Archaeologists Found a 14,000-Year-Old Settlement in Canada — It Was There During the Last Ice Age

Ancient Canada reveals a 14,000-year-old settlement on Triquet Island, British Columbia, where archaeologists found evidence of human life during the Last Ice Age. Hearths, charcoal, stone tools, fish hooks, and obsidian suggest people were living on Canada’s Pacific coast while much of the country was still buried under ice. The discovery was made on a small island off the central coast of British Columbia, in an area connected to long-held Heiltsuk oral history saying this stretch of coast stayed open during the ice age and helped people survive there. When archaeologists dug into the wet forest soil, they found repeated hearth use in the same spot, and radiocarbon dating placed the site at around 14,000 years old. Alongside the hearths were tools that painted a much bigger picture: obsidian flakes, fish hooks, a hand drill, and a spear-thrower device. This was not just a single campfire or a stranded group trying to survive for a few days. It was evidence of people who knew the coast, returned to the site, and were equipped to live there. The find matters far beyond one island. It supports the idea that some of the first people in the Americas may have moved south along the Pacific coast instead of waiting for an inland ice-free corridor to open. Because most ancient coastlines were drowned as sea levels rose after the last ice age, discoveries like Triquet Island are incredibly rare. In this video, we explore how this ancient Canadian site survived, what archaeologists actually found there, why it matters for the story of the first people in North America, and how Heiltsuk knowledge helped point researchers to one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Canada. #AncientCanada #CanadaHistory #Archaeology #LastIceAge #PrehistoricCanada