Elongated Skulls found in the Aleutian islands!

Who Were the Pre-Aleuts? Uncovering a Lost Race on Alaska's Edge

A massive burial mound from a forgotten race—early migrants from Asia who crossed the Aleutian Islands—has been unearthed, along with the first archaeological dig on Russia's remote Commander Islands, right between Alaska's chain and mainland Asia. This comes from Smithsonian anthropologist Dr. Aleš Hrdlička, fresh off a summer expedition in the Far North.

First Clues on Kodiak, Breakthrough on Umnak

Dr. Hrdlička first spotted signs of these "pre-Aleuts" years ago in the deepest layers of his Kodiak Island digs off Alaska—remains of a people linked to the same broad family as Native Americans, Eskimos, and Aleuts, the original New World pioneers. Scattered hints turned up later in the Aleutians. This summer, he hit the jackpot near the tiny village of Nikolski on Umnak Island (modern-day Aleutian Islands borough, Alaska).

Just south of the village school sat a huge mound—30 feet high, 600 feet long, 200 feet wide—topped by a Russian cross from the site's old church tradition. Quick digs last year pulled out two oblong-skulled skeletons. This time, deeper cuts revealed it wasn't a natural hill but a 20-foot-thick trash heap of human history, mostly pre-Russian. Those signature oblong skulls screamed "pre-Aleut."

A Three-Week Treasure Hunt

Hrdlička and his crew—eager college student volunteers—spent three weeks hauling out full skeletons, bone shards, chunky well-crafted stone pots, razor-sharp black basalt blades, bone harpoon tips, and rare ivory tools. All shipped to D.C. for deep analysis to reconstruct these ghosts' daily grind.

Commander Islands: Migration Dead End

The team wrapped with five days on the Commander Islands (Bering Sea, Russian Federation—Komandorskiye Ostrova today), testing if they were a key hop from Kamchatka to Alaska. Old village spots? All post-Russian. No ancient traces. Huge clue: if early folks crossed via Aleutians, it wasn't through here—likely via Japan's Kuril chain or north of Kamchatka. It even questions Kamchatka as the ultimate Indian homeland; migrants would've hit the obvious Commanders and left junk behind.

End of a Decade Hunt

This caps 10 years chasing prehistoric trails into America. Mountains of bones and gear await lab time—but the pre-Aleuts? A vanished link in our saga, their oblong heads and island mounds whispering of Asia's first bold steps west. Who were they really? Stay tuned.

https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1938-10-01/ed-1/?sp=10&q=Vanished+race&r=0.357,0.509,0.267,0.174,0