HomeMy Public PortalAboutArchaeology��5 T ��9 ��. N E w s
I n d i a n t r a c e s m a r k
a n c i e n t s u s e o f a r e a
B Y B E V E R L Y I N G R A H A M
F o r T h e S t a r - N e w s
A r c h a e o l o g i s t s b e l i e v e e a r l y N a -
t i v e A m e r i c a n s w e r e i n W e s t C e n -
t r a l I d a h o a s m u c h a s 6 , 0 0 0 t o
8 , 0 0 0 y e a r s a g o . M a t e r i a l e v i d e n c e
s u c h a s s t o n e t o o l s , p o i n t s a n d
c a m p s i t e s f o u n d i n t h e a r e a h e l p
s u p p o r t t h e s e c l a i m s .
B e c a u s e o f t h e i r r e l a t i v e l y s i m p l e
h u n t i n g a n d g a t h e r i n g w a y o f l i f e ,
I d a h o ' s e a r l y N a t i v e A m e r i c a n s w e r e
g r e a t l y a f f e c t e d b y s e a s o n a l c h a n g e s
a s w e l l a s c h a n g e s o f p l a n t a n d a n i -
m a I l i f e . M a n y s p e n t t h e s u m m e r s
i n t h e h i g h m o u n t a i n s o f t h e r e g i o n ,
b u t d u r i n g w i n t e r m o s t I n d i a n s
m o v e d t o t h e m o r e p r o t e c t e d l o c a -
t i o n s a t l o w e r e l e v a t i o n .
B y t h e 1 7 0 0 s , m o s t I n d i a n
g r o u p s i n I d a h o h a d h o r s e s , m a k i n g
t r a v e l a n d f o o d - g a t h e r i n g m u c h
e a s i e r f o r t h e m . T h e N e z P e r c e
t r i b e s i n N o r t h I d a h o o w n e d t h e
l a r g e s t h e r d s o f h o r s e s i n t h e
N o r t h w e s t r e g i o n . T h e y w e r e
r e n o w n e d h o r s e m e n a s w e l l a s s u c -
c e s s f u l h o r s e b r e e d e r s o f t h e s p o t t e d
h o r s e w e c a l l t h e A p p a l o o s a .
S m a l l b a n d s o f S h o s h o n e - B a n -
n o c k a n d N e z P e r c e c o n t i n u e d c o m -
i n g t o W e s t C e n t r a l I d a h o d u r i n g t h e
w a r m e r m o n t h s t o h u n t , f i s h , g a t h e r
b e r r i e s a n d s e e d s a n d d i g e d i b l e
b u l b s - m a i n l y t h e c a m a s . T h e
S h e e p e a t e r I n d i a n s t e n d e d t o s t a y
m o s t l y i n t h e r e m o t e S a l m o n R i v e r
c o u n t r y a n d i t s t r i b u t a r i e s .
� - T h e c o m i n g o f t h e g o l d - s e e k e r s ,
s e t t l e r s a n d o t h e r n o n - I n d i a n s t o t h e
a r e a i n t h e m i d - 1 8 0 0 s s e v e r e l y d i s -
r u p t e d t h e I n d i a n ' s w a y o f l i f e . C o n -
f l i c t s b e t w e e n t h e I n d i a n a n d w h i t e
c u l t u r e s w e r e a l m o s t i n e v i t a b l e , a n d
i n t h e 1 8 7 0 s I n d i a n s c l a s h e d w i t h
t h e w h i t e s a l l t h r o u g h t h e N o r t h -
w e s t . T h e s e w e r e t h e l a s t I n d i a n
w a r s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d r e -
s u l t e d i n t h e p l a c e m e n t o f m o s t I n -
d i a n s o n r e s e r v a t i o n s . H o w e v e r , a
f e w s t r a g g l e r s w a n d e r e d t h r o u g h
W e s t C e n t r a l I d a h o f r o m t i m e t o
t i m e , e v e n i n t o t h e e a r l y 1 9 0 0 s
o f t e n g i v i n g t h e s e t t l e r s t h e j i t t e r s
w h e n e v e r t h e y a p p e a r e d .
( B e v e r l y I n g r a h a m i s a
L o n g V a l l e y r e s i d e n t w h o
h a s e x t e n s i v e e x p e r i e n c e i n
h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h a n d
p r e s e r v a t i o n . )
1 C / i i / T G
9 L O l u m e o r m i r r o r r e r o u t i n g o f c u l t u r e s . c u t t i n g a n d c h i p p i n g r o c k s . N e x t w e e k : ' r n e t s u r n t
p r o p o s e d r o a d . A n a r t i s a n a s w e l l a s t T h e " m e s s " o n h i s o f f i c e f l o o r W a g o n B a s i n s t o r y .
Artifacts
uncovered
in Idaho
By ELLEN MARKS
The Idaho Statesman
MURPHY — The Snake River was
rich with salmon, and elk and ante-
lope roamed through the high coun-
try in the nearby Owyhee Mountains.
The area's plentiful food supply at-
tracted a band of Indians, who built
their subterranean homes along the
south bank of the river.
This is part of the prehistoric sce-
nario that archaeologists are devel-
oping as they uncover tools and
bones near Givens Hot Springs in
Owyhee County.
The excavation has produced arti-
facts that may have been used as
long ago as 3500 B.C., said state
archaeologist Tom Green.
Results of the dig will become part
of a study on prehistoric life in the
Snake River Basin, Green said.
From evidence uncovered so far,
archaeologists suspect the site be-
tween Marsing and Walter's Ferry
served as a winter fishing village.
The natural hot springs were ideal
for preparing food, some of which
was collected on river sand bars
when the water level was low, Green
said.
The underground home recently
discovered probably was used in the
winter when deer descended from
the Boise Front range_ and in spring
when salmon were plentiful, Green
said.
The area may hold other cavelike
dwellings, which are preserved be-
cause only a portion of the roof was
exposed above ground, he said.
A dig last year in the mountains di-
rectly south showed that the Indians
probably migrated there during sum-
mer in search of big game and relief
from the heat, Green said.
The Snake River site probably was
a base camp where the sick and eld-
erly stayed all year, he said.
The tribe left behind obsidian dart
points, kgives made of chert and
other scraping tools that archaeolo-
gists can use to determine the In-
dians' lifestyle, Green said.
The dig, which started in June and
ends this month, is turning up more
artifacts than scientists expected to
find, he said.
Other findings include mortar
bases and pestle fragments used for
grinding seed, hammer stones for
making tools and awls for punching
holes to sew clothing.
