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Archaeologists surprised by ancient find at unlikely spot
Helena Independent Record ^ | December 22, 2007 | Lorna Thackeray, Billings Gazette

Posted on 12/29/2007 8:42:03 PM PST by SunkenCiv

The sample that dated to most recent times - charcoal picked from a hearth uncovered 6 to 10 inches below the grassy surface - was determined to be 1,050 years old. The oldest, a bison foot bone found near stone artifacts, was dated at 5,300 years old. About 18 inches below the 5,300-year level, archaeologists working for Aaberg's company, Aaberg Cultural Resource Consulting Service, found a single piece of charcoal. Aaberg isn't sure what to make of it but believes it could be 7,000 to 8,000 years old. Also found at that level was a fragment of a long, narrow projectile point characteristic of that ancient period. (In later periods, spear points took on a more triangular shape.) ...Crews worked clearing 10 centimeters of soil, or about 4 inches, at a time at likely spots within the perimeter of the site... They found cutting tools, stone knives, broken projectile points, animal bone and "pebble cores," the characteristically scarred rock left over after flakes were chipped off to make tools... the hearth that proved to be 1,050 years old... About 4 feet below the first pit, archaeologists digging a trench with a backhoe found a second hearth of almost identical construction. The second hearth was dated to 2,600 years ago... The occupation site contemporary with the Metra kill site points was at the 2,600-year level - approximately 600 B.C.E... During the survey, archaeologists collected hundreds of stone flakes, most of them less than a quarter-inch long. Flakes constituted about 95 percent of the artifact total... A geo-archaeologist working with Aaberg estimated that the 11-foot-deep sediments on the site could be as old as 43,000 years.

(Excerpt) Read more at helenair.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs
I found this a little dull -- 5300 year old campsite.
Photo by James Woodcock Billings Gazette - Archaeologist Steve Aaberg talks about the precontact findings he has dated to 5,600 years old along Alkali Creek Road.
Archaeologists surprised by ancient find at unlikely spot E

1 posted on 12/29/2007 8:42:05 PM PST by SunkenCiv
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To: blam; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 24Karet; 3AngelaD; 49th; ...

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Gods
Graves
Glyphs
Hey, blam, geoarchaeologist sez 43K years old layer. :')

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are Blam, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

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2 posted on 12/29/2007 8:43:05 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/____________________Profile updated Sunday, December 23, 2007)
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To: SunkenCiv
Dull? That’s the most excitement Helena has had since, well, 5300 years ago...
3 posted on 12/29/2007 8:45:37 PM PST by null and void (Don't taunt the tiger...)
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To: SunkenCiv

"I JUST HAD A WHOLE POT OF COFFEE."

4 posted on 12/29/2007 8:53:18 PM PST by SIDENET (Hubba Hubba...)
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To: null and void

I’ve been looking for news from Elbonia, but this is the best I could do.


5 posted on 12/29/2007 8:54:21 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/____________________Profile updated Sunday, December 23, 2007)
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To: SunkenCiv

Pretty close. Needs more mud, turbans, and smarter citizens...


6 posted on 12/29/2007 8:55:50 PM PST by null and void (Don't taunt the tiger...)
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To: SunkenCiv
I found the article fascinating, especially that they actually discovered (dis-covered = un-covered?) 11 feet of diggable (!!) soil anywhere in thet thar area.


7 posted on 12/29/2007 9:59:22 PM PST by ApplegateRanch (If God didn't want a Liberal/RINO hanging from every tree, He wouldn't have created so much rope!)
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To: ApplegateRanch

BUMP!


8 posted on 12/29/2007 11:31:14 PM PST by Publius6961 (MSM: Israelis are killed by rockets; Lebanese are killed by Israelis.)
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To: null and void

Ha! That’s what they all thought. Just wait until they discover Helena’s secret diaries — the old girl just personified excitement!
But that’s for the tabloids to exploit....


