Page-Ladson facts for kids

The Page-Ladson site is a very old archaeological and paleontological spot. It's a deep sinkhole found in the Aucilla River in Florida. This river flows between Jefferson and Taylor counties. Scientists have found layers of ancient animal bones and human tools here.

This site was the first place found in southeastern North America that showed humans lived there before the Clovis culture. The Clovis culture was a group of early people known for their special spear points. Evidence from Page-Ladson shows people were there about 14,200 to 14,550 years ago. This is about 1,000 to 1,500 years before the Clovis people arrived. These early dates challenge ideas that humans quickly hunted down all the large animals when they first came to the area.

Ancient Florida: A Dry Land

During the last ice age, called the Wisconsin glaciation, the sea level was much lower. It was about 100 meters (330 feet) lower than it is today! This meant Florida had a lot more dry land, especially along the coast.

Most of Florida is made of thick limestone. Limestone is a type of rock that has many holes, like a sponge. This creates a landscape called karst topography. Because limestone is porous, saltwater from the ocean can get into the lower parts of Florida. Fresh water then floats on top of this saltwater.

When the sea level dropped during the ice age, the fresh water level in Florida also went down. This made most of Florida much drier than it is now. The only reliable places to find fresh water were deep sinkholes and the deepest parts of river beds. The Page-Ladson site was one of these important watering holes. It was in a deep valley, which is now part of the Aucilla River. Before the river covered it, Page-Ladson was a sinkhole with a small pond inside. Today, the site is about 60 meters (197 feet) long, 45 meters (148 feet) wide, and 10 meters (33 feet) deep.

The Aucilla River's Secrets

The lower part of the Aucilla River flows over a thin layer of sand and limestone. Much of the river's water actually flows underground through a system of caves and tunnels. Sections of the river disappear completely underground, then pop back up for short distances.

The Page-Ladson site is in one of these above-ground sections, known as Half-Mile Run. This section is actually closer to one mile long. Other sites along the Aucilla River have also revealed amazing ancient animal bones and human artifacts. All these discoveries are part of a big, ongoing project called the Aucilla River Prehistory Project.

Discovering Page-Ladson: The Aucilla River Prehistory Project

The story of Page-Ladson began in 1959. That's when Dick Ohmes and other scuba divers started finding old tools and bones from ice age animals in the Aucilla River. Some of these bones even had marks from being cut by early humans!

In 1983, a team started exploring Half-Mile Run. This team was led by archaeologist James Dunbar and paleontologist S. David Webb. A former U.S. Navy SEAL, Buddy Page, showed them a spot where he had found elephant bones.

They dug a small test pit, about 20 inches (50 cm) deep. In it, they found elephant bones, tools made from bone, and small chips from making stone tools. They used Radiocarbon dating on organic material from the pit. This showed the items were between 13,000 and 11,700 years old. The Ladson family, who owned the land around Half-Mile Run, gave the team permission to work and camp there. That's why the site was named Page-Ladson!

Digging Deeper: Uncovering Ancient History

James Dunbar and S. David Webb led excavations at Page-Ladson from 1983 to 1997. Since they were working underwater, they had to invent new ways to record exactly where everything was found. During this time, they found eight stone tools linked to the butchering of a mastodon. These tools were dated to about 14,400 years ago. This confirmed that Page-Ladson was a "Pre-Clovis" site, meaning it was older than the Clovis culture. It was also the oldest site found east of the Mississippi River at that time.

In 2012, more archaeological work began at Page-Ladson. The goal was to find even older evidence of humans and their tools. These new digs continued until 2014. They found six more stone tools, including bifaces (tools shaped on both sides) and flakes (sharp pieces broken off tools). These tools were made from local chert, a type of rock. They were found in layers that were even older than the Clovis period.

These new findings dated the site to about 14,200 to 14,550 years ago. This confirmed the earlier dates. The 2012-2014 excavation was paid for by the Center for the Study of First Americans. It was led by Jessi Halligan from Texas A&M University and other archaeologists from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, along with local volunteers.

Ice Age Animals and Early Humans

The very bottom layers at Page-Ladson are from the late Ice Age. Here, scientists found bones of huge animals like mastodons, mammoths, horses, ground sloths, and palaeolamas (an ancient camel-like animal).

They also found "straw mats" made of chopped-up plants like leaves, bark, and wood. These pieces were all about the same length. This length matches the spacing between the teeth of mastodons. Scientists think these "straw mats" are like the layers of trampled elephant dung you find around watering holes in Africa. They even found chemicals from elephant waste in these deposits!

Some of the bones from this level show cut marks that seem to have been made by humans. This includes a complete mastodon tusk. Ivory spear points, sometimes called "foreshafts," are found more often in the Aucilla River than anywhere else in North America. Samples from the "straw mat" level have been dated to between 13,130 and 11,770 years ago. Above this "straw mat" layer is a layer of mud that doesn't have any bones of extinct animals.

People of the Early Archaic Period

In 1996, another important discovery was made: an Early Archaic period living area. This layer showed signs of people living there around 10,000 years ago. Scientists found at least three hearths (ancient fireplaces). They also found various stone tools, such as stone points, scrapers, adzes (a type of cutting tool), and gouges (tools for scooping out wood). Antler points, used to shape stone tools, were also found.

Three wooden stakes were found standing upright in the ground. There was also a cypress log that had been burned on top and hollowed out. This site was very well preserved because it was flooded by the river within about a hundred years after people lived there.

Humans and Mastodons: Living Together

New studies of the Page-Ladson site have shown something amazing. Some early human groups in the late Ice Age used mastodons for food or other resources. This happened about 14,450 years ago. This is about 2,000 years before many of these large animals became extinct! Before these discoveries, it was hard to tell if humans were hunting mastodons or just finding their remains. Now, the evidence is much clearer.

As quoted by Phys.org: "The new discoveries at Page-Ladson show that people were living in the Gulf Coast area much earlier than believed. The stone tools and animal remains at the site show that at 14,550 years ago, people knew how to find game, fresh water and material for making tools. These people were well-adapted to this environment. The site is a slam-dunk pre-Clovis site with clear artifacts, clear layers, and thorough dating."

See also

In Spanish: Sitio prehistórico de Page-Ladson para niños