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Ancient Fish Trap Discovered in Alaska

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Alaska Fish TrapKODIAK ISLAND, ALASKA—A prehistoric stone fish trap has been found on northern Kodiak Island, reports Alaska Native News. Alutiiq Museum archaeologist Patrick Saltonstall identified the rare trap, known as a corrall, at the mouth of a stream. At high tide, salmon would swim above the corrall, but at low tide the fish would be trapped within its stone walls. “The fish trap took a lot of work to build and maintain. I imagine that it was reused year after year and that it was owned by a community or an extended family,” says Saltonstall. “Many lines of archaeological evidence indicate that Alutiiq ancestors developed tools to efficiently harvest large quantities of fish. A fish trap is another great example.” Next to the trap Saltonstall also discovered previously unidentified petroglyphs. To read in-depth about the archaeology of native Alaskan peoples, go to “Cultural Revival.”

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