Carbon samples will be sent to labs
at the University of Texas in Austin
to establish more exact dates, Green
said.
But archaeologists cannot identify
the Indian tribe, he said. Accounts
from Oregon Trail travelers indicate
Shoshone and Paiute tribes lived
there in the 1830s, but scientists have
not determined when the tribes first
arrived.
Whoever inhabited the area de-
serves respect, said Charlotte Norqu-
ist, member of the Idaho Archaeolog-
ical Society, which is helping at the
site.
"I think back on how this man
lived and what he contributed to his
time," she said. "He learned to live
in a pretty harsh environment and
probably made the best of it."
Soil samples, which geologists at
the site are collecting, show periodic
droughts during which no one could
live in the area, Norquist said.
Those ancient weather conditions
should be a warning to 20th century
inhabitants, she said.
"Perhaps things will get just as
bad as this man had in his time," she
said. "He just got up and walked
away, but where can we all go ?"
S td i' lvew5 Ap►-ri a; lf1 l
Archaeological group
given state sanction
The executive committee of the
Idaho Archaeological Society has
accepted a local group interested
in archaeology into the society.
The Salmon River Chapter of
the IAS consists of members
from the McCall, New Meadows
and Council areas. The group has
been holding meetings since
November.
The Salmon River Chapter
meets on the third Thursday of
each month at 7 p.m.. in New
Meadows, with the next meeting
set for April 16 at the old railroad
depot.
At that meeting, Jeff Fee, ar-
chaeological technicians for the
Payette National Forest, will give
a demonstration of flint knapp-
ing. After that will be a brief
discussion of spear- thrower
(atlatl) technologies.
Recent programs staged by the
group have included the movie
Ishi In Two Worlds, -a slide show
about the Duck Valley Reserva-
fill the vacancy created by the
ture by Nelle Tobias of McCall
on Native American rock art.
A para- archaeologist course
has been proposed by Lee Ben-
nett, advisor to the chapter and
an archaeologist for the Payette
forest.
The course, planned for May,
would allow participants to
become familiar with theory and
methods of archaeological work.
The course would teach recor-
ding data on site, ethical issues,
the cultural context of the local
area, and would end with a guid-
ed field work session.
The para - archeaologist course
will be discussed more at the
April 16 meeting. For more infor-
mation on membrship, call
253 -4765 in Council or 347 -2393
in New Meadows.
_; (6-T e s rn a n- S-e p re. M b Q-6 cl, 99
Lake workers make mammoth
The Associated Press
GRANGEVILLE — Three and
possibly four separate sets of
fossils from prehistoric mam-
moths have been discovered in
the dry floor of Tolo Lake near
Grangeville.
Robert Yohe II, Idaho's state
archaeologist, said Wednesday
that workers excavating the
lake bed for the Idaho Depart-
ment of Fish and Game began
finding the bones and tusks last
Friday.
The discoveries include a
shoulder blade nearly 2 feet by
more than 3 feet, a leg bone 4
feet-long, and three tusks. One
measures about 8 inches in di-
ameter and appeared to be 8 feet
long or more.
Mammoths, hairy Ice Age
members of the elephant family,
stood as high as 13 feet at the
shoulder and weighed 10,000 to
15,000 pounds. They have been
extinct for about 10,000 years.
Fish and Game, which owns
Tolo Lake, was excavating it to
deepen it for fish and make it
more suitable for nesting wa-
terfowl.
Mel Hedberg, Fish and Game's
senior conservation officer in
Grangeville, said discovery of
the mammoth fossils probably
will not interfere with work at
the lake for long.
"This has been tremendous. I
can't see any negatives," Hed-
berg said.
Yohe said the first priority is
recovering the bones already ex-
posed to prevent them from dete-
riorating. The tusks quickly
discovery
crumble once they are exposed
to the air after lying in the lake
sediment for millennia.
"This is kind of a salvage situ-
ation. We'll have to get to it
quickly and get the material out
of there," Yohe said.
Even as planning began to re-
cover the fossils from the lake
bed, which will flood again
when fall rains arrive, represen-
tatives from several state and
federal agencies met to figure
out who could help with the
effort.
Curious local residents start-
ed arriving at the lake by Tues-
day evening as news of the dis-
covery spread.
"This has caught the public's
interest like nothing else
could," University of Idaho ar-
chaeologist Lee Sappington
said.
Yohe and others said they
would schedule public tours of
the excavation area Saturday af-
ternoon to satisfy public curios-
ity. Until then, visitors have
been asked to watch from a dis-
tance as the work continues.
Sappington said even smoking
a cigarette near the dig could
hamper efforts to use radioactive
carbon dating to discover how
long ago the mammoths died.
U.S. Bureau of Land Manage-
ment employees plan to main-
tain a vigil at the site for the
next few days as the exploratory
work proceeds.
Sappington said mammoths
have been found elsewhere in
Idaho, including at Kamiah, in
Lewiston Orchards, at Bruneau
and in southwestern Idaho.
A Recent Radiocarbon Date
for Intermountain Flatbottom Pottery
from the Middle Fork of the
Salmon River, Idaho
PHOTO: J. WOODS; HERRETT MUSEUM
Steven E. Stoddard
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
Regions 1 and 4
Heritage Program
October 1996
A Recent Radiocarbon Date for Intermountain Tradition Pottery
from the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho
by
Steven E. Stoddard
Pottery shards have been identified at some prehistoric sites in the mountains
of west - central Idaho in varied contexts by many different people. Some of
these discoveries have been made in the course of archaeological surveys or
subsurface investigations during which information was being recorded; some
have been brought to the attention of archaeologists by river runners, hunters,
or other members of the public. However originally discovered, there is an
extant body of data indicating that pottery was utilized by some of the Native
American groups indigenous to the valleys of the Salmon River drainage prior to
Euroamerican settlement of the area.. The overwhelming majority of the pottery
fragments are remnants of the style known as Intermountain Tradition Brownware,
a flat bottomed, truncated cone, "flowerpot" style of coarse low -fired pottery
which dates from approximately 1450 A.D. into the historic period (Butler 1983
:14, Coale 1963).
There have been relatively few fragments found in the Salmon River drainage.
Of the nearly 300 recorded sites along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River,
only 13 sites are now known to contain pottery (see Table 1). Of the 11
previously known pottery locations, 5 have been excavated, three of which have
produced radiocarbon dates. Of the % radiocarbon dates obtained, only 1 has
been reported to have been in direct association with pottery fragments, at
10 -CR -592 (Hackenberger 1988).
