Archeological Site No. 39.1 facts for kids

Archeological Site No. 39.1 is a very old place in Searsmont, Maine, where people used to live. It's located on flat land next to a river. This site is one of the biggest places in Maine where early people, called Paleo-Indians, lived. Experts believe it covers about 18,000 square metres (4.4 acres) of land.

This site is like a single layer of history, meaning everything found there is from roughly the same time period. It's expected to help us learn a lot about how early humans lived in this area. Because it's so important, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

What is Archeological Site 39.1?

Site 39.1 is found in Searsmont, a country town in southern Waldo County, Maine. It sits in a field that hadn't been farmed for many years, right next to a local waterway.

The site was first found in 1993. This happened during a land check before a new communications cable was put in. A small dig was done that year, and a bigger dig followed in 1994.

What Did Archaeologists Find?

Archaeologists found that the site covers a rectangle-shaped area about 200 by 180 metres (660 ft × 590 ft) in size. They discovered three main groups of old tools and other items, plus some smaller groups.

• Based on what they found, experts think this was a large camp where several families stayed for part of the year.
• One of the main groups had many stone tools and the leftover bits from making them. These leftover bits are called debitage. This suggests that area was probably a workshop where tools were made.
• The other two main groups had a wider mix of items. This suggests they were living areas where families cooked, slept, and did daily activities.
• Most of the stone tools found were scrapers and other tools used for everyday tasks.
• Only one spear point was found. Its style didn't clearly match other known historical periods.
• The stone used to make the tools came from different places around the region. This tells us that these early people traveled or traded with others.

See Also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Waldo County, Maine