Sheguiandah facts for kids
Sheguiandah is a very old and important archaeological site. It is located on the northeastern shore of Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. An archaeological site is a place where people find evidence of past human activity. This site shows signs of early people called Paleo-Indians.
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Discovering Sheguiandah
The Sheguiandah site was first found in 1951. A person named Thomas E. Lee discovered it. He was looking for artifacts on the ground. He found tools and other items that showed the site was very old.
Early Excavations
Thomas E. Lee then led teams to dig at the site. These digs happened over the next four years. They found many artifacts, which are objects made by people long ago. Based on these finds, Lee thought people lived there as far back as 30,000 years ago.
Ancient Tools and Time Periods
The artifacts included tools from different time periods. These were mainly scrapers and blades. Some tools were from the Paleo-Indian period. Others were from the Archaic period. These tools dated back to about 12,000 years ago.
Protecting History
The discovery of Sheguiandah created a lot of public interest. People were excited about finding such an old site. This excitement helped pass a law in 1953. This law was made to protect archaeological sites in Ontario. In 1954, Sheguiandah was named a National Historic Site of Canada. This means it is a very important place in Canadian history.
Later Studies and New Ideas
Other experts studied the Sheguiandah site later on. In 1992, two archaeologists led a new team. Their names were Peter L. Storck and Patrick Julig. They did more digging and research.
Updated Age Estimates
This new team used modern science to study the site. They looked at things like ancient plants. They decided the site might not be as old as first thought. They estimated that people definitely lived there about 9,500 years ago. This still makes it a very important site for understanding early North American history. They also said that more research was needed to learn even more.
