Nunalleq: The Old Village Brings Yup'ik Community-Led Archaeology from Quinhagak to the Anchorage Museum

New Anchorage Museum installation shares what archaeology at Nunalleq reveals about Yup’ik life, cultural continuity and care for cultural heritage amid changes along the Bering Sea coast.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — On the Bering Sea coast near Quinhagak lies Nunalleq, or “Old Village,” the remains of a 16th-century Yup’ik settlement that predates the first European contact in Alaska. For centuries, frozen ground helped preserve the site and the belongings left there. Today, thawing permafrost and increasingly severe coastal storms are eroding the shoreline, putting this cultural heritage at risk.

Opening Oct. 2 at the Anchorage Museum, Nunalleq: The Old Village introduces visitors to the archaeological site and the community-led work to care for the cultural heritage preserved there. The installation is on view through April 4, 2027, on the First Floor, East Wing Education Hallway and the Second Floor, West Wing.

In 2009, the community of Quinhagak took action as erosion threatened the site and invited archaeologists to help preserve its cultural heritage. The resulting Nunalleq Archaeology Project has recovered more than 200,000 artifacts, including tools, dolls, masks, clothing, hunting gear, and other everyday objects, highlighting the scale of what has been saved and the insight they provide into Yup’ik life centuries ago.

“The Nunalleq exhibit was only made possible because our community and partners keep showing up — finding, protecting, and allowing us to share our history. We are so fortunate for this team of dedicated experts and volunteers who have shown up year after year to make this possible,” said Elizabeth Church, director of Quinhagak Heritage Inc. “Every day, we are reminded that the ground we walk today is the same ground walked by our people 500 years ago. The ancient remains of this Yupik community were tucked beneath layers of frozen ground and ice for so long. Because of the shift in the climate, the land has opened and offered up stories through these artifacts, allowing a deeper understanding of how our people lived centuries ago. The Nunalleq project reminds us that our people and culture were always here. They still speak to us and have always been a part of us and our way of being.”

The conditions at Nunalleq preserved materials that rarely survive at archaeological sites. Excavations uncovered a large, multi-room timber-and-turf dwelling, along with wooden tools, carved figures, plant fibers, hair and traces of meals and daily work. Together, these materials provide a detailed view of life at Nunalleq and the knowledge and skills of the people who lived there.

Community-led effort to preserve history

The Quinhagak community has shaped the project from the beginning. Elders have shared knowledge and helped identify belongings recovered from the site, while youth have visited the excavation and participated in work including washing, sorting and screening. Local artists and craftspeople have also studied objects from Nunalleq, connecting ancestral designs and techniques to creative work today and extending the project’s impact into the present.

“Our role at the Anchorage Museum is to help create a space where visitors can encounter the work happening at Nunalleq, while keeping the Quinhagak community at the center,” said Anchorage Museum Deputy Director of Collections and Conservation Monica Shah. “The entire project has been designed in a collaborative model, which for me has meant supporting preservation efforts and thinking carefully about how we present these belongings and the knowledge connected to them. I hope the installation encourages visitors to see archaeology as something connected to living people, not just simply something from the past.” 

In 2018, the Nunalleq Museum opened in Quinhagak, giving the collection a permanent home close to the community and place it came from. The museum also includes facilities for caring for archaeological material locally, supporting continued access, stewardship and a lasting outcome for the descendant community.

At the Anchorage Museum, Nunalleq: The Old Village introduces this ongoing work through objects, photographs, and interpretation. The installation presents archaeology not only as a way of learning about the past, but as work connected to living knowledge, relationships across generations and decisions about how cultural heritage is cared for in the present.

"Nunalleq: The Old Village" is made possible with support from Mellon Foundation.