During an inventory and monitoring of Middle Fork archaeological sites
conducted by the author and Lawrence A. Kingsbury for the Salmon - Challis
National Forest in the summer of 1996, an exposed prehistoric hearth containing
pottery fragments was located along the trail near a recorded isolated find,
10 -LH -493 (see map). A large Ponderosa pine had grown up through the hearth,
exposing a portion of it around the base of the tree. The pack trail along the
eastern bank of the Middle Fork then wore down the edge of the exposed hearth.
The seasonal high water on the river was an additional threatened impact. When
discovered in June, the distance from the hearth to the edge of the water was
less than 5 meters. Given the exposed and isolated condition of the
feature,the probable incipient impacts, and the presence of pottery fragments
in the context of a possibly datable hearth, it was decided to excavate the
feature. An area 1 meter by 0.5 meter was excavated stratigraphically to a
depth of slightly less than 10 centimeters at the deepest point. The
lenticular hearth remains filled the majority of the excavated area and
measured approximately 1 meter long, 20 centimeters wide, and nearly 10
centimeters deep. Included in the hearth matrix were fragments of fire cracked
rock, small pieces of burnt bone, one basalt flake, black sandy soil, and 136
pottery fragments. One small unifacially worked piece of grey
cryptocrystalline silicate, which may have been part of the hearth at one time,
was located adjacent to the western edge of the excavated area. The soil that
was removed was cleaned of rock and root fragments and collected. This
resulted in a radiometric sample which contained 3.98 kilograms of carbonaceous
soil.
Intermountain Pottery on the Middle Fork, page 2
The collected hearth feature soil sample was sent to the Radiocarbon Dating
Laboratory, Department of Geology, Washington State University for radiometric
determination. The dated results produced a calculation of 250 +/- 50 years
before present (BP) with a zero age of A.D.1950, which indicates a date range
of A.D.1650 to 1750 (sample #WSU4845).
The collected pottery fragments included 9 base fragments, 9 rim fragments, and
118 body fragments. Based on the probable original size of the pot as
extrapolated from the curve of the base fragments, it is estimated that
approximately 55% of the vessel was recovered. The shards ranged in size from
3.5 cm down to less than 0.5 cm, with the majority between 2 -3 cm in diameter.
Wall thickness ranged from 0.7 -0.95 cm. The rim fragments tapered to a nearly
pointed edge and were slightly excurvate. The base was flat, with walls
flaring out at approximately 15 degrees. Color of the fragments ranged from
red to grey, and carbon deposits were observed on both interior and exterior
surfaces. Temper was of granular sand, with small inclusions of quartz. The
exterior and interior surfaces exhibited a grainy, randomly scraped finish that
has not been "floated ". There was no evidence of any design elements, either
incised or punctate. The construction method was not readily apparent,
although an examination of the cross sections of the broken fragments did not
exhibit the variability in thickness characteristic of coil construction.
There was no evidence of burnishing on any of the fragments.
From the similarity in color, construction, accretion deposits and the ratio
of rim and base shards to body fragments, it is most likely that these
fragments represent pieces of a single vessel, an example of Intermountain
Tradition pottery as described by Butler (1979), Coale (1963), and Plew (1982).
The chronology and diffusion of material culture as evidenced by pottery has
long been a subject of controversy in Idaho (Butler 1979; Plew 1980a; Harrison
and Hanson 1980; Plew 1980b; Butler 1987). Although it has been generally
accepted that Shoshonean speaking groups made the flat bottomed "flowerpot"
style of coarse low -fired pottery known as Intermountain Tradition, it is by no
means clear whether they were the only ones to do so (Butler 1979;P1ew 1994).
Fortunately, it is well established that the Northern Shoshone group known as
the Tukudika or Sheepeaters were settled in the drainage of the Middle Fork of
the Salmon River during the ethnographic period (Steward 1938:188; Reddy
1995:4 -5; Pavesic 1978:9). Also, artifacts indicative of the Great Basin
culture area in the late prehistoric period, including the distinctive
Eastgate, Rose Springs, Desert Side Notched, and Cottonwood types of projectile
points are found throughout the Middle Fork drainage, denoting a presence prior
to the protohistoric period (Knudson et al. 1982; Trowbridge 1989; Kingsbury
and Stoddard 1996).
The fact that these pottery fragments were collected in direct association with
a radiocarbon sample from the Middle Fork of the Salmon River which yielded a
date just prior to the protohistoric period indicates that in this case
Shoshonean speaking peoples, probably Tukudika, were utilizing pottery in the
river canyons of west central Idaho at least 250 years ago.
Acknowledgements:
The author would like to thank Jill Frye for drawing the illustrations; Ms.
Maryann Davis and Dr. Robert Yohe III of the Idaho State Historic Preservation
Office for their encouragement, and to Mr. Lawrence A. Kingsbury, Payette
National Forest Archaeologist and Historian, for his suggestions and support in
bringing this project to fruition.
Cover illustration after a photograph by James Woods of a Shoshone pot from the
Crockett Site in Twin Falls County, in the collection at the Herrett Museum,
Twin Falls,Idaho. In: Backtracking: Ancient Art of Southern Idaho, by Max G.
Pavesic and William Studebaker. Idaho Museum of Natural History, Pocatello,
1993•
TABLE 1
Pottery /Radiocarbon Sites on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River
10 -CR -592 1230
+/-
60
BP
Direct Association
Hackenburger 1988
10 -VY -67 580
+/-
70
BP
3- 7cm /TU
4
Wiley & Scott 1981:6
1050
+/-
80
BP
0- 10cm /TU
3
(Shards: 2 surface
1100
+/-
60
BP
10- 20cm /TU
2
6 0 -10cm
1230
+/-
70
BP
10- 12cm /TU
4
3 10 -20cm)
10 -VY -76 2010 +/- BP
980 +/- BP
10 -LH -493 250 +/- 50 BP
Trowbridge 1989
Kingsbury /Stoddard 1996
Sites with Pottery on the Middle Fork (Excavated
10 -IH -65 198 shards "Intermountain Brownware" Trowbridge 1989
It 6 shards McDaniels Pers. Comm.1996'
10 -LH -317 "potsherds in TU, Depression #7" Trowbridge 1989
Sites with Pottery Reported on Middle Fork
10 -VY -124 "shard in depression ", site monitoring report, n.d.(1980's)
10 -VY -128 "shards washing out of bank in camp" L. Whisnant(river guide) 1996
10 -LH -28 shard found on surface during monitoring. Kingsbury /Stoddard 1996
10 -LH -188 Knudson, et. al. 1982:131
10 -LH -317 "
10 -CR -596 " IT It it It
References Cited
Butler, B. Robert
1979 The Native Pottery of the Upper Snake and Salmon River Country. Idaho
Archaeologist 3(1):1 -10.
