Abstract
The migratory route for the Pleistocene colonization of the Americas by humans has been debated
among North American archaeologists and antiquarians since before the Revolutionary War. It remains
the most contentious question in archaeology today. When and by what path did the first people spread
throughout the continent? Here, we report updated results from the middle Susitna Valley in southcentral Alaska near the community of Trapper Creek. The region is significant because it lies at the heart of
what was a piedmont glacier that blocked the first Alaskans from accessing the rich resources of Alaska’s
southern coasts during the late glacial period. Deglaciation and human colonization of the heavily glaciated southeasternmost Beringia is relevant to our understanding of the timing and geographical origin of
the first small-scale foraging societies to explore and eventually settle the rivers and coasts of southcentral
Alaska, British Columbia, and the greater Pacific Northwest. Results suggests an interior-to-coastal migration occurred following deglaciation with no current evidence of a reverse scenario.