Archaeological Dig In Seattle Yields 10,000-Year-Old Stone Tools

A team of archaeologists has accidentally discovered a set of ancient stone tools that were crafted nearly 10,000 years ago. The team estimates that the tools were crafted and used by some of the early inhabitants of the area surrounding Redmond Town Center in Seattle.

The team was performing just another archaeological survey to clear the site for construction of a shopping mall when they stumbled upon the ancient stone tools. The researchers say that the tools have provided an insight into how humans lived around 10,000 years ago and ate their food with bisons around them. The discovery seems important from the archaeological perspective since there are only a few sites in and around Seattle that have yielded objects dating back to 10,000 years.

“We were pretty amazed. This is the oldest archaeological site in the Puget Sound lowland with stone tools,” said lead investigator and archaeologist Robert Kopperl in an interview with the Seattle Times.

As soon as the archaeologists recovered the tools, they sent them for a chemical analysis. The chemical tests found traces of food material present on the tools, including traces of deer, bison, salmon, bear and sheep. In addition to the tools used for feasting, the researchers discovered a number of other unusual tools as well, including spear points with a concave base.

The artifacts will be soon handed over to the Muckleshoot Tribe for curation, once a detailed analysis is completed by the archaeologists. Although the construction at the site has been completed, signs explaining the archaeological significance of the site will be added later. During the construction, a thick portion of the soil was added over the undug areas to preserve and protect the remaining ancient artifacts.