Ancient Stone Tools Show Humans Lived in Redmond Washington 10,000 Years Ago
Scientists have found stone tools dating to 10,000 years in Redmond, Washington at a site where mall is being planned for construction. The find marks the first clues to early human existence in the area.
According to UPI, archeologists found spear points, scrapers, awls and stone flakes, byproduct of tool making in Bear Creek. Testing of the tools revealed they had remnants of prey including bison, bear, deer, sheep and salmon. The find is the first evidence of early Americans in the area. Until now, only remains of ancient animals were found.
The tools were found to be unusually well-preserved due to a layer of peat that had assembled over the site during the years.
"Bear Creek in Redmond, Washington, is the only well-stratified, excavated site in the western Washington Puget Lowland to yield in situ lithic artifacts in deposits from the late Pleistocene-Holocene (LPH) transition," researchers wrote in the journal PaleoAmerica.
Following more testing, the artifacts will be handed over to Muckleshoot Tribe for curation, IB Times reports. The site will also get signs explaining its historic and archeological significance. Though the construction has been completed, the undug parts have been covered with thick soil to protect and mark them for later excavations.
