Denbigh Flint complex

The Denbigh Flint complex was a Paleo-Inuit archaeological entity identifiable by distinctive lithic material culture that was active in Alaska and northwestern Canada from 4,000 to 3,300 years before present (2450 to 1450 BC). They were the first members of the wide material assemblage known as the Arctic Small Tool tradition. Sites attributed to the Denbigh Flint complex mostly inhabited northern Alaska from Cape Krusenstern to the western Yukon, but sites have also been found further to the south, from the Aleutian islands and mainland Alaska. The Denbigh Flint complex likely were descendants from the Syalakh and Bel’kachi cultures of Siberia. They engaged in wide-scale trade, as evidenced by the transport of pieces of obsidian across distances over 500 km. Sites that exhibit tools typical of the Denbigh Flint complex evidence a hunter-gatherer lifestyle based around both maritime and terrestrial resources: their primary food was caribou, which they hunted year-round—although they made seasonal visits to the coast to hunt seals. Denbigh peoples also fished, picked berries, and hunted birds in the fall.