Palaeo-Arctic Tradition

Palaeo-Arctic Tradition (Paleo-Arctic Tradition) [CP].
General term covering a heterogeneous collection of communities living in the Arctic region of North America and Siberia from c.8000 to 5000 BC. Recognized by distinctive microlithic blade-based assemblages of chipped stone tools, wedge-shaped cores, bifacial knives, scrapers, and occasional fluted projectile points.

The subsistence base was mainly hunting and gathering: the main resources exploited included bison, horse, elk, and caribou. Many Palaeo-Arctic sites will have been lost to rising sea levels during the Holocene.