9 posted on 12/29/2007 11:59:27 PM PST by ValerieTexas
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To: ValerieTexas
Wellll, there was that time a predatory lender did get back ‘every dime’ from a person he ruined financially.

‘Every dime’ delivered by shotgun...

10 posted on 12/30/2007 7:17:35 AM PST by null and void (Don't taunt the tiger...)
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To: SunkenCiv; Coyoteman; Fred Nerks
"It's harder to say what life would have been like 7,000 to 8,000 years ago, when the earliest evidence of human occupation was deposited near Alkali Creek. A severe, extended drought that stretched from 8,200 years ago to 5,500 years ago, called the Altithermal, had probably culled the human and animal population in the American West. But it's possible that the deep springs that feed Alkali Creek could have been flowing when others failed, providing a water source for game and a few hardy people who continued to hunt on the Northern Plains."

When I was in the LA area for Christmas, I went to the La Brea Tar Pits. They were nice and had lots of skeletons but, I think I must have already known too much about them to get too excited. I did learn that the Sabre Toothed Tiger continuously replaced the large teeth that are so visible.

This, La Brea Woman , was a suprise too. I didn't know about her.

11 posted on 12/30/2007 8:01:03 AM PST by blam (Secure the border and enforce the law)
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To: blam
The tar pits are exciting simply because they exist.
Having been there forever makes them the best source of complete and near complete skeletons, in very good condition, in existence.

Remember that they've been studied now for nearly a century and the presentation can be updated but remains an early 20th century construct.

if you visited the Museum of Natural History the same applies - I like to visit it just for the 'old timey' atmosphere.

As to la Brea Woman - I'm hard pressed to imagine Chumash Indians being here as early as they've indicated.

There is another museum way out in Lancaster that was originally a retreat for a '30s college professor and the displays there are his making. They are basically a cross between fantasy and academic Victorianism....cute if you feel like a 100 mile drive into the desert.

(You can watch some nifty flying stuff out of Edwards while trying to figure out the insane street layout)

12 posted on 12/30/2007 8:52:01 AM PST by norton (deep down inside you know that Fred is your second choice)
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To: norton
Oops!

I omitted the entire point of my post...

This Montana find can be built up on today's standards and using modern displays, communications, and architecture...it should be something to look forward to.

It'd be real interesting to see if they come up with skulls that aren't immediately deemed to be related to the indians camped out there in the 19th cenury. (Ala La Brea Woman)

13 posted on 12/30/2007 8:57:35 AM PST by norton (deep down inside you know that Fred is your second choice)
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To: ApplegateRanch

You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, and while you can’t pick your friend’s nose, you can pick the right pick to go digging... ;’) Y’know, in Montana...

The Alkali river was named for the prehistoric Islamic terrorist group, the al-Qaeli.

Or maybe I’m remembering that wrong...


14 posted on 12/30/2007 9:11:52 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/____________________Profile updated Sunday, December 23, 2007)
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To: blam

FR — where everything comes together...

Why the skeleton found in the La Brea Tar Pits feels so familiar [ La Brea Woman ]
L.A. Times | August 20, 2006 | Amy Wilentz
Posted on 08/27/2007 2:31:04 PM EDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1887289/posts

Sabre-Toothed Tiger Was A Pussycat
The Telegraph (UK) | 10-2-2007 | Roger Highfield
Posted on 10/01/2007 9:57:03 PM EDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1905166/posts

Ancient footprints found on Welsh beach
IC Wales | Februrary 2, 2007 | Sally Williams, Western Mail
Posted on 02/12/2007 9:51:27 AM EST by aculeus
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1783353/posts


15 posted on 12/30/2007 9:15:13 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/____________________Profile updated Sunday, December 23, 2007)
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Clare Places: Islands: Mutton Island or Enniskerry
(9th century catastrophe in Ireland)
Clare County Library | prior to November 19, 2005 | staff writer
Posted on 11/18/2005 2:58:58 PM EST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1524751/posts


16 posted on 12/30/2007 9:47:30 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/____________________Profile updated Sunday, December 23, 2007)
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