Onion Portage
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The Onion Portage Archeological District encompasses a major
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...
in
Kobuk Valley National Park Kobuk Valley National Park is an American national park in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska, located about north of the Arctic Circle. The park was designated in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to preserve the ...
in northwestern
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
. The site is a deeply stratified site, at which archaeologists have located nine complexes ranging dating from approximately 6500BC to AD1700. The site has been of critical benefit for the study of Arctic cultures, and is used to determine the cultural chronology of the region. The district was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1972 and and was declared a
National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
in 1978.


Setting

The Onion Portage site is located on the northern banks of the
Kobuk River The Kobuk River (''Kuuvak'' in Iñupiaq) (also Kooak, Kowak, Kubuk, Kuvuk, or Putnam) is a river located in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska in the United States. It is approximately long. Draining a basin with an area of ,Brabets, T.P. ...
. Above the site is a sandy knoll, from which material is washed onto the site from deeply eroded gullies.


Archaeological history

The Onion Portage site was first identified by the pioneering Arctic archaeologist J. Louis Giddings in 1940, during his first visit to the Kobuk River. He returned to the site in 1941, at which time some house pits were excavated, but the site's potential was not fully known. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Giddings focused his efforts on other areas (notably the Iyatayet site and sites at
Cape Krusenstern Cape Krusenstern is a cape on the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, located near the village of Kivalina at . It is bounded by Kotzebue Sound to the south and the Chukchi Sea to the west, and consists of a series of beach ridges ...
, both also National Historic Landmarks, where he began to assemble a chronology of Arctic cultures. In 1961 he visited the site again, at which time its highly stratified nature was discovered. Giddings led a major excavation at the site in 1964, the last year of his life, seeking evidence of older cultures in the many layers of deposits. The only built structure to be included in the district is the Giddings Cabin, used by J. Louis Giddings during the 1964 excavation. The
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
has preserved the cabin.


See also

*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Alaska The National Historic Landmarks in Alaska represent Alaska's history from its Russian heritage to its statehood. There are 50 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) in the state. The United States National Historic Landmark program is operated under ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Northwest Arctic Borou ...


References

{{National Register of Historic Places Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Buildings and structures in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska National Historic Landmarks in Alaska Native American history of Alaska Kobuk Valley National Park National Register of Historic Places in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska 1972 establishments in Alaska