Underwater exploration seeks evidence of early Americans
Submitted by coldrum on Friday, 02 October 2009 Page Views: 7365
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Where the first Americans came from, when they arrived and how they got here is as lively a debate as ever, only most of the research to date has focused on dry land excavations. But, last summer's pivotal underwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico led by Mercyhurst College archaeologist Dr. James Adovasio yielded evidence of inundated terrestrial sites that may well have supported human occupation more than 12,000 years ago.
As part of their 2008 findings, the researchers located and mapped buried stream and river channels and identified in-filled sinkholes that could potentially help document the late Pleistocene landscape and contain artifacts and associated animal remains from early human occupations. Continued exploration, Adovasio said, will be geared toward assessing a human presence on the now submerged beaches and intersecting river channels.
That happens July 23-Aug. 7 when Adovasio leads a team of scientists representing leading institutions from government and higher education to St. Petersburg, Fla., where they'll resume their search for evidence of early Americans in an area 100-to-200 miles off Florida's west coast, now about 300 feet under water. For the second year, Adovasio will be assisted by co-principal investigator Dr. C. Andrew Hemmings of Mercyhurst College and the Gault School of Archaeological Research in Austin, Texas. This year as last, the primary funding source is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Dredging and storms have turned up artifacts on the Gulf Coast, but Adovasio said this is the first time a group of scientists has staked out a submerged piece of real estate suspected of containing preserved Ice Age beaches and systematically gone in search of early human occupations. From the University of South Florida's research boat, the team will use remotely operated vehicles and remote sensing tools to explore the submerged sites. In shallower depths, divers will inspect sites to collect artifacts and recover sediments for geological analysis and possible radiocarbon testing.
"Proof of past human habitation here would reinforce the disintegration of the once prevalent hypothesis about who the first Americans were, how they got here and when they arrived," said Adovasio, who rose to fame 30 years ago while excavating the Meadowcroft Rockshelter near Pittsburgh, Pa.
The inaugural expedition confirmed many of the scientists' original hypotheses and earned second-year funding from NOAA in the amount of $120,000, Adovasio said.
Findings from the 2008 exploration were released last spring at the Society for American Archaeology annual meetings in Atlanta.
For more, see Eureka Alert
NOTE: To read more about the 2008 research findings, please visit: oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.
Note: Another article on the 2008 dive season. See comments below.
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