1883 The Quest for the Historic Fremont and a Guide to the Prehistoric
Pottery of Southern Idaho. Occasional Papers of the Idaho Museum of
Natural History Number 33. Pocatello
1987 Is There Such a Thing as a Shoshonean Pottery Making Tradition? Idaho
Archaeologist 10(1):9 -11.
Coale, George L.
1963 A Study of Shoshonean Pottery. Tebiwa 6(2):1 -11. Pocatello.
Hackenberger, Steven
1988 Cultural Ecology and Evolution in Central Montane Idaho. Unpublished
Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State
University, Pullman.
Harrison, Richard R., and John Hanson
1980 Fremont - Shoshoni Relationships in Southwestern Idaho: Comments on the
Use and Misuse of Published Data. Idaho Archaeologist 3(3):14 -17.
Kingsbury, Lawrence A., and Steven E. Stoddard
1996 Middle Fork Salmon River Cultural Resource Monitoring and Inventory.
Report Number PY96 -1162, unpublished MS on file, U.S. Department of
Agriculture Forest Service, Payette National Forest Supervisor's
Office, McCall, Idaho.
Knudson, Ruthann, Darby Stapp, Steven Hackenberger, William D. Lipe, and Mary
P. Rossillon
1982 A Cultural Resource Reconnaissance in the Middle Fork Salmon River
Basin, Idaho,1978. Cultural Resource Report Number 7. U.S.
Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Ogden.
Pavesic, Max G.
1978 Archaeological Overview of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River
Corridor, Idaho Primitive Area. Archaeological Reports Number 3,
Boise State University, Boise.
Plew, Mark G.
1980a Comments on Butler's "Native Pottery of the Upper Snake and Salmon
River Country ". Idaho Archaeologist 3(3):4 -6.
1980b The Use and Misuse of Published Data: A Reply to Harrison and Hanson.
Idaho Archaeologist 4(1):4 -6.
1982 Thin Section Analysis of Pottery from Site 10 GG 1, Southcentral
Idaho. Idaho Archaeologist 5(2):9 -15.
Plew, Mark G.
1994 A Collection of Pottery Sherds from Higby Cave, Southwest Idaho.
Idaho Archaeologist 17(1):29 -31.
Reddy, Sheila D.
1995 Shadows in the Wilderness: The Story of the Northern Shoshoni Band,
the Tukudika, in the Frank Church -River of No Return Wilderness and
the Payette National Forest. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Payette
National Forest Heritage Program, McCall, Idaho.
Steward, Julian H.
1938 Basin - Plateau Aboriginal Sociopolitical Groups. In: Smithsonian
Institution Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 120, Washington,
D.C.
Trowbridge, Jay
1989 Archaeological Test Excavations Along the Middle Fork of the Salmon
River. Swanson /Crabtree Anthropological Research Laboratory Reports
of Investigations: 88 -11. Idaho Museum of Natural History, Pocatello.
Acknowledgements:
The author would like to thank Jill Frye for drawing the illustrations; Ms.
Maryann Davis and Dr. Robert Yohe III of the Idaho State Historic Preservation
Office for their encouragement, and to Mr. Lawrence A. Kingsbury, Payette
National Forest Archaeologist and Historian, for his suggestions and support in
bringing this project to fruition.
Cover illustration after a photograph by James Woods of a Shoshone pot from the
Crockett Site in Twin Falls County, in the collection at the Herrett Museum,
Twin Falls,Idaho. In: Backtracking: Ancient Art of Southern Idaho, by Max G.
Pavesic and William Studebaker. Idaho Museum of Natural History, Pocatello,
1993•
Washington State University
Department of Geology P., iTan. 'NA
RADIOCARBON DATING LABORATORY =AX 35.
Dr. Lawrence A. Kingsbury
DATE REPORTED
Aug. 19,1996
June 26, 1996
SSN or PO#
WSU NO. YOUR SAMPLE ID. 14-CAGE. YEARS B.P
4845 Sample No. 1 250 t 50
(corrected for 13C)
(Del 13C = -25.636)
Semple Processed by. Welter
Sample Calculated by. Welter /Sheppard
Sample Reported by : Welter /Sheppard
NOTE: All analyses are based upon the Libby Half -Life (5570 ± 30 years) for
radiocarbon. To convert ages to the Half -Life of 5730 years, multiply the given above
by 1.03. Zero age date Is A.D. 1950. (Reference: Editorial Comment, RADIOCARBON,
VOL. 7, 1965).
INTERMOUNTAIN TRADITION POTTERY RIM FRAGMENTS
10 -LH -493 6/10/96 J. FRYE
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Tool find sp u rs artifact search
at Devil's Elbow highway site
By Elaine Williams
The Idaho Statesman
Two highway archaeologists
armed with shovels and a wooden
sieve are performing a rescue mis-
sion at a highway construction
site near Weiser.
About a week ago, construction
workers uncovered a possibly pre-
historic grinding tool in an area
that will become the new High-
way 95 route.
The find made Idaho Transpor-
tation Department highway ar-
chaeologist Jenna Gaston believe
the site had more significance
than she first thought when she
examined it in 1986.
The new route will eliminate a
sharp 35 mph curve, known as the
Devil's Elbow, from the state
highway.
In a few days, construction
workers will start moving soil at
the site, making further archaeo-
logical work impossible.
"It's essentially rescuing the ar-
chaeology," Gaston said of the
project she has taken on. "We're
trying to get a larger sample at
the site than we did before."
Bulldozers and other heavy ma-
chinery are already working
about 20 feet away from the spot
where Gaston and another ar-
chaeologist are digging.
The two most important finds
at the site so far have been a
pestle, which is a tool once used
to grind plant material, and a
Cascade -style projectile point,
Gaston said.
The Idaho Statesman
The pestle indicates that people
used the site as a possible root
processing area, Gaston said. Ini-
tially, she believed that prehistor-
ic people used the area only for
making tools because of stone ma-
terial in the area.
"It was a whole new clue to a
different behavior pattern than
what we saw in 1986," Gaston
said.
The Cascade point is missing a
piece from the tip, indicating that
it was used.
"You spend hundreds of hours
digging and you find one in a
lifetime," Gaston said.
The Cascade point, probably
used as the head of a spear, places
people in the area at least 5,000
years ago if not 7,000 years ago.
Most Cascade points found in
the Weiser Valley were associat-
ed with burial sites. Burial ob-
jects are typically unused as they
were considered sacred, Gaston
said.
