The Tangle Lakes Archaeological District (TLAD) is a 226,660 acre Archaeological District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This national list contains most of the culturally and historically important places in the United States. The TLAD was nominated to this list in 1971 because of its present and future contributions to the understanding of the prehistory of central Alaska and North America. This Archaeological District is the largest in the North American subarctic and contains the densest grouping (over 600 documented sites) of early prehistoric archaeology in Alaska. The archaeology of the area is managed by two agencies: the BLM manages about 185,321 acres south of the Denali Highway and north of the highway in the Delta Wild and Scenic River Corridor. The State of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources manages about 41,339 acres north of the highway.
A Story of Adaptation
TLAD Prehistory and History:
The Tangle Lakes area contains a record of subsistence use by indigenous people over 10,000 years ago. The earliest people using the area likely focused on hunting caribou around an ancient set of lakes that existed between 7,900 years ago and perhaps 3,600 years ago. While caribou crossing the lakes were their main subsistence resource, they probably harvested other animals, fish and plants to supplement their diets.