Courtesy Photo | A Paleoindian feature found at an archaeological site at Fort McCoy is shown from a...... read more read more
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Archaeologists with Colorado State University’s Center for the Environmental Management of Military Lands were performing site condition inspections when they discovered the remains of a campfire, visible as a dark stain on the ground surface.
The staining was caused by a fire burning and charring the soil and had been uncovered by wind and rain eroding the overlying sediments. This particular site is located in an area that includes sand dunes that are very slowly but continually being transformed by erosion transporting the sediments.
Archaeologists refer to nonportable elements of the archaeological record, such as this stain, as features.
A feature can be composed of numerous artifacts: a trash pit can be filled with pieces of plates, mason jars, nails, and other refuse; an old building wall can be made of individual bricks connected with mortar; and an old campfire can include parts of a ceramic cooking vessel and chipped stone created by resharpening a spear point or arrow head.
Each individual artifact associated with a feature has its own ability to provide information, but when considered as a group, they can potentially teach even more.
Several pieces of charcoal were collected from the campfire feature.
These pieces of charcoal were wrapped in aluminum foil and then mailed to a laboratory for testing. Charcoal contains the element carbon, but it contains different proportions of various carbon isotopes, such as the unstable and weakly radioactive isotope carbon 14.
Over time, carbon 14 isotopes decay at a known rate and decrease in number.
The laboratory is able to measure the amount of various carbon isotopes and, by comparing the amount of carbon 14 isotopes that remain against the number of stable carbon isotopes that do not decay, scientists can determine how long ago the unstable carbon 14 began to decay.
The laboratory determined that the carbon samples (charcoal) recovered from the campfire stain were approximately 10,000 years old.
They are the oldest radiocarbon dates recorded in more than 50 years of archaeological investigations at Fort McCoy.
Native Americans of 10,000 years ago lived a lifestyle that archaeologists refer to as the Paleoindian tradition.
The hallmarks of this lifestyle include hunting and gathering for subsistence, traveling long distances to follow food resources with no established home base, and the use of stone spear points.
Paleoindian spear points have been found in many places across the country within or immediately next to hearth features not unlike the one found at Fort McCoy. Radiocarbon dates from those features have established that the Paleoindian tradition lasted from approximately 15,000 to 8,000 years ago.
Archaeological investigations at Fort McCoy have yielded dozens of Paleoindian spear points, but this hearth feature provides the first concrete Paleoindian date for Fort McCoy that was scientifically derived.
All archaeological work conducted at Fort McCoy was coordinated by the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch.
Visitors and employees are reminded they should not collect artifacts on Fort McCoy or other government lands and leave the digging to the professionals.
Any person who excavates, removes, damages, or otherwise alters or defaces any historic or prehistoric site, artifact, or object of antiquity on Fort McCoy is in violation of federal law.
The discovery of any archaeological artifact should be reported to the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch at 608-388-8214.
| Date Taken: | 01.24.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 01.24.2020 10:54 |
| Story ID: | 360243 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WI, US |
| Web Views: | 76 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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