Archaeologists have discovered what they say are the bones of a three-year-old Ice Age toddler who was cremated in modern-day Alaska some 11,500 years ago.
Scientists hailed the discovery as “truly spectacular” as they hope the find will help them know more about the life and times of early settlers who crossed from Asia to the
North America thousands of years ago. Researchers believe the toddler, named Xaasaa Cheege Ts’eniin, was buried 11,500 years ago by one of the earliest families in the Arctic of North America, the Daily Mail reported.
The remains of the child, identified as a three-year-old based on its teeth, was also confirmed as those belonging to the second-youngest Ice Age child on the continent.
The name of the child means the “Upward Sun River Mouth Child”, which was chosen by local native community the Healy Lake Tribe and researchers hope to work out its sex through a DNA sample. The burial site shows ancient residents of Alaska foraged for fish, birds and small mammals, as well as large game.
The area was found on the Upper Sun River, in the Tanana lowlands forest in central Alaska, and it includes remains of a seasonal house and stone tools used for cutting.
Scientists believe the house was occupied in summer, based on the bones from salmon and immature ground squirrels found there. Ben Potter of the University of Alaska Fairbanks said: “Here we know there were young children and females. So, this is a whole piece of the settlement system that we had virtually no record of.”
“Before this find, we knew people were hunting large game like bison or elk with sophisticated weapons, but most of sites we had to study were hunting camps.”
—PTI