By far the most striking of the animal remains, though, was a tooth. Using DNA analysis and radiocarbon dating, the team determined it came from a domestic dog that lived 13,100 years ago—the oldest evidence of domestic dogs ever reported in the Americas. What’s more, dogs are “a proxy for the presence of humans,” Mackie says. This find extends the length of human occupation of Haida Gwaii as recorded by archaeological evidence by 2,000 years—though Fedje expects more searching will reveal artifacts that push this back even further.
Loren Davis, an archaeologist at Oregon State University who was not involved in the study, says these findings are exciting. The dog tooth, in particular, “was a massive discovery.” Haida Gwaii and coastal British Columbia lie at the doorstep to the Americas, he says, so learning more about the early cultural and environmental record of the region has significant implications for understanding what life was like for the earliest inhabitants.
Skil Hiilans Allan Davidson, a Haida hereditary chief and archaeologist who took part in the excavations at all three caves, emphasizes that artifacts and animal remains are more than just ancient discoveries. Whether it’s a bear mandible or a fossilized human footprint, archaeological and paleontological findings have meaning for Indigenous people. Haida people have lived on and cared for Haida Gwaii for thousands of years, Davidson explains. His nation’s oral histories recount Haida people’s deep history in this region, and Western archaeology is just now starting to catch up.
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