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Marmes Rockshelter

Coordinates:46°36′52″N118°12′09″W/ 46.61431°N 118.20242°W/46.61431; -118.20242
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Marmes Rockshelter
Unknown officials in the Marmes Rock Shelter before it was submerged
Marmes Rockshelter is located in Washington (state)
Marmes Rockshelter
Marmes Rockshelter
Marmes Rockshelter is located in the United States
Marmes Rockshelter
Marmes Rockshelter
LocationFranklin County,Washington,U.S.
NRHP referenceNo.66000745
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHLJuly 19, 1964[2]

TheMarmes Rockshelter(also known as(45-FR-50)) is anarchaeological sitefirst excavated in 1962,[3]nearLyons Ferry Parkand the confluence of theSnakeandPalouse Rivers,inFranklin County,southeasternWashington.This rockshelter is remarkable in the level of preservation of organic materials, the depth ofstratified deposits,and the apparent age of the associatedNative Americanhuman remains.The site was discovered on the property of Roland Marmes, and was the site of the oldest human remains in North America at that time.[4]In 1966, the site became, along withChinook Pointand theAmerican and English Campson San Juan Island, the firstNational Historic Landmarkslisted in Washington.[5]In 1969, the site was submerged in water when aleveeprotecting it from waters rising behind the then newly constructedLower Monumental Dam,which was 20 miles (32 km) down the Snake River, failed to hold back water that leaked into the protected area through gravel under the soil,[4]creatingLake Herbert G. West.

The excavation

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The existence of the site was first brought to the attention of ProfessorRichard Daughertyin 1952 by a rancher named John McGregor.[6]Excavations at the site were started by Daugherty andRoald Fryxell,a geologist, under the auspices ofWashington State University(WSU) and theNational Park Servicein 1962, and continued until 1964.[3][7]In 1965, Fryxell returned to the site along with Professor Carl Gustafson and students from WSU,[8]and had Roland Marmes dig a trench in front of the rockshelter with his bulldozer, which turned up human and elk bones.Radiocarbon datingindicated that the human remains were about 10,000 years old.[9]In 1968, Fryxell returned, this time with several WSU professors (including a visiting professor from Poland) and members of theUnited States Geological Survey,[10]and found more human and animal remains, along with bone tools. April 29 of that year, WashingtonSenatorWarren Magnusonmade a public announcement of the finds.

Inundation of the site

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After a bill that would have provided funds to protect the site failed, then-PresidentLyndon B. Johnsonsigned anExecutive Orderthat authorized funding for theArmy Corps of Engineersto build aleveearound the site to protect it from the imminent flooding caused by construction of theLower Monumental Dam.Late that year, Daugherty left the dig, leaving Fryxell to lead the project. Within three days of the closure of the Lower Monumental Dam in February 1969, the site was completely underwater, due to the seepage of water through thick layers of gravel that had not been accounted for.[6]However, as the site was being flooded, the excavation team laid down plastic sheeting topped with gravel in the hopes of being able to return to the dig in the future.[11]

The location of the site is still known today, and has come under some threat of erosion from the wakes of motorized vehicles on the lake. The Army Corps of Engineers considers the site to be in stable condition with a "Satisfactory" threat rating since 2004.[12]

Findings at the site

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The creation of the Lower Monumental Dam raised the level of the Palouse River high enough to submerge the Marmes site completely under water.

The excavations at the site revealed evidence of human occupation from a period that lasted 8,000 years,[13]and that the area was home to humans as long ago as 11,230 years ago.[14]The people living at the site hunted game such as elk and deer usingatlatls,and also hunted smaller mammals such as beavers, while they gathered mussels from the river.[15]The excavation turned up graves, which included beads carved from shells and spear points. One grave, that of a child, held five matching knives made of stone.[16]The excavation also turned upchalcedonyandchertprojectile points. Those in the upper layers were made ofagate,which is not found in the area.[17]Stone tools were found as well, such as scrapers for use in tanning hides, andmortars and pestles.[18]In layers dated to 7,000 years ago, a large number of shells belonging to asnailof thegenusOlivellawere found, which would have been imported from theWest Coast of the United States,200 miles (322 km) away. The majority of the shells had holes drilled through them, indicating that they had adorned necklaces.[18]

