I was recently discussing my interest of the Chitina area history with Dr. Charles Holmes. He pointed out that one of the challenges that archeologist have found studying the area has been finding sites for study. New sites have been found as a result of studying the past possible shore lines of Lake Ahtna that covered the area and investigating those anticipated shorelines that are now much higher and sometimes on ridges, far from the current river banks we see of the Copper River today.
Dr. Holmes shared these linked reports with me and I found them an interesting look at the overlapping history of the massive lake Ahtna and the people of the region following the most recently ice ages of the last 15,000 years. Their history and stories tells of life along the lake and islands, where we now only see the mountains and today’s Wood Canyon that drains what was an ancient lake.
The study of these sites also offers further clarity and confirmation of the extent of the Ahtna Lake and the dynamic changes the Ahtna people have been a part of over the millennia they have lived with the changing land.
Dr. Charles Holmes is an Affiliate Research Professor with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Fairbanks.
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