Very interesting. I didn’t realize there was a paleo site out there. I’ve heard of these broken artifact burn pits, and always wondered if; let’s say an early archaic cutler, found these older artifacts, and destroyed them. Probably not. Lol. Thanks for sharing your experience at the site!
Thanks for watching and commenting! Yes, it is still a bit of mystery as to why this was done and under what circumstances. It has been found often enough that it suggests a pattern - perhaps religious, perhaps related to intertribal warfare, perhaps something else.
We learn by doing quite often. We don't yet fully understand the nature of the activity at the site. People can celebrate, mourn, commorate, show off, and bond in many different ways. This site may represent some, all, or none of those behaviors. Whatever happened so long ago, it brought people together in some way. That community had no way of knowing that thousands of years later, the same thing would happen again- another community would be created. Thats the great thing about archaeology, it shows the shared common human experience that binds us all across time and space.
If this interests you I really recommend you look at the dig done in my back yard and across the river from me saying to the paleo Indians 10,000-12,000 years ago; My yard: Bear Swamp Site I & Site II, Berkley, MA, 1969 Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archeological Society- Volume 30 Directly across the Taunton River from me: Sweets Knoll Site and Boats Site (the latter being the oldest) I recently found a stone with a small bowl carved into it and had it examined by an expert who told me it dates back 8,000-12,000 years ago!
That sounds very interesting! It is remarkable that you have such an important site in your own backyard. That comes with a great deal of responsibility as well. Thanks for sharing this information. We will look into it - although it is a bit distant from our usual haunts. Thanks too for commenting!
@@BeHistoric Thanks for the reply! I agree, I do feel a responsibility to take care of the land and to share to story. I just enjoy sharing the dig information incase somebody has interest in the topic. It just blows my mind to hold something in my hand made by another human, one of the first known humans to ever walk in the region, from that incredibly long ago.
Thanks for watching and commenting! It's certainly possible. However, when we spoke at length with Dr Loebel, it wasn't just the heat treatment or exposure to high heat. As you point out, heat treating projectile points and stone tools was a common method. In addition to the exposure to the high heat, it was also the intentional destruction of the stone tools - clear fracture points from a single heavy blow, demonstrated where they could re-assemble the tool from the collected pieces. These weren't careful flintknapping strikes along the edges of tools to resharpen - but heavy blows to the middle of the pieces - in what appears to be intentional breakage.
Hello Brian and Joyce, another spectacular production on Illinois Archaeology on prehistoric American Indians particularly the Renier Ceremonial Complex in western Illinois.
Very interesting. I didn’t realize there was a paleo site out there. I’ve heard of these broken artifact burn pits, and always wondered if; let’s say an early archaic cutler, found these older artifacts, and destroyed them. Probably not. Lol.
Thanks for sharing your experience at the site!
Thanks for watching and commenting! Yes, it is still a bit of mystery as to why this was done and under what circumstances. It has been found often enough that it suggests a pattern - perhaps religious, perhaps related to intertribal warfare, perhaps something else.
We learn by doing quite often. We don't yet fully understand the nature of the activity at the site. People can celebrate, mourn, commorate, show off, and bond in many different ways. This site may represent some, all, or none of those behaviors. Whatever happened so long ago, it brought people together in some way. That community had no way of knowing that thousands of years later, the same thing would happen again- another community would be created. Thats the great thing about archaeology, it shows the shared common human experience that binds us all across time and space.
If this interests you I really recommend you look at the dig done in my back yard and across the river from me saying to the paleo Indians 10,000-12,000 years ago;
My yard: Bear Swamp Site I & Site II, Berkley, MA, 1969 Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archeological Society- Volume 30
Directly across the Taunton River from me: Sweets Knoll Site and Boats Site (the latter being the oldest)
I recently found a stone with a small bowl carved into it and had it examined by an expert who told me it dates back 8,000-12,000 years ago!
That sounds very interesting! It is remarkable that you have such an important site in your own backyard. That comes with a great deal of responsibility as well. Thanks for sharing this information. We will look into it - although it is a bit distant from our usual haunts. Thanks too for commenting!
@@BeHistoric Thanks for the reply! I agree, I do feel a responsibility to take care of the land and to share to story. I just enjoy sharing the dig information incase somebody has interest in the topic. It just blows my mind to hold something in my hand made by another human, one of the first known humans to ever walk in the region, from that incredibly long ago.
Fascinating that this site opens a window into the thinking of the PaleoIndians. Thanks again for your great work.
Thank you for watching and commenting! Very glad that you found it of interest!
maybe it was a site where they heat treated the points to soften them? it was a well know practice
Thanks for watching and commenting! It's certainly possible. However, when we spoke at length with Dr Loebel, it wasn't just the heat treatment or exposure to high heat. As you point out, heat treating projectile points and stone tools was a common method. In addition to the exposure to the high heat, it was also the intentional destruction of the stone tools - clear fracture points from a single heavy blow, demonstrated where they could re-assemble the tool from the collected pieces. These weren't careful flintknapping strikes along the edges of tools to resharpen - but heavy blows to the middle of the pieces - in what appears to be intentional breakage.
Thank you for this interesting video on the DeWulf Archeological site. The information was fascinating.
Thanks for watching and for the support! Yes, we thought so too!
Thank you for putting this together!
Our pleasure! Thank you for watching and supporting!
Hello Brian and Joyce, another spectacular production on Illinois Archaeology on prehistoric American Indians particularly the Renier Ceremonial Complex in western Illinois.
Thanks for the kind words, Brian! Great to hear from you - and thanks for watching and commenting on this video!