In addition, one of the five knownJefferson Peace Medalswas found associated with the most recent human remains at the site, evidently having been given to a local Native American leader (presumably of theNez Perce) during theLewis and Clark Expedition.This medal has since been returned to the Nez Perce and reburied, as perNative American Graves Protection and Repatriation Actregulations.[19]

Analyzing the pollen sequences at the site showed a steppe ecosystem immediately following the retreat of glaciers 13,000 years ago, which gave way to a mixed forest of pine and spruce, which led into the current sagebrush prairie ecosystem.[20]

Implications of the findings

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Unlike many archaeological finds, the human remains at the site were able to be dated with environmental, geological, and archaeological methods.[8]Human remains at the site are the oldest that have been found in Washington, and at the time were the oldest set of remains found in North America.[21]Later radiocarbon work has confirmed the original dating of this site, indicating that these human remains, albeit very fragmentary, are still some of the oldest ever excavated in the New World.[22]This finding was useful in confirming the early chronology of the region and confirming the antiquity of the styles of associated bone tools.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service. March 18, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon September 25, 2012.RetrievedMarch 18,2008.
  2. ^"Marmes Rockshelter".National Historic Landmark summary listing.National Park Service. Archived fromthe originalon September 25, 2012.RetrievedJune 26,2008.
  3. ^abHicks 2004,p. 4
  4. ^abLeWarne 2003,pp. 23–24
  5. ^"Washington State Historic Preservation Office - Timeline"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on August 23, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 28,2008.
  6. ^ab"The Marmes Rockshelter Site".Archived fromthe originalon February 10, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 25,2008.
  7. ^Dodge, John (March 4, 2014)."Daugherty as treasured an artifact as what he dug".The Olympian.Archived fromthe originalon March 19, 2014.RetrievedMarch 18,2014.
  8. ^abKirk 1978,p. 37
  9. ^Hicks 2004,pp. 10–11
  10. ^Kirk 1978,p. 38
  11. ^Kirk 1978,p. 41
  12. ^"National Historic Landmarks Program Marmes Rockshelter Statement".Archived fromthe originalon September 25, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 27,2008.
  13. ^Downey 2000,p. 16
  14. ^Hicks 2004,p. i
  15. ^Fiedel 1992,p. 121
  16. ^Kirk 1970,p. 20
  17. ^Kirk 1970,p. 22
  18. ^abKirk 1970,pp. 23–24
  19. ^"Expeditions Report on Palouse River".Archived fromthe originalon February 9, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 27,2008.
  20. ^Kirk 1978,p. 56
  21. ^"The Man They Ate for Dinner".Time Magazine.May 10, 1968. Archived fromthe originalon October 29, 2010.RetrievedFebruary 27,2008.
  22. ^A Reevaluation of the Marmes Rockshelter Radiocarbon Chronology. John C. Sheppard; Peter E. Wigand; Carl E. Gustafson; Meyer Rubin. American Antiquity, Vol. 52, No. 1. (Jan., 1987), pp. 118-125.

Sources

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  • Downey, Roger (2000),Riddle of the Bones: Politics, Science, Race, and the Story of Kennewick Man,Springer,ISBN0-387-98877-7
  • Fiedel, Stuart J (1992),Prehistory of the Americas,Cambridge University Press,ISBN0-521-42544-1
  • Hicks, Brent A (2004),Marmes Rockshelter: A Final Report on 11,000 Years of Cultural Use,Pullman, Washington: Washington State University Press,ISBN0-87422-275-3
  • Kirk, Ruth (1970),The Oldest Man in America: An Adventure in Archaeology,New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc,ISBN0-15-257831-5
  • Kirk, Ruth (1978),Exploring Washington Archaeology,University of Washington Press,ISBN0-295-95630-5
  • LeWarne, Charles (2003),Washington State,Seattle: University of Washington Press,ISBN0-295-97301-3
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46°36′52″N118°12′09″W/ 46.61431°N 118.20242°W/46.61431; -118.20242

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