Spirit Cave mummy facts for kids
The Spirit Cave mummy is the oldest human mummy ever found in North America. It was discovered in 1940 in Spirit Cave, about 13 miles (21 km) east of Fallon, Nevada, United States. A husband-and-wife team, Sydney and Georgia Wheeler, found the mummy. Experts believe the person was about 40 years old when they died.
Studies of the mummy showed it had features similar to Native American groups in North and South America. In 2016, the mummy was given back to the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of Nevada. The Spirit Cave mummy was one of the first ancient remains dated using a special method called accelerated mass spectrometer radiocarbon dating. Its discovery helped scientists learn a lot about the history of the western Great Basin area.
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Discovering the Spirit Cave Mummy
In 1940, Sydney and Georgia Wheeler were working for the Nevada State Parks Commission. They were looking for old archaeological sites to protect them from being destroyed by guano mining. Guano is bat droppings, which was mined for fertilizer.
When they went into Spirit Cave, they found the remains of two people. Both were wrapped in mats made from a plant called tule. One of the bodies was buried deeper and was partly mummified, meaning some parts like the head and right shoulder were preserved. This partially mummified person, the Spirit Cave mummy, was wearing moccasins and wrapped in a rabbit-skin blanket. The Wheelers, with help from local people, found 67 ancient items in the cave.
These items were taken to the Nevada State Museum. At first, experts thought they were between 1,500 and 2,000 years old. The items were stored at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City for 54 years.
What is Spirit Cave Like?
Spirit Cave is located in the foothills of the Stillwater Mountains, about 4,154 feet (1,266 meters) above sea level. Today, the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is in this area. The cave is northeast of Fallon, Nevada. Scientists have found that remains from Spirit Cave are similar to other ancient remains found in the area, like the Wizard Beach Man and a dog burial in Crypt Cave.
How Old is the Spirit Cave Mummy?
In 1996, an anthropologist named R. Ervi Taylor from the University of California, Riverside studied 17 items from Spirit Cave. He used a method called mass spectrometry to find their age. The results showed that the mummy was about 9,400 years old. This made it the oldest known mummy in North America at that time.
Researchers now believe this person died around 7420 B.C. Before this advanced dating, people thought the mummy was much younger, only 1,500 to 2,000 years old. The new findings were published in a journal called Nevada Historical Quarterly in 1997. This news quickly gained national attention.
Other Ancient Discoveries
The Wizard Beach Man
The remains of another ancient person, called the Wizard Beach Man, were also at the Nevada State Museum. He lived around the same time as the Spirit Cave mummy. Scientists used radiocarbon dating on his remains at the same time they dated the Spirit Cave mummy. This showed he was also from the early Holocene period, which was a very long time ago.
The Wizard Beach Man was found in 1978 at Wizards Beach, near Pyramid Lake. This location is about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Spirit Cave. Dating showed that he lived more than 9,200 years ago.
Another important ancient site, Lovelock Cave, is also located nearby. These discoveries help us understand the very first people who lived in this part of North America.
See also
- Grimes Point
- List of unsolved deaths
