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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2019)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Saturday, August 31, 2019 North America’s oldest human artifacts found in Idaho free corridor,” said Loren Davis, an archaeologist at Oregon State University and the lead author on the study. Those people suppos- edly brought the technology to make Clovis-type blades and spear points with them, and then spread their shared culture across the conti- nent. That’s the model cur- rently taught in most history books. The site at Cooper’s Ferry in Western Idaho doesn’t fit with this model. For one, the ice-free cor- ridor probably didn’t exist when humans first arrived at Cooper’s Ferry — sci- entists think it didn’t open up until about 15,000 years ago, which means these early people had to find a different route south. Other early sites challenged this theory, but none were this old, and the oldest were dated with a method con- sidered less precise than radio-carbon dating. “This is another domino in the collapse of the Clo- vis-first idea and the idea that people walked down an ice-free corridor some 13,500 years ago,” says Todd Braje, an archaeol- ogist at San Diego State University, who was not involved in the study. “What’s really interest- ing about Cooper’s Ferry is that it takes things a lit- By ERIN ROSS Oregon Public Broadcasting CORVALLIS — Ancient human artifacts found in a remote corner of north- western Idaho could deliver a major blow to a long-held theory that North Ameri- ca’s first humans arrived by crossing a land bridge con- nected to Asia before mov- ing south through the center of the continent. The artifacts have been dated to as far back as 16,500 years ago, making them the oldest radiocarbon dated evidence of humans in North America, accord- ing to research published Thursday in the journal Science. The artifacts are part of a trove discovered where Cooper’s Ferry, Idaho, now stands. They are a thou- sand years older than what has previously been con- sidered North America’s most ancient known human remains. Together with doz- ens of other archaeological sites stretched across the continent, it helps decipher the story of when, and how, humans first arrived. “The traditional model is that people came into the New World from northeast Asia and walked across the Bering land bridge, before coming down the middle of the continent in an ice- Oregon State University Photo/Loren Davis Archaeologists work to excavate ancient human artifacts at Cooper’s Ferry in Western Idaho. tle further,” Braje says, “It offers some potential ave- nues for figuring out these big questions.” Braje supports an alter- native theory to the ice-free corridor: one where instead of traveling to the New World by land, ancient Americans came by sea. They traveled from Asia to North Amer- ica by island-hopping and hugged the shore, follow- ing a coastal “kelp high- way” full of sheltered bays and rich with food. The idea was once controversial, but in recent years it’s gained support. Just like the ice-free cor- ridor model is supported by a shared technology and shared culture found across a region, the kelp highway hypothesis also has a unit- ing technology: stemmed points. These are blades, spear points, knives, and cutting tools all manufac- tured the same way, and are one of the oldest types of projectiles in the world. While stemmed points are plentiful along the coast of Asia, there were very few found at the older sites in North America, and cru- cially, even fewer found along the coast. Of course, if Braje’s kelp highway theory was true, there would be very few archaeological sites along the West Coast of North America: sea levels have risen dramatically since the Ice Age, so any human settlements would have flooded long ago. That’s where Cooper’s Ferry comes in. OSU’s Davis first began excavating the site in the 1990s. His team uncovered stemmed points and dated them to over 13,000 years ago. At the time, there were no other examples of that technology from that time in history in North Amer- BRIEFLY Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY Very warm with some sun Partly sunny 91° 62° 86° 59° WEDNESDAY TUESDAY MONDAY SUNDAY Sunshine and patchy clouds Sunny Mostly sunny and nice PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 91° 57° 90° 59° 85° 55° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 95° 66° 96° 61° 93° 58° 88° 55° 90° 61° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 70/61 Kennewick Walla Walla 92/65 Lewiston 77/60 96/66 Astoria 69/58 87/56 91/57 Longview 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Pullman Yakima 92/60 74/58 94/63 Portland Hermiston 83/64 The Dalles 95/66 Salem Corvallis 81/57 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 89/56 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 86/60 87/50 92/55 Ontario 97/60 96/57 91/48 Trace 0.05" 