Old and New Technology in Gulkana

Replicas of worked copper tools and ornaments found by archaeologists at The Gulkana Site. The originals are currently stored at The Museum of The North in Fairbanks. Photo by Allison Sayer.

This article was updated from the original print version to include a more accurate description of the video game portion of the school visits and more accurate partnership information.

By Allison Sayer

Detailed information about an important archaeological site near Gulkana has been hiding in plain sight for about fifty years. Ahtna, Inc. and Purdue University archaeology PhD student Emily Fletcher are working to change that, along with partners the Copper River School District and the Native Village of Gulkana.

The site is approximately 1,000 years old. There, Ahtna craftspeople made copper tools and ornaments that were traded throughout what is now Alaska and The Yukon. These tools were among the first worked copper objects documented to be made in the region. It is likely techniques for working with tsedi - copper - were created and perfected at this site. 

Over 200 worked copper objects were found in a strip of land about a half mile long-  over one third of the copper artifacts ever found in what is now Alaska and The Yukon. There is also evidence of at least 50 structures- a mixture of houses and accessory structures such as caches. 

In recent decades, neither Copper Basin locals nor academics have known much about The Gulkana Site, despite a series of excavations from 1975 through 1996. These excavations were associated with the pipeline. In compliance with regulations, archaeologists carefully took notes, made drawings, and sent artifacts to the Museum of the North in Fairbanks. However, the information is neither standardized nor easy to find. 

Fletcher was introduced to the site by her academic advisor Dr. Kory Cooper, who has a long history of studying copper in the Copper Basin. Fletcher’s field is “digital public archaeology.” Her goal is to make information about the site accessible to both local and academic circles. Her tools include writing sophisticated software and the old-fashioned technique of talking with people. 

Ahtna, Inc. Shareholder Advocate M. Starr Knighten and Fletcher have made several trips over two years to Copper River School District classes, in addition to holding a public town hall in Gulkana.

Arlene Davidson from Kluti-Kaah helps her granddaughter Sky Winishet to work a piece of tsedi - copper. Photo by Allison Sayer.

Students have been able to engage with their local history by trying their hand at making copper objects, handling replicas of the objects found at the site, and viewing images. Some students made impressive replicas of copper tools through patient working. 

There is even a video game based component of youth engagement. Fletcher explained, “I present the kids with a variety of games made by Indigenous developers about Indigenous experiences, and they get to mess around with making their own game based on what they've learned from me and Starr.”

The school visits were facilitated by many helpers including Georgia Jackson, James Segerquist, Gretchen Nelson, John Hale, Jennifer Hodges, Marie Morris, Bob Stickney, Jason Roslansky, Theresa Laville, Laurie Blair, Richard Spencer, Jared Dale, Alicia Hicks, Ben Dolgner, Matthew Williams, Diane Ellsworth, Edward GreyBear and others.

Copper spear point made by a CRSD student during a school visit in 2024. Photo courtesy of Emily Fletcher.

Fletcher has a strong computer science background and is applying it to the problem of non-standard data. She wrote software that can help digitize and standardize handwritten notes and maps. She hopes this will both help locals access more information about their own history, and help to raise the profile of The Gulkana Site in academic research.  

Fletcher hopes some of her software can be used by others. There are hundreds of thousands of sites across the United States that have been excavated and “preserved,” but never put into historical context. Just like The Gulkana Site, the information is stored in various file formats, including notebooks, and is not centralized. 

Fletcher returned to Alaska in mid-March. She and Knighten presented at the Alaska Anthropological Association conference that took place March 12-15.

Knighten, Fletcher and Copper River School District Indian Education Committee President Georgia (JoJo) Jackson also hosted a two day open house at Kluti-Kaah Hall during Fletcher’s March trip. Members of the public were invited to share insights, view data, and work with tsedi. The basic technique is to iteratively heat and pound a copper nugget. 

PhD student Emily Fletcher, holding a precise GPS instrument, looks across a large pit at The Gulkana Site, likely where a house stood. Photo by Allison Sayer.

At the open house, Jackson shared that tsedi and copper objects were traded with Southeast Alaska’s Tlingit people. Jackson also shared the original Ahtna craftspeople likely knew exactly how to get the metal to the right temperature. Working copper at the open house, we were a bit more random in our heating and cooling methods, using a propane torch. Although we didn’t have time to make finished pieces, we did get to see and feel changes in the copper first hand. 

In her most recent visit, Fletcher visited The Gulkana Site with representatives from Ahtna, Inc: Knighten, Forester Rachel Tom, and Land Protection Officer Lead William Jiles. The Native Village of Gulkana is not ready to disclose the site’s exact location. They confirm that it is not the site of the original village, which was traumatically destroyed by the Alaska Road Commission in 1943. Fletcher took measurements to incorporate into a map she is creating. 

If you were looking for a nice place to build a house, The Gulkana Site would be a good candidate. The ground is flat, well drained, and covered with xay gige’ - lowbush cranberries. The river is nearby. 

Many original pit structures were destroyed during development, but several remain. Artifacts suggest the site was occupied for a duration of about 800 years. It is not clear whether the area was used all at the same time, or in bits and pieces over centuries. 

Fletcher is seeking public feedback to determine what information about the site would be most relevant to the community. If you have suggestions, or historic knowledge of The Gulkana Site you would like to share, please contact fletch47@purdue.edu

Disclosure: Ahtna, Inc. and the Native Village of Gulkana are CRR advertisers. This does not impact our coverage of this project. Representatives of The Native Village of Gulkana reviewed this article prior to publication.