“Archaeologists Unearth a 1,500-Year-Old Moccasin Frozen in Ice — and What They Found Inside Left Them Stunned ❄️🥿”

In the late summer of 2025, a team of archaeologists from the Yukon Ice Patch Research Project made a stunning discovery in the remote alpine region of the southern Yukon, Canada.

While surveying a rapidly retreating ice patch high above treeline near the Gladstone Ridge (elevation approximately 1,950 metres) on 17 August, a junior researcher, Emma Chou, spotted what appeared to be a leather strap protruding from the melting ice.

“At first I thought it was an old piece of hiking gear,” she recalled.

“But when we cleared the ice around it, we realized it was a moccasin, perfectly preserved.”

Lead archaeologist Dr. Gregory Hare announced the discovery at a press briefing in Whitehorse on 25 August: “We estimated the moccasin to be roughly 1,400 to 1,600 years old and still retains stitching, soft hide, and even faint traces of wear on the sole.

” According to radiocarbon dating conducted at the University of Alberta, the moccasin’s leather dates to approximately AD 450 ± 50 years.

This places its use in the late sub‑Arctic period of First Nations history when seasonal high‑altitude caribou hunting dominated.

The location of the find is key: the ice patch sits in traditional territory of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation and the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, who had long passed down oral traditions of old hunting trails in the high mountains.

When asked about the find, Elder Mary Ned of the Carcross/Tagish recalled, “Our ancestors went up those mountains every summer for the caribou.

The ice held their footsteps longer than memory.”

Dr. Hare’s team uncovered more than just the moccasin.

Under careful excavation, they revealed that the moccasin was lying next to a wooden walking staff, a thin fur‑lined belt with metal buckles of a type not seen in the region before AD 1000, and a small pouch containing dried berries and an arrow‑point tip made of antler.

“The organic preservation is exceptional,” Hare said.

“Because it was encased in ice, the hide and sinew are intact—unlike anything we usually recover in this terrain.”

In a video log recorded on site, Chou described the moment they exposed the moccasin:

“I gently brushed away the ice… and saw the toe crease, the sole, the faint remnants of lacing.

It felt like the person had just stepped out of it and left the mountain.”

Conservation specialists were immediately called in.

The Yukon Museum of Natural History arranged for the moccasin to be transported to a climate‑controlled facility in Whitehorse.

Leather conservator Dr.Linda Morrison noted: “The hide is remarkably pliable.

We could see wear marks, small repair patches in the stitching, and evidence of foot shape—this was everyday footwear, not ceremonial.”

The implications of the discovery surprised the archaeological community.

For decades, ice‑patch archaeology in the Yukon had primarily unearthed projectile points, dart shafts, and hunting tools — not items of everyday clothing.

The moccasin therefore offers a rare glimpse into daily life: who moved through these alpine landscapes, and how they equipped themselves.

Dr. Hare commented: “It tells us these high‑altitude corridors weren’t just hunting grounds, they were lived‑in pathways, used season after season.”

What made the archaeologists pale, however, was what the moccasin revealed: embedded in the heel seam of the footwear was a tiny piece of shredded red ochre pigment and three small stains of what appears to be blood residue, preserved thanks to the freezing environment.

Preliminary protein testing by the Canadian Conservation Institute indicates the residue is human.

“That suggests the wearer may have been wounded or returned from an injury and still made the climb,” Morrison said.

The presence of the pigment also suggests symbolic decoration—possibly a mark of identity or ritual.

Dr.Hare explained the significance: “We often talk about hunting routes and technologic tools.

But here we have a personal item, showing resilience, movement, injury, ritual—all frozen in time.

Suddenly the ice patch isn’t just a place of discard, it’s a corridor of human experience.”

The discovery has drawn attention to the accelerated melting of alpine ice in the Yukon due to climate change.

According to the Yukon Ice Patch Research Project data, many of these ice‑patch sites are now exposed and vulnerable to deterioration.

As the ice thaws, preserved organic items degrade rapidly.

“We are in a race against time,” said Chou.

“The moccasin might never have emerged if the ice hadn’t started retreating now — but countless other items may be lost before we ever find them.”

In collaboration with the Carcross/Tagish and Kwanlin Dün First Nations, the research team plans to conduct systematic surveys of surrounding ice patches this upcoming winter, using drones, ground‑penetrating radar, and first‑nation trackers.

Elder Mary Ned emphasised the cultural importance: “These mountains hold our story.

Every footprint, every boot, every moccasin is a link.

The ice gives it back before we lose it.”

What began as a simple leather shoe has now become a symbol of ancient human courage and connection to the alpine world.

The 1,500‑year‑old moccasin is more than a relic—it is a story of a person who climbed, hunted, walked high above the valley in summer, perhaps wounded, wearing footwear that survived millennia in ice.

And its preservation offers a dramatic reminder: as the ice melts, our past is slipping away too.

In the words of Dr.Hare: “The moccasin stopped time for a moment—and through it we glimpse that someone walked these peaks long ago, left their footprint, and now tells us their story.”