Not much is known about the
prehistoric people who used the
area other than that they were
probably hunters and gatherers,
said Nick Petersen, field archae-
ologist for the Idaho Transporta-
tion Department.
"The site is like a book of infor-
mation but we don't have the abil-
ity or the time to garner all of it,"
Petersen said.
Finding the pestle, prompted
the archeologists to go back and
investigate the site more thor-
oughly than they did in 1986, Gas-
ton said.
In the past week, the archaeolo-
gists have dug three 1 -meter holes
and they do not expect to have
time to do much more.
Western Construction Inc. is
taking special precautions to en-
sure their safety.
"We just flagged off an area for
job safety and let her (Gaston) do
her thing," said Jack Snyder, pro-
ject manager of the site for the
construction company.
So far the archaeological work
has not delayed construction,
Snyder said.
Gaston and Petersen said the
Weiser
Found underground:
Archaeologists have found a
stone quarry and tool
production site in an area
included in the Devil's Elbow
road construction project, the
Idaho Transportation
Department has announced.
The discovery is located near
U.S. Highway 95 about eight
miles north of Weiser, where
highway crews are working on
the realignment of the Devil's
Elbow curve.
S sYiids1 MAY a�, i�90
Page 0
SIFTING ARTIFACTS AT DEVIL'S ELBOW
Archaeologist Jenna Gaston sifts dirt from a dig site
that turned up Indian artifacts Monday off U.S. 95
about 8 miles north of Weiser. The site was near a
Troy Maben/The Idaho Statesman
curve in the highway called Devil's Elbow. The dig
turned up mostly bits and pieces of Indian arrow-
heads. Story, 1C
Lydle Gulch Artifacts reveal early Idaho lifestyle
Continuing study of
artifacts from the Lydle
Gulch archaeological dig in
the Boise Valley is reveal-
ing that Idahoans of 2,000
years ago made use of a
wide variety of animal
foods as well as plant foods.
A clearer picture of the
relationship between pre-
historic Native American
people in the Boise area
and their environment is
emerging from the artifacts
unearthed last summer,
says Dr. Ruthann Knudson,
assistant research profes-
sor of anthropology at the
University of Idaho and
principal investigator of the
site.
The Lydle Gulch site,
located below the Lucky
Peak Dam eight miles
southeast of Boise, was
excavated during the sum-
mer of 1977 with funding
from the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers. Thorough
excavation of the site will
prevent the loss of valuable
artifacts and understanding
of early Idaho culture that
would have occurred when
Corps installs an alternate
spillway at Lucky Peak in
the near future.
"Most of the food re-
mains are animal bones,
though there are hackberry
seeds at the site," Knud-
son said. Small mammal
remains include rabbit and
ground squirrel while large
animal remains include
deer.
"For example, we found
the bones of a whole rear
haunch of deer with the
associated rock tools,"
Knudson explained.
There are also extensive
amounts of mussel shells at
the site which appears to be
a spring or fall camping
ground. "Many people
don't condiser the import-
ance of mussels, but I'm
finding them in every site I
bone may be elk.
Large fish bones, proba-
bly salmon, have also been
found at the site, Sapping-
ton indicated.
"Basically, the remains
support the historic picture.
Everyone said these people
used fish in their diet, but
now we have the fish
bones," he said.
Choppers and scrappers
used on the animal foods,
and grinders used with
plant foods have also been
found at the site.
"One of the major
charges of archaeology is to
develop an understanding
of how the land has been
used, how people have
adapted to the land over
time," Knudson explained.
"To do that takes bits and
pieces of information about
different people at different
times and places. "
The Lydle Gulch site is
important for understand-
ing Idaho's past, in part
because the state is one of
the most archaeologically
unknown places in the
United States, Knudsen
said. Only in the last 20
years or so has extensive
work on Idaho's archaeo-
logical chronology been
done.
"Also, this site is out in
the open rather than in a
rock shelter. The latter get
much more disturbance
from things such as pack
rats since the earth is very
dry. Moisture in the open
sites helps preserve the
chronological layers," she
said, noting preservation of
the Lydle Gulch layers has
been excellent.
Radiocarbon dating of
artifacts from the various
layers isn't due back until
May, according to Sapping-
ton. However, the layers
seem to be corresponding
well to typical Great Basin
prehistoric chronology.
Tact enmmPr'c crew
ton said. Evidence of a
corral, apparently used at
the turn of the century, was
found on the surface.
Who used the Lydle
Gulch site? The people
were prehistoric Native
Americans, in particular
people who spoke the
Shoshonean language, the
archaeologists say. That
identification is based in
part on the ceramic re-
mains.
And when did they use
the site? "Deer used to
winter in the boise Valley,
then migrate up into the
mountains to s u m m e r
range," Sappington said.
"Judging by the amount of
deer remains, the camp
was used when deer were
available, probably spring
or fall." The fish remains
also point to that conclu-
sion.
"If we ultimately identify
duck or goose bones among
the artifacts, we will have a
pretty specific time period
for site use based on times
when those birds migrate
through the are," he said.
For Knudson, the site
helps confirm an under-
standing about the pre-
historic Americans that
many people overlook.
"Those early people
were not nomadic hunters
who simply wandered aim-
lessly. Their lives were
scheduled to meet the
patterns of nature," she
said, pointing out that this
seasonal scheduling meant
arriving at the river at the
time of the salmon run, for
example.
The Lydle Gulch site also
reveals a small glimpse of
its residents' non -work life-
style. After airdrying and
sifting 85 bags of earth or
"matrix" for tiny artifacts,
the researchers turned up
tiny bone beads and a small
bone gaming counter like a
sort of dice, as well as a
dozen bone awls and many
stone tools.
A thorough report on the
site is not due until next
winter, and Sappington
currently is using varied
resources to put together
an extensive picture of the
site, its people and environ-
ment.
At the moment, he is
using complex equipment
in the College of Mines and
Earth Resources to track
down the source of the
obsidian used for the tools
found at the site. Known
sources of obsidian within
40 miles of Lydle Gulch are
at Ola and Orena. Faculty
in zoology help with bone
identification, while several
in soils help with determin-
ing the ages of the several
soil layers at the site.
