viernes, 6 de marzo de 2015

Eastern Oregon dig uncovers ancient stone tool


The Rimrock Draw Rockshelter archaelogical dig outside Riley, Ore., is shown in June 2013. (/)

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Archaeologists have uncovered a stone tool at an ancient rock shelter in the high desert of eastern Oregon that could turn out to be older than any known site of human occupation in western North America.

The find was announced Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which controls the land on which the site was found.

University of Oregon archaeologist Patrick O'Grady, who supervises the dig, says the Rimrock Draw Rockshelter outside Riley has not been fully excavated. But the tool, a hand-held scraper chipped from a piece of orange agate not normally found in eastern Oregon, was found about 8 inches below a layer of volcanic ash from an eruption of Mount St. Helens that has been dated to 15,800 years ago. The depth was about 12 feet below the surface.

This scraper chipped out of agate was found at an ancient rock shelter in the high desert of eastern Oregon. The find was announced Thursday. University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History (/)

Bureau of Land Management archaeologist Scott Thomas said that if the age of the site holds up to scrutiny, it would be the oldest west of the Rockies, and another predating the so-called Clovis culture, once generally believed to be the first people to migrate from Asia into North America. The earliest Clovis artifacts, known for distinctive and elegant stone points, are dated to about 13,000 years ago. [...] hosted2.ap.org / Link 2


Actualización 13-03-15: Documentan industria lítica en Oregón que parece tener 15.800 años de antigüedad
El halazgo ha suscitado cierta polémica entre la comunidad científica
En el abrigo de Rimrock, cercano a Riley, en el estado norteamericano de Oregón, un equipo de arqueólogos de la Universidad de Oregón ha documentado una capa sedimentaria de cenizas que se atribuye a una erupción del volcán Mount St. Helens ocurrida hace más de 15.000 años, y bajo las cenizas han recuperado una pieza de industria lítica que podría cambiar las fechas que se barajan para las primeras poblaciones humanas en la zona...

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