0.19" 4.61" 5.15" 6.11" WINDS (in mph) Caldwell Burns 90° 69° 84° 54° 102° (2007) 39° (1965) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 83/58 through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 87/52 84/59 0.01" 0.13" 0.41" 9.74" 6.52" 8.36" HERMISTON Enterprise 91/62 90/63 88° 62° 84° 54° 103° (1967) 37° (1924) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 76/60 Aberdeen 87/61 89/62 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 77/62 ica, “we sort of sat in limbo for a time as people argued about what it might mean,” Davis said. They resumed exca- vation in 2009. And in 2017, Davis and his team once again started find- ing stemmed points. “The radiocarbon dates we were getting started to tell the same story. And then, it started to show they were even older than we realized. That was super surprising.” The stemmed points were extremely similar to a type found in Hokkaido, Japan, also dated to around 16,000 years old. Combined, Davis said this supports the hypothe- sis that the first Americans didn’t arrive by land, but by boats. Although the site at Coo- per’s Ferry is inland and far from the coast, it sits at the conjunction of two major rivers that serve as tribu- taries to the Columbia. “If you’re traveling south along the West Coast, the Colum- bia River is pretty much the first left you can take,” Davis said. It would be easy enough to then follow the river, rich with fish, to the confluence of two of its tributaries, the Snake and Salmon riv- ers, and the spot along their banks where Cooper’s Ferry now stands. Today WSW 6-12 WNW 6-12 Medford Boardman Pendleton 91/61 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls Sun. WSW 7-14 W 7-14 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 84/46 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 First Probation for mother of toddler who shot himself BAKER CITY — The mother of a 2-year- old Baker City boy who died in November 2018 after shooting himself in the head with a handgun he got control of has been placed on three years’ formal probation. Diana Goodman, 33, of Baker City will avoid an 18-month prison term and possi- bly be able to raise her surviving son who is about a year old, if she’s successful on pro- bation, District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff said Thursday. Liam Mankins died when a loaded .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol he was playing with discharged at his father’s home on Nov. 4, 2018. Shirtcliff said Liam was playing with the gun on the floor of his father’s bedroom while his father slept when he accidentally fired the gun. Peter Mankins, 33, pleaded guilty on Aug. 9 in Baker County Circuit Court to one count of criminally negligent homicide, a Class B felony, in connection with his son’s death. He also pleaded guilty to one count each of possession of methamphetamine and recklessly endangering another person, both Class A misdemeanors. BLM women’s fire camp still taking applicants to Sept. 13 6:15 a.m. 7:36 p.m. 7:38 a.m. 8:46 p.m. Full Last New NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 114° in Thermal, Calif. Low 31° in Yellowstone N.P., Wyo. Sep 5 Sep 13 Sep 21 Sep 28 VALE — The deadline to apply for the 2019 Women in Wildland Fire Boot Camp has been extended to Friday, Sept. 13. Participants are compensated for train- ing camp as well as some travel expenses. Training materials, personal protective equipment and meals will also be provided. Last year, the Vale District of the BLM sponsored the first wildland fire training in the Pacific Northwest geared toward women. Wildland firefighters play an important role in controlling and suppressing wild- fires that threaten communities and natu- ral resources, but they also use fire to stra- tegically manage public lands. While the federal government employs about 15,000 firefighters annually, women hold only 12% of those jobs. The boot camp consists of class- room instruction and field exercises that cover firefighting techniques, tools and equipment. Once completed, participants will have met several entry-level requirements for seasonal employment with federal agen- cies and private contractors. Applications for the boot camp, which will be held near Juntura over two consec- utive weekends, Oct. 11-13 and Oct. 18-20, will be accepted through Sept. 13. By Sept. 20, selections will be made. To apply, call 541-473-6297 or email candrews@blm.gov. — EO Media Group and Malheur Enterprise We Hear You! You deserve total audiological care. Professional. Experienced. Local. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Renata Anderson, MA Pam Wagenaar, Administrative Assistant 2237 SW Court, Pendleton 541-276-5053 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s ice 50s 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to EastOregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. 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