When the work is com-
plete, another piece -of the
puzzle of prehistory in
Idaho will have been put
into place. t
�%' h e r e a r e a l s o e x t e n s i v e
a m o u n t s o f m u s s e l s h e l l s a t
t h e s i t e w h i c h a p p e a r s t o b e
a s p r i n g o r f a l l c a m p i n g
g r o u n d . " M a n y p e o p l e
d o n ' t c o n d i s e r t h e i m p o r t -
a n c e o f m u s s e l s , b u t I ' m
f i n d i n g t h e m i n e v e r y s i t e I
d i g i n I d a h o . T h e y w e r e a
r e l i a b l e f o o d b e c a u s e t h e y
d i d n ' t h a v e l e g s t o r u n
a w a y , " K n u d s o n s a i d , a d d -
i n g m u s s e l s m a y h a v e h a d
l o w s t a t u s a s f o o d b u t w e r e
h e a v i l y u s e d .
A n a n k l e b o n e f o u n d
d u r i n g l a s t s u m m e r ' s d i g
m a y p r o v e t o b e t h e o l d e s t
r e c o v e r e d e v i d e n c e o f b u f -
f a l o i n t h e B o i s e V a l l e y
a r e a .
" T h e b o n e i s s t u c k i n
c a l i c h e ( a l a y e r o f c a l c i u m
p h o s p h a t e p r e c i p i -
t a t e ) w h i c h t a k e s f r o m
1 , 0 0 0 t o 2 , 0 0 0 y e a r s t o
f o r m , s o i t l o o k s l i k e t h e r e
i s a g o o d c h a n c e i t i s
b u f f a l o , " s a i d L e e S a p p i n g -
t o n , a m a s t e r ' s d e g r e e
c a n d i d a t e a t t h e u n i v e r s i t y
w h o i s c a r r y i n g o u t t h e
d e t a i l e d s t u d y o f t h e
a r t i f a c t s . H e s t r e s s e d t h a t
p o s i t i v e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n h a s
n o t y e t b e e n m a d e , a n d t h e
R a d i o c a r b o n d a t i n g o f
a r t i f a c t s f r o m t h e v a r i o u s
l a y e r s i s n ' t d u e b a c k u n t i l
M a y , a c c o r d i n g t o S a p p i n g -
t o n . H o w e v e r , t h e l a y e r s
s e e m t o b e c o r r e s p o n d i n g
w e l l t o t y p i c a l G r e a t B a s i n
p r e h i s t o r i c c h r o n o l o g y .
L a s t s u m m e r ' s c r e w
e x c a v a t e d d o w n t o b e d r o c k ,
f r o m o n e t o 2 . 3 m e t e r s
( a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 . 1 t o 1 . 6
y a r d s ) d o w n . T h e c u l t u r e o f
t h a l o w e s t l a y e r w a s t y p i c a l
o f t h e a r c h a i c p e r i o d b e f o r e
t h e u s e o f b o w a n d a r r o w ;
t y p i c a l i t e m s a r e t h r e e - i n c h
s p e a r p o i n t s o f o b s i d i a n .
" I d e n t i c a l a r t i f a c t s h a v e
b e e n f o u n d a t o t h e r s i t e s i n
t h e G r e a t B a s i n t h a t h a v e
b e e n d a t e d a t f r o m 2 , 5 0 0 t o
5 , 0 0 0 y e a r s o l d , " S a p p i n g -
t o n s a i d .
" T h e s i t e w a s f a i r l y
c o n t i n u a l l y o c c u p i e d f r o m
t h a t a r c h a i c p e r i o d r i g h t u p
t o t h e t i m e p o t t e r y c a m e i n ,
a b o u t 8 0 0 y e a r s a g o , " h e
s a i d . F i v e p o t t e r y s h a r d s
w e r e f o u n d i n t h e u p p e r
l a y e r o f t h e s i t e .
" T h e r e w e r e n o E u r o p e -
a n a r t i f a c t s u n e a r t h e d , s o
h a b i t a t i o n a p p a r e n t l y e n d -
e d b e f o r e 1 8 0 0 , " S a p p i n g -
Tee- -7,/9y,
Pags , o-P 2
Site reveals
destroying a bit of evidence in a
ancient I ife
site that probably had been been
occupied for 12,000 to 15,000
years.
the estimate of Frank
near Snake
Jenks, a BLM archaeologist who
was gingerly wielding a long -
By Peter B. Rose
handled shovel Sunday morning.
One of our most exciting dis-
The Idaho Statesman
coveries is a bone awl that must
Men going through garbage
have been used to punch holes
are on display along the Snake
with," McLaughlin said.
River.
"It's so fine and polished, it
That the garbage they're exca-
might have been a clasp or pin.,"
vating may go back 1,500 or
Jenks said.
2,000 years makes this a scientif-
They also have found four pro -
ic endeavor that illuminates the
jectile points, or arrowhgads.
lives of prehistoric man.
"We don't have a huge collec-
"You can see the butchered
tion of nice artifacts,"
bone and shell fragments," said
McLaughlin explained, "but we
Tom Bicak, a volunteer digger
have found what looks like an
who works for Canyon County
actual living surface."
Parks and Recreation.
The site just upstream from
He gestured to an earth level
the Celebration Recreation Area
above a wide, brown -green river
"is in a territory rich with Bonne -
flow on the border of Ada and
ville gravel that goes back
Canyon counties. "That must
15,000 years.
have been a little kitchen floor,"
The "gravel" is huge. basalt
The - largely volunteer project
boulders that have thousands of
funded by a $4,000 US West
petroglyphs — rock art —
grant and $2,000 from the Bu-
etched upon them.
reau of Land Management be-
"There are literally hundreds
gan Sept. 28 and continues
of archaeological sites along
through Friday. About 50 volun-
this part of the river," Bicak
teers are helping.
said.
A concentration of fresh -water
Fred Walston, a U S West em-
mussel shells brought the dig-
ployee who sells telephones and
gers to this site.
works on data systems, sifted
"There were so many that it
soil on a screen. His last dig was
didn't look like they got here
on the Camas Prairie 25 years
naturally," said Jim McLaugh-
ago.
lin, the Idaho State University
He described himself as "the
graduate student who is in
strong back and weak mind" of
charge.
the outfit.
The uncovering group ranges
Bill Taylor, an Idaho State
in number from a few people to
University anthropology stu-
12 or 15 working mornings and
dent, said "the project seems
afternoons.
kind of interesting. "
They're excavating with den-
"When you watch the soil sit -
tal picks, whisk brooms, shovels,
ting on the screen a long while,
screens "a wide variety of
you start seeing things," he
instruments used in other profes-
added.
sions," McLaughlin said.
For relief, there is fishing in a
They are moving slowly and
river only a few feet away. The
carefully, to discover without
diggers have caught bass and
whitefish.
