Archaeological excavations led by Wyoming’s state archaeologist and involving University of Wyoming researchers have confirmed that an ancient mine in eastern Wyoming was used by humans to produce red ocher starting nearly 13,000 years ago.
That makes the Powars II site at Sunrise in Platte County the oldest documented red ocher mine — and likely the oldest known mine of any sort — in all of North and South America. The excavations, completed shortly before the 2020 death of famed UW archaeologist George Frison, confirmed theories he advanced stemming from research he began at the site in 1986.
The findings appear in “In situ evidence for Paleoindian hematite quarrying at the Powars II site (48PL330), Wyoming,” a paper published May 12 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), one of the world’s most prestigious multidisciplinary scientific journals covering the biological, physical and social sciences.
The paper’s lead author is Wyoming State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton, who became involved in the Powars II project in 2016 when he was a UW doctoral student.
“We have unequivocal evidence for use of this site by early Paleoindians as long as 12,840 years ago and continuing by early Americans for about 1,000 years,” Pelton says. “It’s gratifying that we were finally able to confirm the significance of the Powars II site after decades of work by so many, including Dr. Frison, who learned of the site in the early 1980s and was involved in the research until his death.”
In fact, Frison — who died in September 2020 as the only UW faculty member ever elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences — is listed as a co-author of the new paper. Other contributors were George Zeimens, executive director of the Sunrise Historic and Prehistoric Preservation Society; Erin Kelley, a UW graduate and Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist staff member; and UW Ph.D. students Sarah Allaun, Alexander Craib, Chase Mahan and Charles Koenig.
Red ocher, also known as hematite, fulfilled a wide range of functions in Paleoindian societies, including as a pigment in rituals. It has been found at ancient graves, caches, campsites and kill sites in the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains and beyond. The Powars II site is the only red ocher quarry identified in the North American archaeological record north of southern Mexico — and one of only five such quarries identified in all of the Americas.
Among the artifacts previously discovered at the Powars II site are Clovis points — believed to be from the first inhabitants of North America — along with other projectile points, tools and shell beads.
The 2017-2020 excavation led by Pelton — a 6- by 1-meter trench bisecting a previously undocumented quarry feature — yielded several thousand more Paleoindian artifacts, along with many well-preserved animal bones and antlers. The animal bones and antlers were used to extract the red ocher in the quarry.
The projectile points come from numerous locations in the region, including from as far away as the Edwards Plateau in Texas, according to the paper. That makes it likely that red ocher found at archaeological sites throughout the American midcontinent came from the Powars II quarry.
“Beyond its status as a quarry, the Powars II artifact assemblage is itself one of the densest and most diverse of any thus far discovered in the early Paleoindian record of the Americas,” Pelton says. “The site contains over 30 chipped stone tools per square meter, some of the oldest canid remains from an American archaeological site and rare or unique artifacts, among other distinctions.”
The researchers say the evidence discovered so far indicates the quarry was used in two primary periods. During the first, dating to as long as 12,840 years ago and lasting several hundred years, people not only quarried red ocher — using bones and antlers as tools — but also produced and repaired weapons, along with other activities. After a hiatus of a century or more, the site was occupied by humans who mined red ocher and deposited artifacts in piles in a quarry pit.
“Further excavation of the estimated 800-square-meter remainder of the site will certainly reveal complexity not captured by our sample,” the researchers wrote.
Pelton nominated the Powars II site to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
