13,500-Year-Old Tool-Making Site Uncovered in Idaho Forest

1/2. More than 13,000 years of use at Kelly Forks are revealed in the array of stone points found there, including a Goshen point from the Northern Plains (second from left) and the oldest from the Western Stemmed Tradition (third from left) (Photo courtesy Laura Longstaff)

On a remote forest riverbank in northern Idaho, archaeologists have uncovered evidence of human occupation going back more than 13,500 years, adding to the signs of an increasingly ancient human presence in the Northwest, and fueling the debate about how the region’s earliest settlers got there.

The oldest evidence, found in test pits dug along the North Fork of the Clearwater River, includes a blade-like tool fashioned from a rock cobble and dozens of flakes left over from the tool-making process, known as debitage.

The artifacts were found in a layer of soil with charcoal that was radiocarbon dated to 13,740 to 13,490 calendar years ago. [...] westerndigs.org/


Related news: North Idaho dig searches for artifacts from some of the continent's earliest humans
Excavations at Coopers Ferry and Kelly Creek could be pivotal to understanding the first people on the continent

August 18, 2012. Archaeological digs along the lower Salmon and North Fork Clearwater rivers are helping to revolutionize what scientists know about the history of the Pacific Northwest.Recently published discoveries at Paisley Caves in south-central Oregon knocked holes into a long-held theory about the peopling of the New World. An excavation at Coopers Ferry, near Cottonwood along the lower Salmon River, and another dig near the confluence of Kelly Creek with the North Fork Clearwater River, might bolster a competing theory on who the first Americans were, and teach us about the way they lived.In 1997, Oregon State University archaeologist Loren Davis discovered a cache of stone tools at Coopers Ferry that, according to radio carbon dating, are more than 13,000 years old.

This summer and in future years, he and his students are expanding the site, which was probably a seasonal village, and looking for more artifacts. As they slowly work their way down through time and layers of earth, they hope to confirm that the site holds clues that are among the oldest evidence of humans on the continent.Items in the cache included projectile points, tools for making stone points and raw materials for making the tools... Read more


Actualización 12-05-14: Encuentran área de producción lítica de hace 13.500 años en un bosque de Idaho
Los hallazgos sugieren que se trata de un lugar utilizado durante largo tiempo para la producción de herramientas y el despiece de la caza por parte de grupos de cazadores-recolectores.

En una remota ribera boscosa al norte de Idaho, los arqueólogos han descubierto evidencias de ocupación humana que se remontan más de 13.500 años desde el presente, lo que se añade a los indicios de presencia humana cada vez más antiguos en el noroeste americano, avivando el debate acerca de cómo llegaron allí los primeros pobladores...