In pursuit of prehistoric caribou on Thandlat, southern Yukon

In 1997, the first author noted a large concentration of caribou (Rangifer sp.) fecal pellets and a caribou antler on a permanent snow patch in the Ku sawa Lake area of southern Yukon. Caribou are completely absent from this a rea today. Goring of the snow patch revealed continuous deposits of fecal p ellets to depths of at least 160 cm. The proximal portion of a wooden dart or anew shaft fragment recovered on the edge of the snow patch represents o ne, of the few organic examples of mid-Holocene hunting technology ever fou nd in Canada. An age of 2450 BP +/- 50 years was obtained for the fecal mat erial from approximately 1.6 m below the surface of the snow patch, and the dart was dated at 4360 BP +/- 50 years. These dates indicate that aborigin al Yukon hunters have been harvesting caribou at this location for at least 4000 years. The Thandlat site offers a rare opportunity to explore a numbe r of questions regarding the prehistoric ecology of large caribou populatio ns, the implications of climate change for caribou populations, and human u se of high-elevation hunting sites.