Canada - Yukon Ice Patches

The Yukon Ice Patches is a serial property of internationally significant archaeological sites, located in the traditional territory of Carcross/Tagish First Nation, in southern Yukon Territory, Canada. Throughout the millennia, woodland caribou have congregated on snow and ice during summer months, making them vital resource areas for Indigenous hunters. Hunting weapons that missed their marks became incorporated into the snow and ice. Fragile, organic objects, seldom seen at archaeological sites, are recovered annually by small teams of archaeologists and First Nation researchers. Perishable elements such as wood, sinew, feathers, adhesives and ochre, allow new insights into material culture and technological change through time and provide new understandings of the accomplishments of northern Indigenous Peoples. First discovered in 1997 due to global warming, the Yukon Ice Patches have revealed unprecedented collections of ancient and remarkably well preserved hunting tools. More than 100 artifacts have been recovered from the Yukon Ice Patch sites, with the oldest dating back more than 7500 years.