| Revision as of 22:53, 1 March 2022 editIsaacsj3 (talk | contribs)47 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:02, 1 March 2022 edit undoIsaacsj3 (talk | contribs)47 edits Revised, updated, and divided the recent findings section to clarify the current state of research at Paisley CavesTag: Visual edit: SwitchedNext edit → | ||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
| Scientific excavations and analysis in the Paisley Caves since 2002 have uncovered substantial new discoveries, including subfossil human ] with the oldest ] evidence of ] habitation in ], various artifacts, and animal remains. The DNA was ] to 14,300 ] or roughly 12,000 BCE.<ref name="Phys-201410032">{{cite news|author=Staff|date=October 3, 2014|title=Cave containing earliest human DNA dubbed historic|work=]|url=http://phys.org/news/2014-10-cave-earliest-human-dna-dubbed.html|access-date=October 5, 2014}}</ref> The caves were added to the ] in 2014.<ref name="WkList2">{{cite web|last=National Park Service|author-link=National Park Service|date=October 3, 2014|title=Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 9/22/14 through 9/26/14|url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/listings/20141003.htm|access-date=November 9, 2014|format=PDF}}</ref> | Scientific excavations and analysis in the Paisley Caves since 2002 have uncovered substantial new discoveries, including subfossil human ] with the oldest ] evidence of ] habitation in ], various artifacts, and animal remains. The DNA was ] to 14,300 ] or roughly 12,000 BCE.<ref name="Phys-201410032">{{cite news|author=Staff|date=October 3, 2014|title=Cave containing earliest human DNA dubbed historic|work=]|url=http://phys.org/news/2014-10-cave-earliest-human-dna-dubbed.html|access-date=October 5, 2014}}</ref> The caves were added to the ] in 2014.<ref name="WkList2">{{cite web|last=National Park Service|author-link=National Park Service|date=October 3, 2014|title=Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 9/22/14 through 9/26/14|url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/listings/20141003.htm|access-date=November 9, 2014|format=PDF}}</ref> | ||
| == Significant findings == | |||
| ==Recent finds== | |||
| In the summer of 2007, a field school from the ] identified the oldest human ] yet discovered in the Americas. This assertion is based on analysis of several ] samples found in the Paisley Caves complex.<ref>], ], et al. , Science Express. 2008-04-03.</ref><ref></ref><ref>Fox, Maggie. {{Dead link|date=April 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}, Scientific American, April 3, 2008.</ref> In total, workers have obtained over 280 radiocarbon dates and DNA analysis from more than 60 coprolites from the Paisley Caves.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Shillito|first=Lisa-Marie|last2=Whelton|first2=Helen L.|last3=Blong|first3=John C.|last4=Jenkins|first4=Dennis L.|last5=Connolly|first5=Thomas J.|last6=Bull|first6=Ian D.|date=2020-07-15|title=Pre-Clovis occupation of the Americas identified by human fecal biomarkers in coprolites from Paisley Caves, Oregon|url=https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.aba6404|journal=Science Advances|language=EN|doi=10.1126/sciadv.aba6404|pmc=PMC7363456|pmid=32743069}}</ref> Coprolite analysis at varying ages revealed that these occupants were omnivorous, eating a combination of foraged plants, seeds, small mammals such as rodents, fish, and insects like beetles. Knowledge of this omnivorous mode of sustenance supports the notion that the coprolites are human in origin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Anthony |last2=Hutson |first2=Jarod M. |last3=Bryant |first3=Vaughn M. |last4=Jenkins |first4=Dennis L. |date=2020-01-02 |title=Dietary items in Early to Late Holocene human coprolites from Paisley Caves, Oregon, USA |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01916122.2018.1530699 |journal=Palynology |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=12–23 |doi=10.1080/01916122.2018.1530699 |issn=0191-6122}}</ref> Other authors have questioned the authenticity and relevance of the evidence gathered from ancient DNA and ]<ref>Hendrik N. Poinar, Stuart Fiedel et al. {{Dead link|date=January 2022}}, ''Science'' 10 July 2009, Vol. 325. no. 5937, p. 148, 10.1126/science.1168182</ref> and challenge the morphological assignment of the coprolites to humans.<ref>Paul Goldberg, F. Berna and R.I. Macphail {{Dead link|date=January 2022}}, ''Science'' 10 July 2009, Vol. 325. no. 5937, p. 148, {{doi|10.1126/science.1167531}}</ref> | |||
