Lind Coulee Archaeological Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Lind Coulee Archaeological Site
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Nearby countryside
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| Nearest city | Warden, Washington |
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| NRHP reference No. | 74001953 |
| Added to NRHP | January 21, 1974 |
The Lind Coulee Archaeological Site is a very old place where scientists have dug up amazing clues about early humans. It's also called 45GR97. This special site is located near Warden, Washington. The things found here are about 11,000 years old!
Contents
Discovering Lind Coulee
The Lind Coulee site was first found in 1947. At that time, it was the earliest proof that people lived in Washington state. Before this, scientists thought humans had only been there for about 2,000 to 4,000 years.
The Smithsonian Institution's River Basin Surveys program first discovered the site. A student named Richard Daugherty heard about bones and stone tools found deep underground. He started visiting the site in 1948.
Early Digs and Discoveries
From 1950 to 1951, Richard Daugherty led the digging at Lind Coulee. During this time, he made an important discovery. He found a clear link between human tools and bones from ancient bison. These bison are now extinct, meaning they no longer exist. This link showed that humans lived in the Columbia Basin between 7450 and 6568 BCE.
The digs also uncovered stone palettes. These were flat stones used for grinding red ochre, a type of red pigment. This was the first time such items had been found in Washington.
Dating the Past
Scientists first figured out the age of items from the site using a method called radiocarbon dating. This method measures how much carbon-14 is left in old materials.
Later, in 2003, a bone from the site was tested again. This time, they used a newer, more precise method called accelerator mass spectrometry. This test showed the bone was between 10,550 and 11,290 years old.
More Recent Excavations
In 1968, digging at the site started again. Scientists were worried that water from farm irrigation might damage the site. This new round of work continued until 1972.
The main goal was to carefully record the layers of soil and how they related to the human artifacts. Based on this new information, experts believe people visited the site more than six times. These visits happened over a period of 10 to 150 years. It seems the site was mostly used as a spring camp. This is because many bones of young bison and unborn elk were found there.
Tools and Artifacts
Many interesting tools were found at the Lind Coulee site. These included a lot of tools made from bone. Scientists found nearly two dozen bone needles and several bone points.
The site also had unique stone points. These are called Western Stemmed Points. Experts believe these tools were used even before the famous Clovis Points. Many different cutting and scraping tools made of stone were also found. These show that the early people were very skilled at working with stone.
