Cane Island Site facts for kids
The Cane Island Site was an ancient place in Putnam County, Georgia, where people lived a very long time ago. It was located along the Oconee River. This site was a special spot for archaeologists, who are like history detectives, to learn about early human life in the area. Sadly, this important site has been destroyed.
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Discovering the Cane Island Site
The Cane Island Site is known as site 9Pm209. It was first discovered and studied by a person named William Dean Wood in August 1977. The site was quite large, stretching about 200 meters long and 25 meters wide. It was located in a part of Georgia called the lower Piedmont.
What Was Found There?
Archaeologists found clear signs of ancient life at the Cane Island Site. They found well-preserved post holes, which are marks left in the ground where wooden posts once stood. They also found stone hearths, which were old fireplaces, and pits used for storing food.
Some of the post holes were arranged in circles or ovals. This suggests that there were more houses or other buildings at the site than what was fully explored.
A Look Inside Ancient Homes
William Dean Wood focused on digging up parts of two small houses at the site. He used these houses to learn about how ancient families lived. Neither house was fully dug up, but archaeologists estimated the larger one was about 7 meters long and 5 meters wide.
Inside these houses, they found central hearths, which were like main fireplaces. They also found pieces of charred wood and fire-cracked rocks. These findings help us understand how people cooked and kept warm long ago.
How Old Is It?
The Cane Island Site dates back to the later part of the early Woodland period. This was a time in North American history when people started living in more settled communities.
Based on the work done by William Dean Wood, it seems that people lived at the Cane Island Site on and off for more than 9,000 years! This means different groups of people visited or lived there over a very long time.
