natural constriction of the Mirror Creek valley and would have provided an overlook toward any fauna entering or returning from the large expanding plain that lies to the east of the site. From 2002 to 2007, we excavated close to 100 m of the Little John site (figure 17.3), uncovering a multicomponent archaeological deposit containing evidence of human use from the most recent past back to the terminal Pleistocene. A single date of 12,020 ± 70  C BP (14,050– 13,720 cal BP) marks the earliest occupation of the site, which consists of a small assemblage of lithic artifacts and faunal elements recovered from the basal loess stratum of the eastern area of the site (see Yesner et al., this volume ). An undated component recovered from a different sedimentary context in the western area of the site represents the first identification of a Chindadn/Nenana complex assemblage within a stratified context to be found in Canada. Also present at the site is an early Holocene component, which we currently believe represents a Denali complex (Paleoarctic tradition) occupation, dated to between roughly 10,000 and 8900  C BP (ca. 11,500– 10,000 cal BP). This component, found associated with deeply buried paleosols in the eastern area of the site, contains a rich assemblage of well-preserved faunal remains . Additional Holocene assemblages include microblade technology and artifacts diagnostic of the Northern Archaic tradition. Postdating the White River volcanic eruptions (ca. 1900 and 1200  C BP), we have recorded occupations related to the Late Prehistoric, Transitional Contact, and Historic (twentieth century) periods, the latter which includes occupation of the site by nonnative builders of the Alaska Highway. A final component might be identified as Contemporary, since the site is still used today by the local aboriginal Dineh as a hunting lookout and campsite. The large horizontal extent of the site and stratified representation of several archaeological cultures of the interior western subarctic, combined with excellent faunal preservation in several levels, make the Little John site unique among archaeological sites in the Yukon Territory. Focusing on the late Pleistocene/early Holocene archaeological deposits of the Little John Site, in this Figure 17.1. The Little John site and related archaeological sites discussed in the text. Chindadn in Canada? 291 ice free to at least the White River, some 150 km to the southeast (Rampton 1971) (see figure 17.4). Above the basal regolith are found loess sediments varying in thickness from a few centimeters to over 4.5 m. Soil development within the sediments has led to the formation of B horizons designated B1 and B2, boreal brunisol horizons generally separated by several centimeters of tephra, which radiocarbon dates...