Archaeological finds in northern Minnesota may rewrite history
Exciting archaeological finds recently near northern Minnesota’s Knife Lake may rewrite the books on how long human beings have lived not only in Minnesota, but much of North America.
Knife Lake straddles the border between Canada and Minnesota, with Quetoco Provincial Park to the north, and the famous Boundary Waters on the U.S. side. Professor Mark Muniz of St. Cloud State and fellow researches have been digging around there, and what they have found is fairly amazing if their dating holds up.
Flint-stone tools found in this area which may date from 11,000 to 12,500 years ago would indicate all kinds of things – including the fact that the glacier that once existed in this area may have receded earlier than thought, or at least that this area became inhabitable much earlier than thought possible.
If there were Paleo-Indians in the Knife River area between 11,000 and 12.500 years ago, that would be hundreds, if not thousands of years after other humans first left signs of inhabiting the southern part of Minnesota.
The Knife River area was covered by glacier during the previous global ice age. The glaciers began to recede starting some 15,000 years ago. But the melted ice left behind a massive ancient inland sea, which is called Lake Agassiz today. The area where the Knife Lake artifacts have been uncovered should have been covered with water, or at least not recovered enough from being scourered by the receding glacier
Even so, to find evidence that Paleo-Indians were making stone tools here, and most likely living and hunting, is really pushing the limits of when this was thought possible. The flint-stone tools found by Muniz will now undergo intense, high-tech dating procedures – although the style of the tools themselves already indicate they may be far older than 10,000 years.
Author: Ken Korczak | Source: Examiner [October 04, 2011]
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| Paleo-Indians enjoyed some really good hunting [Credits: Wikipedia] |
Flint-stone tools found in this area which may date from 11,000 to 12,500 years ago would indicate all kinds of things – including the fact that the glacier that once existed in this area may have receded earlier than thought, or at least that this area became inhabitable much earlier than thought possible.
If there were Paleo-Indians in the Knife River area between 11,000 and 12.500 years ago, that would be hundreds, if not thousands of years after other humans first left signs of inhabiting the southern part of Minnesota.
The Knife River area was covered by glacier during the previous global ice age. The glaciers began to recede starting some 15,000 years ago. But the melted ice left behind a massive ancient inland sea, which is called Lake Agassiz today. The area where the Knife Lake artifacts have been uncovered should have been covered with water, or at least not recovered enough from being scourered by the receding glacier
Even so, to find evidence that Paleo-Indians were making stone tools here, and most likely living and hunting, is really pushing the limits of when this was thought possible. The flint-stone tools found by Muniz will now undergo intense, high-tech dating procedures – although the style of the tools themselves already indicate they may be far older than 10,000 years.
Author: Ken Korczak | Source: Examiner [October 04, 2011]