Uchimbuaji wa kiakiolojia ulioongozwa na mtaalamu wa kiakiolojia wa jimbo la Wyoming na kuhusisha watafiti wa Chuo Kikuu cha Wyoming umethibitisha kwamba mgodi wa kale katika mashariki mwa Wyoming ulitumiwa na wanadamu kutengeneza okra nyekundu kuanzia miaka 13,000 iliyopita. Hiyo inafanya tovuti ya Powars II huko Sunrise katika Kaunti ya Platte kuwa mgodi wa zamani zaidi wa okera nyekundu ulioandikwa - na labda mgodi wa zamani zaidi unaojulikana wa aina yoyote - katika Amerika ya Kaskazini na Kusini. Uchimbuaji huo, uliofanywa muda mfupi kabla ya kifo cha mwanakiolojia maarufu wa UW George Frison, ulithibitisha nadharia alizokuwa amefanya kutokana na utafiti aliouanza katika eneo hilo mnamo 1986. "Utafiti huo unaonekana katika ""In situ evidence for Paleoindian hematite quarrying at the Powers II site (48PL-330) "", karatasi iliyochapishwa Mei 12 katika Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), moja ya ulimwengu maarufu multidisciplinary jarida la kisayansi kufunika sayansi ya kibiolojia, fizikia na kijamii." Mwandishi mkuu wa jarida hilo ni Spencer Pelton, ambaye alishiriki katika mradi wa Powers II mwaka 2016 wakati akiwa mwanafunzi wa shahada ya kwanza. "Tuna ushahidi wa wazi wa matumizi ya tovuti hii na Paleoindians mapema kama muda mrefu kama miaka 12,840 iliyopita na kuendelea na Wamarekani wa mapema kwa miaka 1,000 hivi, ""Pelton anasema." "Ni furaha kwamba hatimaye tuliweza kuthibitisha umuhimu wa tovuti ya Powers II baada ya miongo kadhaa ya kazi na wengi, ikiwa ni pamoja na Dk Frisson, ambaye alijua juu ya tovuti hiyo mapema miaka ya 1980 na alihusika katika utafiti hadi kifo chake. ""Kwa kweli, Frisson, ambaye alikufa Septemba 2020 kama mwanachama pekee wa kitivo cha UW aliyewahi kuchaguliwa kwa Chuo Kikuu cha Sayansi cha Kitaifa, ameorodheshwa kama mwandishi mwenza wa karatasi mpya." George Zeymens, mkurugenzi mtendaji wa Sunrise Historic and Prehistoric Preservation Society, Erin Kelley, mhitimu wa UW na mwanachama wa Ofisi ya Wyoming State Archaeologist, na wanafunzi wa UW Ph.D. Sarah Allain, Alexander Craib, Chase Mahan na Charles Koenig. Ocher nyekundu, pia inajulikana kama hematite, ilitimiza kazi mbalimbali katika jamii za Paleoindian, ikiwa ni pamoja na kama rangi katika desturi. Imepatikana katika makaburi ya kale, makaburi ya siri, maeneo ya kupiga kambi na maeneo ya kuua katika nyanda kubwa, Milima ya Rocky na zaidi. Mahali pa Powers II ni tu ya uchimbaji wa okera nyekundu iliyotambuliwa katika rekodi ya akiolojia ya Amerika Kaskazini kaskazini mwa kusini mwa Mexico na moja ya mawe matano tu kama hayo yaliyotambuliwa katika Amerika yote. Kati ya vitu vya kale vilivyogunduliwa hapo awali katika eneo la Powers II ni vidole vya Clovis - vinavyoaminika kuwa vya wakazi wa kwanza wa Amerika Kaskazini - pamoja na vidole vingine vya makombora, zana na shell beads. Uchimbaji wa 2017-2020 ulioongozwa na Pelton - shimo la mita 6 kwa 1 linalogawanya kipengele cha uchimbaji wa zamani kisichorekodiwa - ulitoa maelfu kadhaa ya vitu vya kale vya Paleoindian, pamoja na mifupa mingi ya wanyama iliyohifadhiwa vizuri na pembe. Mifupa na pembe za wanyama zilitumiwa kuchimba okera nyekundu katika mgodi huo. "Mashambulizi hayo yalitokea katika maeneo kadhaa ya eneo hilo, ikiwa ni pamoja na ""Edwards Plateau"" huko Texas." Kwa hiyo, ni wazi kwamba rangi nyekundu ya okera iliyopatikana katika maeneo ya kiakiolojia katika Amerika ya Kati ilitoka kwenye mgodi wa Powers II. "Zaidi ya hadhi yake kama mchimbaji, mkusanyiko wa vitu vya Powars II ni yenyewe moja ya wingi na tofauti zaidi ya yoyote ambayo imegunduliwa hadi sasa katika rekodi ya mapema ya Paleoindian ya Amerika", Pelton anasema. "Mafunzo hayo yana zaidi ya zana 30 za mawe kwa mita moja ya mraba, baadhi ya mabaki ya zamani zaidi ya canid kutoka eneo la akiolojia la Marekani na vitu vya kale vya nadra au vya kipekee, miongoni mwa tofauti nyingine. ""Watafiti wanasema ushahidi uliopatikana hadi sasa unaonyesha kwamba mgodi huo ulitumiwa katika vipindi viwili vya msingi." Katika kipindi cha kwanza, ambacho kilianza miaka 12,840 iliyopita na kiliendelea kwa mamia kadhaa ya miaka, watu hawakuchimba tu miamba nyekundu - wakitumia mifupa na pembe za nyigu kama vifaa - bali pia walitengeneza na kurekebisha silaha, pamoja na shughuli nyingine. Baada ya kusalia kwa karne moja au zaidi, eneo hilo lilitumiwa na wanadamu ambao walichimba chuma cha rangi nyekundu na kuweka vitu vya kale katika makundi katika shimo la mawe. "Kuchimba zaidi kwa takwimu ya mita 800 za mraba zilizobaki za tovuti hiyo hakika itafunua utata ambao haukukamatwa na sampuli yetu", watafiti waliandika. "Pelton aliteua tovuti ya Powers II kwa Usajili wa Kitaifa wa Maeneo ya Kihistoria mnamo 2021."""