Sinkhole Holds 12,000-Year-Old Clues to Early Americans

[Adsos Letter]

Source: national Geographic News
Willie Drye

Divers exploring a southern Florida sinkhole have uncovered clues to what life was like for some of America's first residents.

Led by University of Miami professor John Gifford, underwater archaeologists are exploring Little Salt Spring, 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of Sarasota.

Earlier this year, students working about 30 feet (9 meters) below the surface found the remains of a gourd that probably was used as a canteen by an ancient hunter about 8,000 or 9,000 years ago, according to Gifford.

Archaeologists have been recovering primitive relics from the spring since 1977, when divers found the remains of a large, now extinct tortoise and a sharpened stake that may have been used by a hungry hunter to kill the animal 12,000 years ago.

In 1986, Gifford and his colleagues recovered a skull with brain tissue from what he thinks was an ancient burial in shallow water near the spring. He continues to work with DNA samples to determine the date of the find.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090218-florida-early-americans-missions.html

[navarth]

1. good stuff. thanks!!

[a la izquierda]

2. Neat-o.

I love archaeology. I wish I knew more about it so that the first chapter of my dissertation would be easier to write.

[Brother Buzz]

3. Cool. Now I'm off to see to see the elephant (he's 40,000 years old)

Mammoth skeleton found nearly intact in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The nearly complete skeleton of a massive Columbian mammoth who died during the last ice age has been dug out of a construction site near the La Brea Tar Pits in downtown Los Angeles, a remarkable find even in the fossil-rich area, scientists said Wednesday.

The mammoth, dubbed "Zed" by researchers at the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, likely died in his late 40s some 40,000 years ago and was found near an unprecedented treasure trove of fossils that workers stumbled upon while digging the foundation for an underground parking garage.

"What makes this so special, so exciting for us is that Zed is a complete specimen," laboratory supervisor Shelley Cox said while showing off his dirt-encrusted, dinner table-sized brown pelvic bone for reporters.

"And he's really big compared to the mammoths we've recovered from La Brea before," Cox said. "The tusks are considerably larger than anything we had expected."

<more>
http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNewsMolt/idUKTRE51H7R220090218

[NeedleCast]

4. Pfffft, the earth is only 6,000 years old

Jesus told me...

[susanna]

5. Thanks for the link! Did you happen to watch...

The National Geographic Explorer show last night on "China's Secret Mummies"? It's really fascinating. Here's the link:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3094/Overview

I love archaeology in general. It ties you to the whole of history like nothing else.

[arcadian]

6. Cave diving is a most dangerous endeavor.

You're screwn if you get into trouble.