LATE PRECONTACT SITES OF THE OLD CROW BASIN

Between the approximately 8,000 year-old Kikavichik Ridge Site and the relatively well-known historic sites, there is a long gap in our knowledge of the archaeological sources of this area.

Archaeological studies along the Porcupine River, particularly at Klo-kut, allowed Morlan (1973) to define a time sequence for the precontact archaeological sites of the Old Crow Basin area. Morlan divided the precontact ("Prehistoric") period into "Early Prehistoric" (about 1,200 to 600 years before present) and "Late Prehistoric" (about 600 to 100 years before present).

Studies by Le Blanc (1984) at Rat Indian Creek (MjVg-1), a major caribou hunting location on the Porcupine River about 90 km upriver from Old Crow, further refined the chronology of the Late Prehistoric Period. Le Blanc (1984) placed the Late Prehistoric Period at between 2,850 and 100 years before present and subdivided it into two phases, the Old Chief Phase (between 2,850 and 1,250 years ago) and the Klo-kut Phase (1,250 years ago up to 1850 AD).

Although the late precontact period of the northern Yukon is perhaps the best documented part of the local cultural time sequence, the understanding of the activities and life of the people of that time is still limited (Fafard 1999). Many suspected precontact sites have not been excavated. Many sites with a precontact component are multi-component sites where both precontact and post-contact period artfacts are present. As of 1992, over one hundred precontact archaeological sites had been recorded within the boundaries of the proposed Vuntut National Park (Cinq-Mars pers. comm. in Greer and Le Blanc 1992).

The following examples of precontact or suspected precontact sites indicate the complexity of attributing and describing multi-component sites. Many sites with a precontact component are more fully described in the following section on Historic Period sites.

Rat Ridge Spit Site

Morlan (1973) located a number of small lookout sites and camps in the Thomas Creek area, but without excavation was not able to date them, determine their seasonality, or link them with the rest of the sites investigated. Rat Ridge is a prominent spruce-covered ridge overlooking the Old Crow Flats at the point where Thomas Creek leaves the foothills ( Figure 13.3). Cinq-Mars visited this site in 1975 and found some microblades on the first bench above the Flats (Greer and Le Blanc 1992). The Rat Ridge Spit (also called Dzune thlai or "Rat in Snare") also features two housepit sites (NbVo-4 / 38Y50), located near Thomas Creek, which is associated with adze-cut stumps and appears at least 200 years old, and thus may belong to the late Prehistoric Period (Greer and Le Blanc 1992).

Black Fox Creek Caribou Fence

The Black Fox Creek #3 caribou fence complex (NbVi-2 / 38Y18) is thought to have been at least partly constructed in precontact times because stumps cut with a stone adze are associated with it (Greer and Le Blanc 1992). The Vuntut Gwitchin believe that they have been using caribou fences for a very long time and that they pre-date the Late Precontact period (D. Kassi pers. comm. 2000). Given that the caribou fences are made of wood which is susceptible to decomposition, it is possible that previous fences were constructed of which little remains.

Dechyoo Njit

The fish camp site known as Dechyoo Njit (MlVm-4) has both precontact and post-contact components (Fafard 1999). The earliest, precontact, component of Dechyoo Njik is culturally affiliated with the Klo-kut Phase in the northern Yukon which started around 700 AD and lasted until the period of contact (Fafard 1999).

Raspberry Point Site.

The site in the southwestern Old Crow Flats is marked by a small grassy clearing, and Morlan's (1973) initial test excavation pits yielded artifacts which suggest that the site was occupied in both the Late Prehistoric and Historic Periods. The artifacts described as possible Late Prehistoric specimens include two unretouched flakes, two pieces of worked bone, several fragments of firecracked rock, and a well-shaped tabular tci-de-tho, a type of stone hide scraper.