A LOOK AT SOME OF THE EARLIEST |
David Heath |
|
Source: Friends of Americas past. The
history of early man in North America has come under criticism in light of recent discoveries. Most people will
agree that the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus was not the first to discover the Americas. Recent discoveries
and reexamination of older finds is shedding light on the possibility of multiple migrations into the Americas
during the Pleistocene period or earlier. Study of ancient skeletal remains has indicated that there may have been
migrations from both Asia and Europe predating the last ice age. This article briefly outlines some of these discoveries. Arlington
Springs Woman Discovered in 1959 on Santa Rosa Island, Arlington Springs Woman is estimated to be 10,000-13,000 years old. Santa Rosa Island is one of eight Channel Islands off the southern California coast and is better known for a variety of pigmy Mammoth that once lived there. The remains of Arlington Springs woman have recently been reanalyzed by the latest radiocarbon dating techniques. Radiocarbon dating is conducted by measuring the amount of C-14 (an atomically unstable form of carbon) that is contained in a sample. The result of the testing indicates an approximate age that makes her older than any other known human remains found in North America. She lived at the end of the Pleistocene
(Pleistocene, the time period that spanned from 1.8 million to 11,000 years ago) a time when sea levels
were at least 150 feet lower than today. With lowered sea levels the Northern Channel Islands were joined creating
one island. This woman’s presence on an island at this early date is significant, because it demonstrates that
earliest Paleolndians (PaleoIndian Period, 13000 BP to 7,900 BPJ had water craft necessary for a crossing of the
Santa Barbara Channel. Browns
Valley Man 8,900 years old The
Browns Valley man was discovered on October 9, 1933, in a gravel pit on the Plateau Addition of Browns Valley.
An investigation of the site determined the age of the grave to be between 8,000 and 12,000 years. Testing revealed
that the Browns Valley skeleton was one of the oldest ever found in the United States. Based on examination his
features resemble those of a Greenland Eskimo. His jawbone was much wider than that of the mound builder and exceeds
in width even that of Heidelberg Man (Homo Erectus). Found with the Browns Valley man were artifacts of a transition
period between the Yuma and the Folsom types. The Browns Valley Man was found a few years later than the famous
Minnesota Woman, listed later. Buhl
Woman This 11,000-year-old skeleton of a woman was found in a quarry near the town of Buhl in 1989 and was yielded valuable information about PaleoIndian skeletal morphology and diet. Buhl Woman was one of the best preserved and most thoroughly studied of the known early Americans. Her bones have been measured and photographed, teeth casts made, radio carbon dating and isotopic analysis done, and the geological context of the find recorded; the results appeared in last fall’s issue of American Antiquity. Examination and testing showed that she was between 17 and 21 years of age at the time of her death. Though no DNA analysis was done, the cranial morphology was determined to be similar to that of the American Indians and East Asian populations. Analysis of different carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in bone collagen (bone collagen is produced by removing the calcium content with an acid and reducing the bone to a protein gelatin) suggests that she ate mostly meat and some fish. Wear patterns on her teeth suggests that her food was likely cooked before eaten. Buhl Woman was healthy and cause of her death could not be determined. However, tooth enamel damage and bone development indicated periodic nutritional stress (possibly due to seasonal changes). An obsidian biface, and the eye of a bone needle which revealed
no signs of wear, suggesting that they may have been made specifically as grave offerings. It appears that there
was a deliberate placement of the biface immediate below the skull and would suggest a purposeful interment. Horn
Shelter, 9,600 years old In
1970, a PaleoIndian double burial of an adult and child was discovered at the Horn Shelter, Number 2, in
central Texas. The archaeological site is located along the western bank of the Brazos River between Waco and Lake
Whitney. Two individuals, an adult male and a juvenile, were buried together in a shallow grave and covered with
soil and stone slabs. Under the head of the adult was a variety of grave offerings. Included in the offerings were
seashell beads, turtle carapaces, flint-knapping tools, red ochre, small slabs of sandstone, flint, and perforated
canine teeth. Found with the juvenile was a small-eyed bone needle. Other bones found in and around hearths found
under the shelter indicate a heavy dependence on smaller game, though bison bones have been found in deposits in
front of the shelter. Both skeletons were fairly complete but had suffered from post-mortem damage. At- the time
of his death, the adult male was likely in his mid 30s to early 40s. The juvenile is believed to be a male with
an approximate age of 12 years. The only traumatic injury on either individual was a healed fracture of a bone
metatarsal (foot bone) on the adult male. Hourglass
Cave Man The Hourglass Cave man, while not among the earliest human skeletons from North America
is one of very few from the early Holocene period (The age Of Man, the last 11,000 years). Anthropologists
have defined this as the youngest period for (Paleolndians/Americans). Both nuclear and motrochondrial DNA from
his bones was recovered. Researchers believe that the cold and the consistent environment of the cave enhanced
preservation of his remains. DNA analysis produced no surprises for researchers. They confirm the sex by examining
pelvic bones and features from his DNA linked the Hourglass Cave Man to living Amerind populations, though not
to a specific tribe. Gordon
Creek Woman Discovered
in 1965, the Gordon Creek woman had a relatively small face with a distinctive alveolar prognathism, a trait more
common in today’s European and African people than in Asians.
