Evidence for trade between Asia and North America 700 years ago found in Alaska

At a site in Alaska, archaeologists discovered artefacts dated to between 1100-1300 AD. Some of them are of Asian origin, indicating presence of trade between people of both continents 700 years ago.

Artefacts from excavations at the site in Alaska (by Western Digs)
Artefacts from excavations at the site in Alaska (by Western Digs)

Among the artefacts is a bronze buckle and a cylindrical metal bead which provide the direct evidence of trade between Asia and the indigenous peoples of the North American Arctic region. The analysis of these finds showed that they were smelted in East Asia out of lead, copper, and tin. The artefacts are said to have been reported in 2011 after being unearthed at a site on Cape Espenberg on the Seward Peninsula. The metal objects were not locally made. The indigenous people used naturally available metals, such as raw copper, native iron, and even meteorites but it seems that they did not smelt their own metals. X-ray fluorescence showed that both objects were made from a heavily leaded alloy like the kind smelted in Asia at the time. The buckle is said to resemble ones used as a part of a horse harness in north-central China between 6th-1st centuries AD.

(after Western Digs)

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