Posted on 01/12/2007 8:34:52 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists have discovered stone tools atop a hill in this northern Minnesota town that may be 13,000 to 14,000 years old, according to a published report... Britta Bloomberg, Minnesota's deputy historic preservation officer, said it may be among the oldest known archaeological sites in North and South America. A half-dozen archaeologists, soil scientists and others who have examined the site all said the artifacts are genuine, she said... Mattson said the objects were found underneath a band of rock and gravel that appeared to have been deposited by melting glaciers and then covered by windblown sediment, Mather said... [T]he site appears to be "much older" than the Clovis era of finely made spear points that defines the paleo-Indian period. The find is "startling enough that appropriate response from every archaeologist and glacial geologist is skepticism." But, he added, a half-dozen archaeologists, soil scientists and others who have examined the site all say the artifacts are genuine.
(Excerpt) Read more at wcco.com ...
I know it takes someone using a walker a long time to cross the street, but that pace is glacial!
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I cane see what you mean.
Musta been one of these, with the handy carrying basket....
Must have been before the wheel...
Retracing the footprints of timeDirect radiocarbon dating of the Calgary site is not possible because the ancient artifacts were not found in conjunction with organic matter, such as bones or decayed plant matter, which is necessary for such testing. Absent such verification, Prof. Young dismisses the find. For one thing, he says, the artifacts are so simple they could merely be naturally-occurring rocks; he says that most informed scientists are doubtful they are tools. And even if they are tools, he adds that there is no way to be sure that they were originally situated where they were found under the gravel, since the site has served as an exposed gravel pit for the last 100 years. Comments Prof. Young: "Any dude could have put that rock there."
by Steve Sandford
September 9, 1996
web archive version
Not to bust their bubble, BUT their is a recently posted site here on FR that is in SC that has been dated at 50,000 years old.
Last time I checked 50,000 years ago is longer ago than 15,000 years ago.
"Their warranty is till intact!!!"
So, these people were living under the glacier(s)? They were there before the glacier(s) formed? I don't get it.
(AP) Walker, Minn. Archaeologists have discovered stone tools atop a hill in this northern Minnesota town that may be 13,000 to 14,000 years old, according to a published report.
From the rough stone tools, archaeologists are speculating that "we're looking at certainly the relatively earliest occupants of the North American continent," biologist and archaeologist Matt Mattson said in a Star Tribune of Minneapolis report Thursday night. He worked on the project for the Leech Lake Heritage Sites Program, which is based near Cass Lake.
Britta Bloomberg, Minnesota's deputy historic preservation officer, said it may be among the oldest known archaeological sites in North and South America. A half-dozen archaeologists, soil scientists and others who have examined the site all said the artifacts are genuine, she said.
The stone tools were found while archaeologists were investigating the path of a road where the city is planning to expand for a community center, housing and businesses.
Archaeologists found 50 or more objects while digging through an area of about 50 square yards. The artifacts ranged from large hammer stones to small hand-held scrapers.
Mattson said the objects were found underneath a band of rock and gravel that appeared to have been deposited by melting glaciers and then covered by windblown sediment, Mather said.
David Mather, state archaeologist for the National Register of Historic Places, said the find "is something off our radar. We didn't think it was even possible in Minnesota."
"(This) could be a real watershed for understanding Minnesota's history," he said.
Mather said the site appears to be "much older" than the Clovis era of finely made spear points that defines the paleo-Indian period.
The find is "startling enough that appropriate response from every archaeologist and glacial geologist is skepticism." But, he added, a half-dozen archaeologists, soil scientists and others who have examined the site all say the artifacts are genuine.
Human remains, wood or textiles, if there were any, would have dissolved long ago in the acidic soil. The oldest human remains found in Minnesota belonged to the Browns Valley Man, who lived about 9,000 years ago. His remains were discovered in 1933 in a gravel pit near the town of Browns Valley in western Minnesota.
Walker is about 190 miles northwest of the Twin Cities.
My dad can beat up your dad too.
Ping.
Note where the glacial ice sheet was thought to have been during that time period with pictures of the stone tools also.
A little old lady needed the walker to find some tools to fix her wheelcahir!
Good link, thanks.
Thanks for the ping.
It would be interesting if this find holds up, both in terms of the early date and the tools.
I think I'll wait for a journal article or two to make up my mind on this one.
"The remains were loaned to the University of Minnesota for a time and then were hidden in the basement of the man who found them, where they stayed from 1950 until 1987 until being discovered by a family member. They were then stored at Hamline University before being reburied."
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