Meadowcroft Rockshelter, located in Avella, Washington County, Pennsylvania, is a world-renowned archaeological site and a National Historic Landmark. The site, which was once a farm owned by Albert Miller’s family, features a massive, 16,000-year-old rock overhang used by prehistoric hunters and gatherers. The site was discovered in 1955 by Miller, who discovered the existence of a deep hole containing some of the earliest and deepest excavated cultural layers within the cliff.
The site is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Treasure, and an official project of Save America. The site was a place for teenagers to hang out around a campfire, but it was transformed into a unique site for prehistoric hunters and gatherers. The site was recognized as a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Treasure in 1987 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005.
The archaeological finds at Meadowcroft Rockshelter have played a significant role in understanding human migration to the new world. The site has undergone significant improvements and progress, and it is an interesting archeological site that has been visited by Native Americans for thousands of years.
Who discovered the Clovis site?
In 1929, Ridgely Whiteman discovered the Clovis site near the Blackwater Draw in eastern New Mexico. The best documented evidence of the Clovis complex was collected and excavated between 1932 and 1937 near Clovis, New Mexico, by a crew under the direction of Edgar Billings Howard until 1935 and later by John L. Cotter from the Academy of Natural Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Howard’s crew left Burnet Cave, the first professionally excavated Clovis site, in August 1932, and visited Whiteman and his Blackwater Draw site.
By November, Howard was back at Blackwater Draw to investigate additional finds from a construction project. The American Journal of Archaeology mentions Howard’s work in Burnet Cave, including the discovery of extinct fauna and a “Folsom type” point 4 ft below a Basketmaker burial. The Dent site in Colorado was the first known association of Clovis points with mammoth bones. Gary Haynes suggested the type of fluted point associated with megafauna at over a dozen other archaeological sites in North America would have been more appropriately named “Dent” rather than Clovis, the town near Blackwater Draw that gave the type of point its name.
What is one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites?
The top 10 archaeological sites in the world include the Egyptian Pyramids, Easter Island, Petra, Stonehenge, Chichén Itzá, Angkor Wat, Teotihuacán, and Pompeii. These sites offer physical connections to mysterious bygone eras and tell stories of long-gone civilizations. From colossal stone monuments to enigmatic statues and buried cities, each site possesses its own allure. This blog explores these sites and hopes to inspire travelers. Before embarking on your own travels, check out Far Horizons’ Calendar of Trips for 2023 and 2024.
Why is the danger cave archaeological site in utah important to understanding the early peoples wandering North America?
Danger Cave, located about 4, 325 feet above sea level in Wendover, Utah, was first explored by archaeologists in the 1930s and more extensively in the 1950s under Jennings’s University of Utah team. The site’s fill materials, including dust, dirt, and weeds, were the remains of human habitation and geological transformations. The dryness of the cave was ideal for dwelling and preserving organic debris. The chief vegetable foods for the inhabitants were seeds and rhizomes, and game was available and hunted using an impressive array of tools.
The site has yielded the largest number of archaeologically significant artifacts in Utah, with the oldest recovered specimens being 10, 000 years old. These artifacts show incredible site specificity and strategic exploitation of the desert’s resources. The seasonal cave dwellers were expert textile makers and basket weavers, with fourteen different basketry techniques discovered.
The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Today, the Danger Cave State Historic Monument is one of the forty-five state parks in Utah, protected and monitored by the State Park Services. The landmark is open to the public only with a designated guide and features metal gates to reduce vandalism.
Who was one of the first archaeologists known to excavate a Native American site?
Thomas Jefferson, the first American archaeologist, conducted excavations at a small prehistoric burial mound near Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1784. Jefferson believed the mounds were repositories of the dead, but the exact construction was a matter of doubt. The 19th century saw a growing fascination with America’s prehistoric past, as settlers encountered spectacular earthworks of varied forms. Few of these pioneers were willing to attribute these structures to Native Americans, as the tribes they were familiar with, particularly in the Northeast, were not known to build earthen mounds.
Many Native American people were in social disarray, reeling from years of warfare and reduced by disease and poverty. As a result, there was speculation regarding the identities of the “Mound Builders”, with Phoenicians, Israelites, Vikings, Irish Monks, Toltecs from Mexico, and even conquistador Hernando De Soto being all put forward as possibilities. Historian Roger Kennedy notes that Jefferson, Gallatin, and Washington assumed that the people they found in the Ohio Valley had been preceded by other Indians who had known more populous circumstances. Montroville Wilson Dickeson was another researcher willing to attribute these monumental earthworks to indigenous peoples.
