Young Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Young Site
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| Nearest city | Alton, Maine |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000110 |
| Added to NRHP | March 26, 1976 |
The Young Site is a special place in Alton, Maine, where archaeologists have found amazing clues about ancient Native American life. This site sits right by Pushaw Stream. It shows that people lived here for a very long time, from about 3000 BCE (Before Common Era) to 1000 CE (Common Era). This means people were here over 4,000 years ago! The Young Site was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 because it's so important.
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Discovering the Young Site
The Young Site is located on the north side of Pushaw Stream. This stream flows into the Penobscot River. It's near where Pushaw Stream meets another stream called Dead Stream in southern Alton.
What the Land Was Like
Across the stream, there's another important old site called the Hirundo Site. It's inside the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge. Scientists have studied the land around these sites. They think that long ago, when the first people lived here, there was a lake nearby. This lake sometimes covered parts of the sites. The area was likely surrounded by wet, marshy lands with tall plants like cattails.
Clues from Ancient Times
Archaeologists have found many items at the Young Site. The oldest things found belong to something called the Laurentian tradition. These include old stone tools, like points that might have been used on spears or arrows.
How People Lived and Honored Their Dead
Evidence shows people lived here during different time periods. One important discovery was from the Susquehanna period, around 1700 BCE. Archaeologists found signs of ancient burial practices, including a method called cremation. They used a technique called radiocarbon dating to figure out how old these findings were.
The latest signs of people living at the Young Site are from the Late Ceramic period, around 1000 CE. People continued to live at the nearby Hirundo Site for even longer.
Fishing and Daily Life
Scientists also found more than 30 different types of fish bones at the Young Site. This tells us that fishing was a very important activity for the people who lived there. It was a big part of how they found food and survived.