Paul Bicak, left, and Tom Bicak volunteered to help on an
archaeological dig of a prehistoric garbage dump along the Snake
Kevin Clark /The Idaho Statesmai
River. The site was noticed because of a large concentration
mussel shells and is thought to date back 1,500 to 2,000 years.
Ancient
campsite
uncovered
Archaeologists find tools
thousands of years old.
By Tim Woodward
The Idaho Statesman
Archaeologists with the Idaho
Department of Transportation
have found an Indian campsite
near Weiser they say may be up
to 5,000 years old.
Department excavations have
yielded artifacts including
knives, projectiles and cobbling
tools. The items will be given to
the Idaho Historical Society.
"We're trying to identify how
big it (the campsite) is," IDT
environmental manager Charles
Rountree said. "It's under-
ground, so it's hard to tell.
We're finding material from the
surface down as far as 7 feet."
Archaeologists will try to
learn what attracted Indians to
the area, he said.
"Monroe Creek goes through
the area, and at one time maybe
the Weiser River was near there,
but we really don't know why
they chose this site. That's what
the archaeologists are trying to
figure out."
Workers found the site while
doing archaeological studies on
an alternate route for U.S. 95. It
would replace a road Rountree
described as narrow and cutting
through a residential area.
"The new route would be an
improved, highway -type facili-
ty," Rountree said. "It will be
less residential and will provide
more lanes of traffic."
The excavation began the
week of July 19. Rountree said
he didn't know how long it
would continue, but that it was
unlikely the new road could
avoid the campsite.
"It's right in middle of the
proposed alignment corridor, "'
he said. "On one side is a school,
and on the other side it's resi-
dential."
Th0-
Archaeologists invite
volunteers to aid dig
Workers will study site of
1861 gold strike at Florence
The Associated Press
GRANGEVILLE — The For-
est Service and University of
Idaho Anthropology Depart-
ment are teaming up on an ar-
chaeological dig near the Salm-
on River 30 miles south of
Grangeville.
Volunteers are invited to help
on the dig in the Florence min-
ing area under the Passport In
Time national program open to
the public.
"We want volunteers to learn
about the site, to really know
what archaeologists do and how
they work. for volunteers to ex-
periencc.. as much as they can
during I'- dig " said Donna Tur-
nipseed, Sab -tin Kiver Ranger
District archaeologist.,
The Florence, gold sti,.kt. ;,,
186,. was started by a group J
five Californians and was one of
the richest in the Clearwater
and Salmon River areas. By
1862, about 20,000 people" lived
in the mining camps. A miner
working a rocker box could earn
up to $3,000 a day.
The Florence .Mining District
still exists today, although most
-1 Jdfes kJ4Ah. 9 -la -93
mining ended in the 1930s.
To be excavated is the old
"Florence Cabin Remains," a
previously recorded historic
mining site. The project, be-
tween Aug. 2 and 22, will formal-
ly evaluate its National Register
of Historic Places eligibility.
A group of 10 volunteers every
three days will work on the dig.
They must call ahead and will
undergo training and. diggit
through those days.
Anyone interested sL iul+i .
Turnipseed at the i rtrest St °, s,s�*w
office in White N-:i, (it ' it W;"
sity of ldpk': a,irurupo),.,gA
Roderick Svragur : .vf uscow.
Stc;leS ndh j"/(/ J7 /Yy�
Tribal advocate blasts
road archaeology
Dig on proposed
route of U.S. 95
called `desecration'
By Martin S. Johncox
The Idaho Statesman
The Idaho Transportation De-
partment's excavation of an an-
cient American Indian campsite
near Weiser is a "desecration,"
the Shoshone Paiute Tribe advo-
cate said Tuesday.
"It would be much like us go-
ing and taking a backhoe to
Morris Hill Cemetery and dig-
ging up the graves there in the
interest of academic curiosity,"
said Doug McConnaughey, Sho-
shone Paiute Tribe advocate,
who plans to visit the site today.
"They're going to have to find
an alternative. We know, that
this is not the only place to
build a highway."
Excavations this week at the
site have uncovered cutting
tools and an early style spear
point, as well as mussel shells
and charred bone.
The site is along Monroe
Creek, near its confluence with
the Weiser River.
Officials believe ancestors of
the Shoshone tribes camped at
the site off and on between 500
and 8,000 years ago. They first
found evidence of a camp at the
site two years ago, and this
week invited tribal representa-
tives to visit the area.
The Transportation Depart -
ment plans to build a $7 million,
five -mile alternate route for U.S.
95 in 1995, and the half -acre site
is in or near the road's path.
LeRoy Meyer, Idaho Trans-
portation Department district
engineer, said the geography of
the area left little choice.
"We looked at other align-
ments in that area, and to miss
that area would put serious
curves in the road," Meyer said.
"And if you move it in some
other direction, there may be
artifacts there, too."
Archaeologists have not found
human remains, but McCon-
naughey said there probably are
some nearby because, "The Sho-
shonian tradition is to bury
someone where they die, and let
them return to Mother Earth."
Jenna Gaston, an archaeolo-
gist with the Idaho Transporta-
tion Department, said the site is
significant; "It's one of the old-
est that are found in the river
valley areas."
McConnaughey said many of
the ancient Shoshonians who
roamed the Snake River Plain
came from the Weiser area. Resi-
dents of the area were called the
agaiduka, or salmon - eaters.
Gaston said the artifacts will
be turned over to the Idaho His-
torical Museum. McCon-
naughey said the tribe will ask
that it and the Shoshone Ban -
nocks receive the artifacts.
Monroe Creek
Indian artifacts found near Weiser
Elementary school
Payette
Bend
Boise
Methodical approach leads
state archaeologist to truth
By Dan Gallagher
The Associated Press
PADDY FLAT— On Memor-
ial Day weekend in 1995, four
young men tied Jeffrey Towers'
hands and led him into a dark
forest where he was mocked,
beaten and shot in the head with
a 9- millimeter pistol.
Towers' body was burned in a
shallow pit and then buried, the
foursome convinced they could
hide their victim forever.
But 5' /z months later, state ar-
chaeologist Robert Yohe — em-
ploying the painstaking meth-
ods of his profession —was able
to find convincing traces of
Towers from 1,200 bits of
charred bone.
"For forensic criminalists, the
crime scene was cold in that so
much time had passed since the
act," Yohe said. "But by using
the archaeological gridding and
mapping, you can turn up the
fire on a cold scene."
It was one time that Yohe's
skill as an archaeologist helped
a modern investigation. Most of
his work centers on much older
human remains.
"Dr. Yohe was able to make a
statement on the sex and the age
of the individual — even though
the bones were burned — and to
establish there was one body,"
said Ann Bradley, criminalist
When it comes to mysteries,
Yohe gets down to the bone
State archaeologist Robert
Yohe's business is bones.
