7,000-Year-Old Native American Village Identified on Island in Kodiak Archipelago

SHUYAK ISLAND, ALASKA—Alaska Public Media reports that archaeologists from the Alutiiq Museum have discovered several new Native American village sites on Shuyak Island, which is located in the Kodiak Archipelago. The Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people have inhabited areas around the archipelago for thousands of years. The recent survey identified one village on Shuyak that dates back 7,000 years, which researchers believe is the oldest inhabited site ever found on the island. The team was also surprised by the discovery of another large village that three centuries ago may have been home to between 200 or 300 people. “Shuyak Island has always sort of been a place where I think it seems like there were fewer people up there,” said Alutiiq Museum archaeology curator Patrick Saltonstall. “But finding that, you know what your preconceptions are and what you actually find often don't match.” Although apparently once home to a seemingly bustling population, no Native Alaska communities survived past the late 1700s. To read about excavations near Yup'ik village in southwestern Alaska, go to "Cultural Revival."