March 6, 2015

Possible Pre-Clovis tool found in Oregon Rock Shelter

Archaeologists have uncovered a scraper chipped from orange agate at the Rimrock Rock Shelter in Oregon. It was found under volcanic ash, 12 feet below the surface from Mount St. Helen’s, that has been dated at 15,000 years ago. If this date holds up, it will be another Pre-Clovis dated find from Oregon, with the Paisley Cave site as the other Pre-Clovis site, and where DNA evidence, tool evidence and stratigraphy evidence shows proof of Pre-Clovis activity at the site. The problem with this Rimrock Shelter find is that it has not yet been published in a peer reviewed journal, nor been subjected to outside research. And the chipped agate has to have been shown to have not slipped down through the ash layers so that it is not really as old as the ash covering at that depth.

(my note; So this find is not in the same league as the proven Pre-Clovis finds at Monte Verde, Chile or Paisley Cave, Oregon. The Monte Verde finds have withstood the test of time. Numerous tests have been done on the stratigraphy layers where human artifacts were found by many outside groups. None of these groups diputed those finds after testing. The fabric material, tools, footprints and housing posts also have undergone testing over time, and the dates continue to show Pre-Clovis in time. The human DNA found on human chewed seaweed at the site also correlates with the Pre-Clovis dates proven so far. Unless all scientific testing is totally faulty, Monte Verde is proven Pre-Clovis. And if all scientific testing and peer group testing is faulty, then archaeologists cannot date anything correctly. The Monte Verde dates are as proven as any dates proven in the field. At Paisley Cave, human coprolites were found and dated at Pre-Clovis. The stratigraphy layer of the tools has been verified at Pre-Clovis. The Paisley Cave finds are not as old as Monte Verde, so there will be more peer group testing at that site.)

Fox News printed this AP report, with a photo of the agate;
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/03/06/excavation-at-oregon-site-unearths-ancient-stone-tool/