There are two types of prognathism; alveolar prognathism, which is limited to the tooth region, and facial prognathism
which affects a much larger area of the face, causing it to jut out, thereby increasing the facial area. At this
site, hematite covered bones and associated tools were found. Hematite is blood red in color (in the powdered
form) and lends itself well in use as a pigment. Hematite gets its name from the Greek word Hemos meaning blood-like.
To date, no DNA analysis has been conducted. Little additional information is available on the World Wide Web about
the Gordon Creek Woman. Grimes
Point Woman The
Grimes Point Archaeological site is noted for its rock carvings and petroglyphs. Archaeological excavations unearthed
the remains of a female believed to be 8-10 years of age at the time of her death. Subsequent testing revealed
her remains to be 9,700 years old. A wealth of information on the site and surrounding area can be found, but little
information is available on the World Wide Web about the Grimes Point Woman. Kennewick
Man Kennewick
Man was named after the city where he was discovered. He is 9,300 year old with strong Caucasoid features. He was
found in July of 1996 by two men gathered to watch a hydroplane boat race at Columbia Park, in Kennewick, Washington.
Initial studies of the skull and bone fragments (more than 390 bones and bone fragments were recovered from
a 300-square foot section of the river bottom) showed the remains to be the second oldest ever found in Washington.
The state’s oldest were 10,300 years old and were found near Lyons Ferry along the Snake River. At 5 feet 9 inches,
the skeleton is taller and thinner than most ancient Indian skeletons. A 2-inch-long stone spear point was lodged
in the skeleton’s right hip. It was a stone projectile point used 5,000 to 9000 years ago. Years before his death
this projectile had slammed into his hip, remaining there until his death. Additionally, some years before he died,
this mans chest had been crushed, and he had to cope with a withered arm. Pelican
Rapids Woman (Minnesota Woman) Spirit
Cave Man The
Spirit Cave man burial was discovered in a small cave in 1940. The lower burial was found intact and in an excellent
state of preservation. It was lined with sagebrush, on which the mortuary bundle was deposited, and then covered
with more sagebrush. The upper part of the body was partially mummified: some hair and scalp remained on the head,
and his leather moccasins, rabbit-skin blanket, and burial mats were in good Wizard's Beach Man Wizard's Beach Man was
found in 1978 after a prolonged drought had lowered the level of Pyramid Lake northeast of Reno. The discovery
site is only about 100 miles from Spirit Cave. The related ages and proximity of these two sites indicate a major
Paleoindian presence in the region. An important note, the skulls of these individuals differ considerably from
one another; Wizard Beach Man resembles modern Indians, while Spirit Cave Man most resembles the Ainu (Ama are the indigenous
people of Japan, originally inhabiting northern Japan and Sakhalin). Wilson-Leonard The Wilson-Leonard site
was discovered in 1973 and deemed as having major archaeological significance. At the Wilson-Leonard site in central
Texas studies of a 6-meter-thick sequence of alluvial fan deposits was conducted. Alluvial fans are created over
time by disposition of soil and matter. The well preserved archaeological deposits represent the major cultural
period of the Holocene and terminal Pleistocene periods. Scientists discovered in the deposits a burial. Radiocarbon
dating placed the skeletal remains at 9,000-11,000 years old. Wilson-Leonard deposits were found to be at least