Who discovered the Meadowcroft Rockshelter?
Meadowcroft Rockshelter, the oldest site of human habitation in North America, was discovered by a Washington County, Pennsylvania farmer six decades ago. Albert Miller discovered a prehistoric tool near a groundhog hole on his family’s farm in 1955. Miller sought professional archeologists to assess the site’s historical significance. In 1973, Dr. James Adovasio, an anthropology professor at the University of Pittsburgh, visited the farm and discovered a prehistoric flint knife.
Dr. Adovasio assembled a team of archaeology, anthropology, and geology students to study the area. The excavation of the site yielded nearly two million artifacts and ecofacts, including ancient stone tools, pottery fragments, and evidence of ice-age fire pits. Further testing of the artifacts revealed that the rock ledge overhang, formed by Cross Creek waters, served as a campsite for prehistoric hunters and gatherers 19, 000 years ago.
Why is the Meadowcroft Rockshelter important?
Meadowcroft Rockshelter, located in North America, has been the site of radiocarbon dating dating back to 16, 000 years ago (14, 000 BCE) and possibly as early as 19, 000 years ago (17, 000 BCE). However, these dates are still controversial due to concerns about contamination by ancient carbon from coal-bearing strata in the watershed. A 2013 survey by the Society for American Archaeology supported the early radiocarbon dates, while 20 rejected them.
Tests performed via accelerator mass spectrometry also support the earlier dates. Proponents of the notion of contamination argue that the alkali-soluble humates in charcoal samples from the site are older than the charcoal in the samples. If authentic, these dates would indicate Meadowcroft was used in the pre-Clavis era, providing evidence for early human habitation in the Americas. The site contains Paleoindian, Archaic, and Woodland remains, and an unusual type of arrowhead, the Miller Lanceolate projectile point, has been found. The Miller complex consists of thin bifaces, small prismatic blades, retouched flake tools and blades, and debitage related to late-stage core and biface reduction and tool kit maintenance.
Were there humans before Clovis?
Archaeological research suggests that people existed on the coast before the Clovis horizon, indicating they adapted the Clovis technology of spearpoints. Tom Dillehay, chair of the anthropology department at Vanderbilt University, suggests that the Clovis-first model should be abandoned and new research questions should be asked about the timing of the existing population, migrations, and movements in North versus South America.
What is the oldest archeological site in the world?
Göbekli Tepe is a Neolithic archaeological site in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, founded around 9500 BCE (11450 BP). The settlement was inhabited from around 9500 BCE to at least 8000 BCE during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. It is famous for its large circular structures with massive stone pillars, among the world’s oldest known megaliths. These pillars are decorated with anthropomorphic details, clothing, and sculptural reliefs of wild animals, providing archaeologists with rare insights into prehistoric religion and iconography.
The 15 m high, 8 ha (20-acre) tell is densely covered with ancient domestic structures, small buildings, quarries, and stone-cut cisterns from the Neolithic period, as well as some traces of activity from later periods.
What is the world’s highest archaeological site?
The Incas performed dramatic ceremonies, including human sacrifices (capacochas), on mountains over 20, 000 feet high. Spanish chroniclers wrote about these offerings, but their accounts were based on second-hand sources. The only direct evidence of capacocha sacrifices comes from archaeological excavations. This study describes the results of research on Mount Llullaillaco, the world’s highest archaeological site, and the types of ruins and artifact assemblages recovered.
Comparing the archaeological evidence with chroniclers’ accounts and findings from other mountaintop sites, common patterns are demonstrated, while previously little known elements contribute to our understanding of key aspects of Inca religion. This study emphasizes the importance of archaeological sites being placed within the broader context of physical and sacred features of the natural landscape.
Where is the earliest known archaeological site in the northeast Meadowcroft Rockshelter which is located in?
Meadowcroft Rockshelter, the oldest site of human habitation in North America, offers visitors a unique perspective into prehistoric hunter-gatherer lives. The National Historic Landmark in Avella, Washington County, Pa., features a massive rock overhang used 19, 000 years ago for shelter by the first people in North America. Visitors can also experience rural life over the past 500 years through interpretive villages, including a 16th century Eastern Woodland Indian Village, an 18th century log cabin and open-sided trading post, and a 19th century village with a church, schoolhouse, and blacksmith shop. The site is ideal for picnics and visitors should plan to spend at least three hours exploring.
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