| A field school from the ] has been examining the site since 2002 and analyzing its ] artifacts.<ref name="wolman">{{cite web | |||
| | url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080403-first-americans.html | |||
| | title = Fossil Feces Is Earliest Evidence of N. America Humans | |||
| | author = David Wolman | |||
| | publisher = National Geographic News | |||
| | date = April 3, 2008 | |||
| | access-date = 2008-04-25 | |||
| | author-link = David Wolman | |||
| }}</ref> In the summer of 2007, they identified the oldest human ] yet discovered in the American continents. This assertion is based on analysis of several samples of ] found in the Paisley Caves complex.<ref>], ], et al. , Science Express. 2008-04-03.</ref><ref></ref><ref>Fox, Maggie. {{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Scientific American, April 3, 2008.</ref> | |||
| Since then, other authors have questioned the authenticity and relevance of the evidence gathered from ancient DNA and ],<ref>Hendrik N. Poinar, Stuart Fiedel et al. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921000645/http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;325/5937/148-a |date=2010-09-21 }}, ''Science'' 10 July 2009, Vol. 325. no. 5937, p. 148, 10.1126/science.1168182</ref> and from the morphological assignment of the coprolites to humans.<ref>Paul Goldberg, F. Berna and R.I. Macphail {{Dead link|date=January 2022}}, ''Science'' 10 July 2009, Vol. 325. no. 5937, p. 148, {{doi|10.1126/science.1167531}}</ref> | |||
| The coprolites were found in |
The coprolites were found in the same level as a small rock-lined hearth some {{convert|7|ft|m|0}} below the modern surface. Also discovered at that level was a large number of bones from waterfowl, fish, and ], including extinct ], horses, and bison. ] adjusted to calendar years dates these coprolites to 14,400 years ago, probably representing a pre-Clovis occupation. DNA analysis provides apparent genetic ties to Siberia or Asia, rather than a distinct wave of migration.<ref> Newswise, Retrieved on July 7, 2008.</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Fiedel|first=Stuart J.|date=1 February 2014|title=Did Pre-Clovis People Inhabit the Paisley Caves (and Why Does It Matter)?|url=https://bioone.org/journals/human-biology/volume-86/issue-1/027.086.0104/Did-Pre-Clovis-People-Inhabit-the-Paisley-Caves-and-Why/10.3378/027.086.0104.full|access-date=February 17, 2022|website=BioOne}}</ref> | ||
| ], the putative first humans to live in the Americas, are currently thought to have crossed the Bering Strait into North America 14,500 cal yr BP. However, the Paisley Caves and other archaeological sites throughout the Americas, such as ], have been dated to earlier than Clovis technologies. Scientific debate has shifted in recent years to question this long-held "Clovis first" hypothesis.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="wolman2">{{cite web|author=David Wolman|author-link=David Wolman|date=April 3, 2008|title=Fossil Feces Is Earliest Evidence of N. America Humans|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080403-first-americans.html|access-date=2008-04-25|publisher=National Geographic News}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | Evidence at other archaeological |
||
| ⚫ | Evidence at other archaeological sites—as well as previous work at Paisley Caves in the 1930s—had been thought to provide such evidence, but questionable excavation techniques clouded the issue.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}} Knowing this, the University of Oregon team worked carefully to avoid the mistakes of the past.<ref name="wolman2" /> The theory that pre-Clovis immigrants traveled to North America down the Pacific Coast suggests that the travelers would have passed through the hinterlands of what is Oregon today. DNA from coyote, fox, and dog (or wolf) was found as well.<ref name="sci2">{{cite web|author=M. Thomas P. Gilbert|author2=Dennis L. Jenkins|author2-link=Dennis L. Jenkins|author3=Anders Götherstrom|author4=Nuria Naveran|author5=Juan J. Sanchez|author6=Michael Hofreiter|author7=Philip Francis Thomsen|author8=Jonas Binladen|author9=Thomas F. G. Higham|date=3 April 2008|title=DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/data/1154116/DC1/1|url-status=dead|access-date=2008-04-13|work=]|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|format=PDF|author13-link=Eske Willerslev|author13=Eske Willerslev|author12=Linda Scott Cummings|author11=Robert Parr|author10=Robert M. Yohe II}}</ref>] | ||
