Birnirk Site, Archaeological site near Utqiagvik, United States

The Birnirk site, known in Iñupiaq as Piġniq, is an archaeological site at the base of the Point Barrow peninsula near Utqiagvik, Alaska. It consists of sixteen mounds that mark dwelling sites occupied across a wide span of time. Pebble beaches separate the site from the Chukchi Sea and Elson Lagoon.

The site is the type site of the Birnirk culture, occupied mainly between 500 and 900 CE, with one mound also showing later Thule culture use from about 1100 to 1400 CE. Major excavations took place in 1936, in 1951–53 when three mounds were dug, and in 1959 when seven were partly excavated. Finds include antler and stone harpoon heads, one from the older Punuk culture, and wood fragments of seal-hunting umiaks. The 1950s collections were long held at Harvard's Peabody Museum and moved to the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks in 2011.

The Iñupiaq name Piġniq means "joint" or "articulation", describing the camp's position at the base of the Point Barrow peninsula, between the Chukchi Sea and Elson Lagoon. The site sits on a line running from Nuvuk at the peninsula's tip to Utqiaġvik. Excavations also revealed individual graves, whose placement among the dwellings archaeologists still debate.

The site lies on the North Slope near Utqiagvik, at the base of the Point Barrow peninsula, between the Chukchi Sea and Elson Lagoon, with pebble beaches separating it from the water. The land has belonged to the Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation since 1988, so access is controlled; check with the corporation or local authorities before planning a visit.

The name Piġniq means "joint" or "articulation" in Iñupiaq, describing the camp's position at the base of the Point Barrow peninsula, between the Chukchi Sea and Elson Lagoon. Finds include harpoon heads of antler and stone, one of them from the older Punuk culture, and wood fragments of seal-hunting umiaks.