Uploaded May 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Explore the end of the last Ice Age with archaeologist Dr. Daron Duke.
12,000 years ago, the most desolate place in the United States--the Great Salt Lake Desert--was quite the contrary. Vast wetlands drew Utah's first inhabitants, gave refuge to its last Ice Age megafauna, and anchored a key waterfowl flyway. From the largest spear points on the continent to the earliest evidence for tobacco use, archaeologists can now highlight the unique contribution of this place to the story of human settlement of the Americas.
Daron Duke is a Principal at Far Western Anthropological Research Group and has worked in the Great Basin for 25 years. He specializes in early-period archaeology, precontact land use, and stone tool economy. He received a Ph.D. in Anthropology in 2011 from the University of Nevada, Reno.
This forum is intended to allow space for multiple perspectives. The opinions voiced in this program should not be assumed to reflect the views of Utah’s administration.
Explore the end of the last Ice Age with archaeologist Dr. Daron Duke.
12,000 years ago, the most desolate place in the United States--the Great Salt Lake Desert--was quite the contrary. Vast wetlands drew Utah's first inhabitants, gave refuge to its last Ice Age megafauna, and anchored a key waterfowl flyway. From the largest spear points on the continent to the earliest evidence for tobacco use, archaeologists can now highlight the unique contribution of this place to the story of human settlement of the Americas.
Daron Duke is a Principal at Far Western Anthropological Research Group and has worked in the Great Basin for 25 years. He specializes in early-period archaeology, precontact land use, and stone tool economy. He received a Ph.D. in Anthropology in 2011 from the University of Nevada, Reno.
This forum is intended to allow space for multiple perspectives. The opinions voiced in this program should not be assumed to reflect the views of Utah’s administration.
