The peopling of North America

While I've taken somewhat of a hiatus from fly fishing as of late (notwithstanding an Alaska trip coming in August), I have kept busy with exploring all that Northern Nevada has to offer.  I've actually taken it to the next level with some pretty amazing finds including 1) the location of where the oldest mummy in the world was found (9,400 BP), 2) the oldest petroglyphs in North America (14,800-10,500 BP), 3) lest us not forget some of the oldest petroglyphs in South America as well (~12,000 BP - potentially older than N. America), 4) the location of where evidence of one the oldest indications of mans first existence in North America was found (grass hopper cache at 14,195 BP) as well as 5) some of the earliest sites where now extinct megafauna (camel and horse [before Spaniards brought the horse back to the Americas]) were found alongside humans remains (10,900 BP and 11,999 BP).  

Does this turn any part of the Clovis theory on its head? The idea that that the peopling of North America occurred via the Bering land bridge at the end of the last ice age 10,000-11,000 BP...you decide.  I won't even mention the discoveries in South America (Pedra Furada) which potentially go back much, much earlier, and suggestive that at least South America was possibly inhabited first by ocean traveling peoples from southern Asia, or, northeastern Siberians that (in addition to using the Bering land bridge), also used boats to settle South America before much of North America had itself been settled.  This is part of a 5 part picture post and will focus on item 5 above (minus Leonard Rock shelter [11,999 BP] which I've determined the location for but have yet to visit).

These places are not hard to find right?  Just read up on old archeological reports from the early 40's and 50's, spend 2 weeks on Google Earth until you think you have the spot, drive to a place like this, don't care about what will happen to your truck, and then start scouring the hillsides at a very specific elevation, Google Earth is your friend, and the highstand of ancient Lake Lahontan is your bellwether.  You'll need to trisect your locations, look for all available clues, and if you find a site, respect it, observe,  ponder, and take a picture, its that simple.  
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Poor Power Wagon, lucky I didn't rip off my shock.

I'm pretty stoked about this cave below, my youngest son found it, high up on a rocky crag.  As far as I can tell, it doesn't have a name, it certainly hasn't been excavated, and based on its elevation, I feel it could have artifacts that exceed 11,000 BP.  I say that because the higher the cave, generally speaking, the older the inhabitants.  As ancient Lake Lahontan receded post highstand during the last ice age (14,500-13,000 BP), wave action created the caves, then as it receded further, the waterline fell below the cave, allowing humans to move in and claim new lakeshore shelter.

Below is the biggest cave in the system, unlike most caves that are little more that covered shelters to keep the wind and rain away, this cave is actually a large internal cavern, it opens up to a vaulted ceiling, and has a 2nd level approximately 25 feet above the entrance, along with a secrete chamber at the very back, approximately 150 feet from the entrance.  This cave had the potential to hold a lot of people, and even had a sky light that I surmise was  ideal for allowing smoke to exit the cave without asphyxiating its inhabitants.

This cave and the one adjacent to it (below) had the 14,195 BP grasshopper cache, some of the oldest evidence of man in all of North America.  That means they were in this cave thousands of years prior to the end of the last ice age which I believe has archeologists scratching their heads.  Note the clear tailings sloping to the left, a sign this has cave has been excavated.

This final cave below was an utter disappointment.  It was professionally excavated in 52, 53 and 54, however, someone in the past year decided to take a pick and a shovel and dig a trench between 3 and 4 feet deep through the center of the floor.  Such a shame, this wasn't here when I was here last, exactly 1 year ago, and you can tell this trench was not dug by professional archeologists.

Below is a shot of what I call the "sky light", its technically a 2nd entrance to one of the caves but is pretty tough (and not necessarily safe) to go down.  the cave floor is about 18 feet down a very dark and steep grade.

Hope you enjoyed this post, I have a few more post from my excursions over the past year to unload soon, so stay tuned.

Winnemucca Lake Petroglyphs - The Oldest Petroglyphs in North America

14,800 YEARS OLD. Well, that's the outside date when they could have been made, even the inside date of 10,500 would still make them the oldest in North America by more than 3,000 years.

These Petroglyphs were carved by Paleo-Indians onto soft Tufa, a type of limestone which forms around alkali lakes such as those found throughout the Nevada desert. They were dated in part by determining which time periods had water levels of an adjacent lake below the elevation of the site exposing the rocks to air. Then, what periods had water levels which would have submerged the rocks, as evidenced by layers of carbonate deposited over the etchings on the rock. There were two windows when the petroglyphs could have been carved, the former being between 14,800 and 13,200 years ago and later between 11,300 and 10,500 years ago.

Its not known what the carvings depict, but it would appear that trees, flowers and leaves are present. The large carving (above) with the recurring pattern of diamonds resembles the scale of a fish to me, perhaps the Lahontan Cutthroats that were present in the adjacent lake which no longer exists today.

Above is probably the most distinct carving, it resembles a flower or possibly the sun? 

The carving above clearly resembles the veins of a leaf.

Various sets of symmetric designs and patterns, but what do they mean?

The recessed niche below would have been an ideal location for shelter and a fire for the Natives which called this region home at that time.

As is the case with most of our fish pictures, these petroglyph pictures are intentionally cropped so as not to divulge the location out of respect for the local Tribe.