A high-elevation archaeology project led by Scott Dersam in the Beartooth Mountains near Yellowstone claims evidence of 13,000-year-old human habitation in a glaciated alpine landscape, potentially overturning current paleoarchaeology.

Dersam and the Alpine Ecosystems Research Institute (AERI) conduct fieldwork at elevations once considered uninhabitable, seeking the earliest North American sites and documenting findings with photos, coordinates, and soil analyses.

The narrative emphasizes a collaborative approach with Indigenous communities to protect landscapes and cultural heritage, highlighting evolving relationships between tribes and archaeologists.

Key figures in the project include Dersam, colleagues like Zack Kenworth and Bill Powell, tribal representatives such as Shane Doyle and Dean Nicolai, and mentors like Craig Lee.

Off-site archaeology is central to the project, aiming to minimize disturbance while still documenting sites and engaging universities and tribes for respectful interpretation.

Dersam and AERI stress collaboration with Indigenous tribes and landowners, prioritizing non-intrusive methods and inclusive research practices.

Finding Clovis material at high elevations challenges the traditional view that Clovis culture was confined to lower elevations and may rewrite early North American settlement models.

Vivid field reporting conveys the excitement and uncertainty around potential paradigm shifts if these alpine finds are verified, including the possibility of new Clovis sites and a revised timeline for early high-elevation human activity.

A June 2022 flood exposed new soils and artifacts, including Clovis-era points, providing evidence that humans inhabited montane zones earlier than previously thought.

The piece critiques archaeology’s treatment of Indigenous knowledge, urging more inclusive practices that honor oral histories and warn against overexploitation of fragile alpine sites amid rising land privatization.

Dersam’s discoveries reportedly include multiple high-elevation Clovis sites and a subsurface Clovis base near a hearth, described as potentially groundbreaking for Paleoamerican history.

Beartooth’s historic lithic collection from Vern Waples inspired Dersam to pursue alpine exploration, with findings suggesting intact hearths and subsurface Clovis points that could shift understanding of mountain use by Paleoamericans.