| Special projectile points used for hunting known as 'Western Stemmed points' were later recovered from the caves. These are quite different from the Clovis points, and no evidence diagnostic of Clovis technology has been found at the site.<ref>] / ] et al. , '']'', 13 July 2012. Retrieved: 13 July 2012.</ref><ref>Wilford, John Noble. '']'', 12 July 2012. Retrieved: 13 July 2012.</ref><ref>Thomas H. Maugh II. , '']'', 12 July 2012. Retrieved: 13 July 2012.</ref> | |||
| == Contention == | |||
| Recent research has called the accuracy of radiocarbon dates from these coprolites into question on the basis of morphology and possible ] contamination by exogenous human DNA. Sampled coprolites from lower lithostratigraphic units contained canid DNA in addition to human DNA. Other inter-mixed coprolites contained no human DNA, instead being fully attributed to late Pleistocene camelids and lions, and dated to 12,265 ]. Some soil samples adjacent to the coprolites were also found to have human DNA, giving further credit to the leaching hypothesis.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
| Although any results from DNA have been reduced to ambiguous, other data from the coprolites coincidentally provide evidence of pre-Clovis occupation. Coprolites also contain a mixture of lipids and other organic compounds from digestion—called fecal biomarkers. Such lipids are chemically stable and hydrophobic, protecting them from water-induced mobility and serving as more reliable data from buried coprolites than DNA.<ref name=":1" /> Additionally, a human-made bulrush shaft was found above a coprolite and dated to 12,270 yr BP—further verifying the pre-Clovis occupation.<ref name=":1" /> These data provide evidence that the associated Western Stemmed Tradition points are the oldest lithic technology in the Americas and outdate Clovis points. | |||
| In 2002, a team of researchers from ] found stone tools and charcoal on the southern Oregon coast (] in the ]), dating from 10,000 years ago—more than 2,000 years older than previously known archaeological sites on Oregon's coast. Carbon dating of artifacts (similar to ones found on the Alaskan and British Columbia coasts) suggested an origin of approximately 12,000 calendar years ago.<ref>{{cite web|date=6 November 2002|title=Ancient site of human activity found on Oregon coast|url=https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2002/nov/ancient-site-human-activity-found-oregon-coast|publisher=Oregon State University}}</ref><ref>{{citation|author=Loren G. Davis|title=New Support for a Late-Pleistocene Coastal Occupation at the Indian Sands Site, Oregon|date=2008|url=https://wpg.forestry.oregonstate.edu/sites/wpg/files/seminars/2008_DavisCRP.pdf|work=Archaeology: North America|volume=25|pages=74–76}}</ref> | |||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
Revision as of 23:02, 1 March 2022
United States historic place| Paisley Five Mile Point Caves | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
 Bill Cannon, Bureau of Land Management archaeologist, near Cave No. 5 | |
| Location | Address restricted |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Paisley, Oregon |
| Coordinates | 42°45′41″N 120°33′05″W / 42.7613°N 120.5514°W / 42.7613; -120.5514 |
| Built | ca. 14,300 BP |
| NRHP reference No. | 14000708 |
| Added to NRHP | September 24, 2014 |
The Paisley Caves or the Paisley Five Mile Point Caves complex is a system of four caves in an arid, desolate region of south-central Oregon, United States north of the present-day city of Paisley, Oregon. The caves are located in the Summer Lake basin at 4,520 feet (1,380 m) elevation and face west, carved into a ridge of Miocene and Pliocene era basalts mixed with soft volcanic tuffs and breccias by Pleistocene-era waves from Summer Lake. One of the caves may contain archaeological evidence of the oldest definitively-dated human presence in North America. The site was first studied by Luther Cressman in the 1930s.