Skulls, femurs and scapulas
fill his room at the old U.S.
Assay Office.
"A little of the old and a lit-
tle of the new," he says.
Yohe has helped the Idaho
Department of Law Enforce-
ment develop evidence for
murder investigations and
usually receives a half -dozen
calls every year from people
who have found bones out in
a field.
Last year, the remains of
three unidentified Civil War -
era bodies unearthed at a
flood - control basin project in
the Boise Foothills were re-
interred in the nearby Mili-
tary Reserve cemetery after
Yohe took a look at them.
with the state Department of
Law Enforcement's Bureau of
Forensic Services.
"This isn't something that
works on all crime scenes,"
Yohe said. "But there are some
instances where a body has
been dumped somewhere, or
Examining the bones of
one man, Yohe determined
he was a soldier 40 -50 years
old, and fairly wealthy be-
cause of the gold fillings in
his teeth.
"It seems as though gold
fillings would have been ex-
pensive even then," Yohe
said. "The average foot sol-
dier wouldn't have access to
that type of luxury."
The man also suffered
from a disease such as
syphilis or a bone infection
since one thigh bone was
thicker than the other.
"It may not have killed
him, but it was a debilitating
condition, a long -term dis-
ease," he said.
— The Associated Press
the person was taken some-
where and murdered, you can
extract some valuable informa-
tion."
The four assailants, who
claimed to be part of a gang, are
serving sentences ranging from
five years to 15 to 25 years..
Rancher's, officials' actions costly
Both must pay for
causing damages to
archaeological sites
The Associated Press
MCCALL — Six years ago,
Weiser rancher Weldon Branch
ran a 9 -foot bulldozer blade
through one of the oldest -
known human archaeological
sites in Idaho to get to some na-
tional forest timber.
This spring, Branch paid
$35,000 to settle the govern-
ment's complaints against him.
One of the largest civil settle-
ments under the 20- year -old Ar-
chaeological Resources Protec-
tion Act ended years of conflict
that included a grand jury inves-
tigation, criminal charges being
filed and dropped, a civil case
and mediation.
But while the Forest Service
was pursuing Branch, its agents
were tearing up two other
known prehistoric sites in the
Payette National Forest.
-In 1997, the Forest Service al-
lowed a log loading site to be
built on a known archaeological
site and later allowed slash
limbs and branches to be
burned there.
And last year, federal officials
let another log loading site be
bulldozed in the middle of a pre-
historic Indian archaeological
site. Forest Service archaeolo-
gists stopped the burning of
slash on that site.
Larry Kingsbury, historic
preservation officer for the
Payette National Forest, said the
three incidents are the most seri-
ous in over a decade.
"It's embarrassing," Kings-
bury said, but he contended that
with all the different regula-
tions, "it's very difficult to get out
a timber sale without some sort
of violation."
Still, he has called in outside
federal law enforcement to in-
vestigate the Forest Service's ac-
tions. The Forest Service has
agreed to come up with $30,000
to repair the damage at the two
sites.
"Justice will prevail one way
or the other," Kingsbury said.
"Mr. Branch has paid. The For-
est Service has paid."
But Erik Ryberg of Payette
Forest Watch maintains that it
has been the taxpayers, not the
Forest Service employees, who
have paid for the last two
intrusions. He believes those
employees should be punished.
With the investigation still un-
der way, Kingsbury said no de-
cision has been made on what
will happen to the Forest Ser-
vice employees involved.
Federal officials claim
Branch's action destroyed a rare
and fragile site on the Weiser
River south of Council. In fact,
Kingsbury said the government
canceled the timber sale Branch
was working because the road
went through the site.
Branch said he had verbal
permission from the Forest Ser-
vice to bulldoze the road and
had no idea the site was there.
Federal officials allege
Branch waited a few years,
bladed the road and then helped
himself to the timber anyway.
Kingsbury said that the gov-
ernment will use the settlement
money to excavate, catalog, test
and date the artifacts.
-�- yme w� snid
S earpoint offers
glimpse into Idaho
of 11,000 years ago
Take a look at the spear point
to the right. See in your mind's
eye its user: an ancient Idaho
hunter, a long -lost part ofthe
amazing heritage of our state.
Archaeologists say this point is
11,400 years old. Its creator, one
ofthe earliest Idahoans known,
lived in the chilly climate ofthe
dying Ice Age. He probably was a
man, and he probably used a
deer -antler tine to chip away
flakes of the soft (as stones go)
obsidian he held in a leather pad
in his hand. Then he tied the
point to an arrow about 5 feet
long and hurled it with a spear
thrower, or atlatl, to kill an elk,
deer or antelope.
We will never know who he
was or whether he got his kill. All
we know is that his lost spear
point was buried for thousands
ofyears (a calcium - carbonate
buildup on the point tells archae-
ologists that). A tunneling go-
pher kicked it to the surface,
where Denise Stark found it.
Stark is an archaeologist tech-
nician for North Wind Inc., an
Idaho Falls company that does
government- contract work. A
North Wind cultural- resources
team in the Beaverhead Moun-
tains southeast of Salmon con-
ducted an archaeological inven-
tory for the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management, which plans to re-
store thousands of acres of forest
land. She saw the point last Octo-
ber just west ofthe Continental
Divide.
Steven Wright, an archaeolo-
gist for the BLM's Salmon field
office, said the spear point is con-
sistent with those created by the
Linn Coulee culture in eastern
This obsidian spear point, found in
the Beaverhead Mountains of Idaho's
Salmon River region, is believed to be
more than 11,OOO years old. Its dis-
covery suggests the oldest known Ida -
hoans lived farther east than archaeol-
ogists previously had thought.
Washington and Idaho's Panhan-
dle. It means their culture appar-
ently reached much farther east
than previously thought.
The BLM plans to donate the
point to the Idaho Museum of
Natural History at Idaho State
University in Pocatello. But first
Wright wants to study it. He will
put it under a microscope to see if
the scratched volcanic glass
shows evidence ofwear from
use.
We 21st century Idahoans
think ofthe first Idahoans as
primitive and low -tech, but this
point is evidence ofwell- devel-
oped survival skills. Its creator
had no McDonald's to drive
through when he got hungry. He
shaped a durable and beautiful
point so it would penetrate an an-
imal quickly and keep himself,
and perhaps his family, alive.
Thanks, Stark, for your sharp
eyes. Four hundred and fifty gen-
erations later, they helped a piece
of Idaho history come alive.