The Trail Creek child from the Seward Peninsula and Shuká Káa from Prince of Wales Island were, respectively, members of the Ancient Beringian founding population and the Northwest Coast founding population — two of the early data points in what will eventually be a much more complete ancient-genomic picture of the founding and expansion of the first Americans along the coast.

The Cave in Winter

The seasonal dimension of the cave’s use — whether On Your Knees Cave was a year-round habitation site, a seasonal shelter, or an occasional stopping place — is a question that the physical evidence can partially address.

The specific archaeological materials found in different layers of the cave’s sediment, combined with any evidence of seasonal variation in the faunal or botanical remains, can in principle provide information about when during the year the cave was occupied.

In the absence of specific published evidence about seasonality indicators from On Your Knees Cave, the general question can be addressed from what is known about the seasonal ecology of the region and the seasonal requirements of the maritime people who would have used the cave.