Scientific excavations and analysis in the Paisley Caves since 2002 have uncovered substantial new discoveries, including subfossil human coprolites with the oldest DNA evidence of human habitation in North America, various artifacts, and animal remains. The DNA was radiocarbon dated to 14,300 BP or roughly 12,000 BCE. The caves were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
Significant findings
In the summer of 2007, a field school from the University of Oregon identified the oldest human DNA yet discovered in the Americas. This assertion is based on analysis of several coprolite samples found in the Paisley Caves complex. In total, workers have obtained over 280 radiocarbon dates and DNA analysis from more than 60 coprolites from the Paisley Caves. Coprolite analysis at varying ages revealed that these occupants were omnivorous, eating a combination of foraged plants, seeds, small mammals such as rodents, fish, and insects like beetles. Knowledge of this omnivorous mode of sustenance supports the notion that the coprolites are human in origin. Other authors have questioned the authenticity and relevance of the evidence gathered from ancient DNA and stratigraphy and challenge the morphological assignment of the coprolites to humans.
The coprolites were found in the same level as a small rock-lined hearth some 7 feet (2 m) below the modern surface. Also discovered at that level was a large number of bones from waterfowl, fish, and large mammals, including extinct camels, horses, and bison. Radiocarbon dating adjusted to calendar years dates these coprolites to 14,400 years ago, probably representing a pre-Clovis occupation. DNA analysis provides apparent genetic ties to Siberia or Asia, rather than a distinct wave of migration.
Clovis ancestors, the putative first humans to live in the Americas, are currently thought to have crossed the Bering Strait into North America 14,500 cal yr BP. However, the Paisley Caves and other archaeological sites throughout the Americas, such as Monte Verde, have been dated to earlier than Clovis technologies. Scientific debate has shifted in recent years to question this long-held "Clovis first" hypothesis.
Evidence at other archaeological sites—as well as previous work at Paisley Caves in the 1930s—had been thought to provide such evidence, but questionable excavation techniques clouded the issue. Knowing this, the University of Oregon team worked carefully to avoid the mistakes of the past. The theory that pre-Clovis immigrants traveled to North America down the Pacific Coast suggests that the travelers would have passed through the hinterlands of what is Oregon today. DNA from coyote, fox, and dog (or wolf) was found as well.
Contention
Recent research has called the accuracy of radiocarbon dates from these coprolites into question on the basis of morphology and possible leaching contamination by exogenous human DNA. Sampled coprolites from lower lithostratigraphic units contained canid DNA in addition to human DNA. Other inter-mixed coprolites contained no human DNA, instead being fully attributed to late Pleistocene camelids and lions, and dated to 12,265 radiocarbon years. Some soil samples adjacent to the coprolites were also found to have human DNA, giving further credit to the leaching hypothesis.
Although any results from DNA have been reduced to ambiguous, other data from the coprolites coincidentally provide evidence of pre-Clovis occupation. Coprolites also contain a mixture of lipids and other organic compounds from digestion—called fecal biomarkers. Such lipids are chemically stable and hydrophobic, protecting them from water-induced mobility and serving as more reliable data from buried coprolites than DNA. Additionally, a human-made bulrush shaft was found above a coprolite and dated to 12,270 yr BP—further verifying the pre-Clovis occupation. These data provide evidence that the associated Western Stemmed Tradition points are the oldest lithic technology in the Americas and outdate Clovis points.
