<![CDATA[A treasure trove of 10,000 year old stone tools has been uncovered as part of an archaeological survey meant to finalize construction work near a local mall in the Pacific Northwest, according to the Seattle Times. Robert Kopperl, an archaeologist from SWCA Environmental Consultants, told the Times that he and his team were amazed at the thousands of tools found during the dig. It’s easily the oldest site of its kind where stone tools have been found within the Puget Sound lowland, Kopperl added. The discovery itself is located in Redmond, Washington, in close proximity to Redmond Town Center, and had originally been surveyed in 2009. Part of a salmon habitation restoration project undertaken by the state government in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of recent construction and renovation over Lake Washington, the initial site revealed little in the way of archaeological artifacts. However, after further investigation, excavation crews found the remains of a peat bog dated to at least 10,000 years in the past. Beneath a layer of peat nearly a foot thick, the fragments and tools were discovered. According to Kopperl, the site was likely occupied by individuals that spent time both making new stone tools and repairing existing ones. The location would have been ideal, the archaeologist added, pointing out that a camp at the site would have been an excellent central location for going out to gather, hunt and fish after making the stone tools. Chemical analysis undertaken on one of the tools led the team to discover traces of the kinds of foods the people living on the site had been eating regularly. These meats included salmon, sheep, bear, deer, and bison. The discovery of salmon bones also indicated that the fish has been migrating upstream for at least the last 10 millennia. Radiocarbon dating conducted on charcoal fragments that were found mixed among the tools confirmed the age of the find to be at least 10,000 years old. Kopperl told the Seattle Times that it’s extremely rare to find such a treasure trove of antiquity west of the Cascades due to the heavy levels of vegetation. Additionally, the Puget Lobe of the ice sheet that moved through the region during the last Ice Age affected the landscape on a fundamental level, the archaeologist added. The find indicates that there was indeed human habitation within the region dating back to as soon as the glaciers began to retreat at the end of the last Ice Age. However, there are still plenty of unanswered questions surrounding just who these individuals were and where they came from. Kopperl said that once his team have finalized their analysis, the artifacts would be repatriated to the local Muckleshoot Tribe. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: www.maneyonline.com]]>
10,000 Year Old Stone Tools Discovered in Pacific Northwest
