View source for Birnirk site

{{short description|Archaeological site in Alaska, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Birnirk site
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = Ukpeagvik mounds.jpg
| caption = Mounds at the site
| location = {{Address Restricted}}
| nearest_city = [[Utqiagvik, Alaska]]
| locmapin = 
| coordinates = <!-- address restricted -->
| area =
| architect =
| architecture =
| designated_nrhp_type = December 29, 1962<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=722&ResourceType=Site|title=Birnirk Site|accessdate=2007-11-19|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606080106/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=722&ResourceType=Site|archivedate=2011-06-06}}</ref>
| added = October 15, 1966<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
| refnum = 66000953<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
 | designated_other1 = Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
 | designated_other1_name = Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
 | designated_other1_date = 
 | designated_other1_color = #A8EDEF
 | designated_other1_abbr = AHRS
 | designated_other1_number = BAR-001
 | designated_other1_num_position = bottom
}}

The '''Birnirk site''' ([[Iñupiaq language|Iñupiaq]]: ''Piġniq'') is an [[archaeological site]] near [[Utqiagvik, Alaska]].  It includes sixteen prehistoric mounds which have yielded evidence of very early [[Birnirk culture|Birnirk]] and [[Thule people|Thule culture]].  It is the [[type site]] of the Birnirk culture, and was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1962 for its archaeological importance in understanding prehistoric Arctic cultures.<ref name="nhlsum"/>

==Description==
Birnirk is located on the [[Alaska North Slope]], near the settlement of [[Utqiagvik, Alaska|Utqiagvik]], on land owned by the [[Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation]] since 1988.  The site consists of sixteen mounds, which represent dwelling sites across a fairly wide span of time.  Major scientific excavations were made at this site in 1936, and in 1951-53, when three mounds were excavated, and in 1959, when seven mounds were partially excavated.  The major period of occupation at this site was during what is now designated the [[Birnirk culture]], between 500 and 900 CE.  Evidence was also found at one mound of occupation during the later [[Thule people|Thule culture]], which was generally active 1100-1400 CE.  Finds at the site include [[harpoon]] heads made of antler and stone, including at least one from the older Punuk culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sil.si.edu/smithsoniancontributions/Anthropology/pdf_lo/SCtA-0020.pdf|title=The Walakpa Site, Alaska|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|accessdate=2014-12-10}}</ref>  Also uncovered were fragments of wood making up elements of traditional seal-hunting [[umiak]]s.<ref name=2013Report/>

The site was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1962, and was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1966.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nris"/>  The major collections of materials from the site made in the 1950s were located at [[Harvard University]]'s [[Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology]] for many years, but were moved to the [[University of Alaska Museum of the North]] in [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]] in 2011.<ref name=2013Report>{{cite web|url=http://www.uaf.edu/files/museum/communication/FY13-UAMN-Annual-Report_web-031114.pdf|title=2013 Annual Report|publisher=University of Alaska Museum of the North|accessdate=2014-12-10}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Alaska]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in North Slope Borough, Alaska]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{NRHP in Alaska by borough and census area}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}

[[Category:Archaeological sites in Alaska]]
[[Category:Archaeological type sites]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in North Slope Borough, Alaska]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Alaska]]
[[Category:Native American history of Alaska]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in North Slope Borough, Alaska]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in North Slope Borough, Alaska]]