See also
- Lake Abert
- Arlington Springs Man - (Human remains)
- Buhl Woman - (Human remains)
- Calico Early Man Site - (Archeological site)
- Cueva de las Manos - (Cave paintings)
- Fort Rock Cave - (Archeological site)
- Kennewick Man - (Human remains)
- Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi - (Human remains)
- Marmes Rockshelter - (Archeological site)
- Monte Verde - (Coprolites and stone tools)
- Pendejo Cave - (Human remains)
- Picture Rock Pass Petroglyphs - (Prehistoric rock art)
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Lake County, Oregon
References
- Federal and state laws and practices restrict general public access to information regarding the specific location of this resource. In some cases, this is to protect archaeological sites from vandalism, while in other cases it is restricted at the request of the owner. See: Knoerl, John; Miller, Diane; Shrimpton, Rebecca H. (1990), Guidelines for Restricting Information about Historic and Prehistoric Resources, National Register Bulletin, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, OCLC 20706997.
- Staff (October 3, 2014). "Cave containing earliest human DNA dubbed historic". Phys.org. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
- National Park Service (October 3, 2014). "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 9/22/14 through 9/26/14" (PDF). Retrieved November 9, 2014.
- Gilbert, M. Thomas P., Dennis L. Jenkins, et al. DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America, Science Express. 2008-04-03.
- Preclovis
- Fox, Maggie. Ancient feces indicates earlier American origins, Scientific American, April 3, 2008.
- ^ Shillito, Lisa-Marie; Whelton, Helen L.; Blong, John C.; Jenkins, Dennis L.; Connolly, Thomas J.; Bull, Ian D. (2020-07-15). "Pre-Clovis occupation of the Americas identified by human fecal biomarkers in coprolites from Paisley Caves, Oregon". Science Advances. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aba6404. PMC 7363456. PMID 32743069.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) - Taylor, Anthony; Hutson, Jarod M.; Bryant, Vaughn M.; Jenkins, Dennis L. (2020-01-02). "Dietary items in Early to Late Holocene human coprolites from Paisley Caves, Oregon, USA". Palynology. 44 (1): 12–23. doi:10.1080/01916122.2018.1530699. ISSN 0191-6122.
- Hendrik N. Poinar, Stuart Fiedel et al. Comment on "DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America", Science 10 July 2009, Vol. 325. no. 5937, p. 148, 10.1126/science.1168182
- Paul Goldberg, F. Berna and R.I. Macphail Comment on "DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America", Science 10 July 2009, Vol. 325. no. 5937, p. 148, doi:10.1126/science.1167531
- "Researchers, Led by Archaeologist, Find Pre-Clovis Human DNA" Newswise, Retrieved on July 7, 2008.
- ^ Fiedel, Stuart J. (1 February 2014). "Did Pre-Clovis People Inhabit the Paisley Caves (and Why Does It Matter)?". BioOne. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ David Wolman (April 3, 2008). "Fossil Feces Is Earliest Evidence of N. America Humans". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- M. Thomas P. Gilbert; Dennis L. Jenkins; Anders Götherstrom; Nuria Naveran; Juan J. Sanchez; Michael Hofreiter; Philip Francis Thomsen; Jonas Binladen; Thomas F. G. Higham; Robert M. Yohe II; Robert Parr; Linda Scott Cummings; Eske Willerslev (3 April 2008). "DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America" (PDF). Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
- Paisley Caves description from University of Oregon
- Wilford, John Noble (April 8, 2008). "Evidence Supports Earlier Date for People in North America". The New York Times.
External
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Oregon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lists by county |   | |
| Portland lists | ||
| Other lists | ||