16 feet thick and represented virtually every known interval in local prehistory back to 11,000 years ago. Individually, these archaeological discoveries represent a page in the history of early man in North America, but when examined with one another they begin to write another chapter. However, additional work, archaeological investigations, radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis is still needed before the book of history on early man in America is rewritten. It would appear that PaleoIndian populations of North America were far more complex than originally anticipated. Pushing archaeologists into the next century are unanswered questions about the past. Do PaleoIndian represent a single cultural group? Why is it that the oldest PaleoIndian sites appear in South America and not North America? Were there other people on the continent before the arrival of the PaleoIndian? REFERENCES Ancient Bones May Rewrite History By Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History http://www.sbnature.org/islandbones.htm Ancient Bones Revive Debate on Earliest Americans By Manny Fernandez, Chronicle Staff Writer http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-binlarticle.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/ 1999/04/121MN94808.DLT Who Really were the First Americans? By Edie Lau, Scripps-McClatchy Western Service http://www.tri-cityherald.cont/hones/news/1912g7~~~~ Old Bones - Clues to the Past By Richard L. Hill of the Oregonian Staff oregonlive.com/todaysnews/archives/kenn3 html British TV Interviews UTKAnthropologist Richard Jantz By Zoe lzloyle, UTK Office of Research http://www.ra.ytk.edu/ora/rag/goodnews. 1998/07-22.html Friends of Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory TARL Update May 1998 http//:www.utexas.edu/research/tarl/friends/may98/wifeature.html Wilson-Leonard Site By Micheal B. Collins and Frank A Weir http://www.csha.ntexasednIhandhookionline/article/view/ ww/hbw3.html Early Human Population Along The Balcones Escrapment By Thomas R. Hester http://www.lib.utexas/Libs/GEO/BalconesEscrapmend pages55-62 html The First Americans By Sharon Begley and Andrew Mnrr http://www.ahotechcom/Articles/firstamericans.htm Spirit Cave Mummy http://www.stormfront.org/whitehistory/lswr6.htm Remarkable Discovery Mammoth Trumpet Vol. 2, No. 2, 1997 http://www.peak.org/csfalmcl22.html The Browns Valley Man http://www.sissetonk12sdus/Sis/sambrownrideHTM Who was First? Discovery Channel Online http://www.discovery.com/indep/newsfeatures/ancientimmigrants/huhl html A famous skeleton returns to the earth By Samantha Silva http://www.hcn.org/1993/marO8/dir/lead.html Horn Shelter Number Two Texas State Historical Association http://www.tsha.utexas.eduIhandboolrJonline/articles/viewHH/bbh5.html The Paleolndian Skeletal Material from Horn Shelter By Diane Young http://nantarch.tamu.eduJanWabstracts/young.html Prehistoric Artifacts and Settlement Patterns in Dallas, Native American Presence in Area SMU Anthropology Department http://www.smu.edn/.-anthrop/nativeamerican html 8,000-year-old Cave Explorer Challenges Research Team MAMMOTH TRUMPET VOL 12, NO. 1(1997) http://www.peak.org/csfa/mtl2-I.html Kennewick Man Saga By David Heath http://www.ArtiFAQs.org A Painted Skull from the Cooper Site By Leland C. Bement, Marian Hyman, Michael F. Zolensky, and Brian J. Carter http://www.peak.org/csfalcrpl4oa.hcml Who Were the First Americans? MAMMOTH TRUMPET VOL 11, NO. 4 (1996) http://www.peak.org/csfa/mt11-4.html Three Ancient Skeletons Are Slated for Repatriation By Cleone Hawkineon |
HOME
© 1990 C.S.A.S.I. Last modified:
January 31 2004