Burns BLM archaeological site could be the oldest for North American humans
By Logan Bagett on Monday, February 27th, 2023 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
JOHN DAY/BURNS – Burns Bureau of Land Management District Archaeologist David Holst was on KJDY’s Coffee Time recently, speaking on The Rimrock Draw Rockshelter—an archaeological site in Harney County that could be proof of one of, if not the oldest site of human inhabitation in North America:
“Academia can kind of be a toxic environment for this, but there’s enough of these sites now that I don’t think they can be denied, so we need to interpret it better.
It’s very exciting—we’re getting dates back from there that are from 17,500 to 18,300 years.
…that confirms that that is one of…probably the oldest habitation site in North America and maybe the new world.”
The site was discovered by the BLM in 2009, and the research efforts have been taken over by the University of Oregon. Holst mentioned the Archaeology Roadshow that will be making a stop in Hines on June 24th and invites anyone interested in archaeology or the Rimrock Draw Rockshelter to attend.
Find the full Coffee Time episode here: https://omny.fm/shows/coffee-time/february-27-burns-district-blm-archaeology
MORE RESOURCES:
Burns BLM: https://www.blm.gov/office/burns-district-office
Museum of Natural and Cultural History–Rimrock Draw Field School: https://mnch.uoregon.edu/rimrock-draw-field-school
Archaeology Roadshow: https://archaeologyroadshow.org/
