There are also some fairly ancient sites farther down the river (see Narrative), but just what they are and how old remains to be determined. A report on the archeological remains from the bank of Bonasila by Mr. H. W. Krieger, one of the curators of the Department of Anthropology, United States National Museum, follows: ARCHEOLOGY OF CENTRAL ALASKA ANCIENT STONE CULTURE "Until the results of Doctor Hrdlička's Alaskan reconnaissance were first made known to science it had been generally assumed that Alaskan and Canadian subboreal regions were archeologically barren. It had been currently accepted that only as one approached the great river valleys of the Skeena, the Fraser, and the Columbia could anthropological exploration be conducted to advantage. One might expect to uncover cemeteries and ancient village sites only there where a dense and sedentary population had long been established. Through the discovery of ancient village sites and centers of population in the lower and middle Yukon River Valley, Doctor Hrdlička has extended the northern archeological horizon into the sub-Arctic. "Of the many sites examined, the old village site at Bonasila, 18 miles below the confluence of the Anvik and Yukon Rivers, yielded the most interesting data. Crudely flaked implements of trap rock with cutting edges showing evidence of chipping and grinding were uncovered. These implements are unique among Alaskan artifacts and have no relationship with known types of Eskimo or Indian stonework. In the shaping technic employed by their aboriginal makers; in form, and in type; and, generally, in their undeveloped character, the stone artifacts from Bonasila and other ancient archeological sites on the middle Yukon may be classified as primitive neolithic. "The stone implements uncovered at Bonasila are so crudely fashioned and are apparently of such an improvised nature as to suggest an extreme conservatism in culture development, or perhaps a degeneration, due largely to lack of better materials. Due to the lack of basalt, jadeite, or other hard stone in the valley of the lower middle Yukon, recourse was had to sandstone and trap rock by the primitive makers of stone axes and celts.