Traditional theories suggest that people migrated to the Americas by crossing the Bering Strait, or rather over a land and ice bridge that was present during the ice age. Consistently, for a long time, it was widely believed that the first inhabitants of the New World were people described as the Clovis culture. They appeared around 13,500 years ago in North America, in the area of present-day New Mexico in the USA. It supposed to be a central point from which the ancestors of all subsequent cultures of the western hemisphere dispersed on both continents. However, based on recent discovers of other places whose age is estimated earlier than Clovis, this theory loses its relevance.
Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania is an interesting archeological site. Native Americans visited this place for thousands of years. A trade path linking various regions ran along a nearby creek and this rock shelter was an ideal place to rest and spend the night. Sometimes visitors left something here on the ground, for example food or broken arrow with stone arrowhead. The continuous erosion, where the softer, more porous rock from the ceiling is pushed off, in the form of dust, covered the floor hiding these abandoned objects.
The first artifact was found in Meadowcroft in 1955, but amateur archeologist Robert Miller, the owner of this land, kept it a secret for many years, until he found an archeologist who would be willing to excavate this site. The slow and carful, level-by-level excavations led to surprising discoveries. Radiocarbon dating of the site indicates occupancy from 16,000 years ago and perhaps even 19,000 years ago. This second date is still being questioned, but after many years of debate, 14,000 BC becomes a more and more accepted date. In the archaeologists' society, only a smaller part rejects this dating. Thus, this is 3,000 years earlier than the Clovis culture artifacts. As such, it provides evidence of very early human presence in the Americas, actually the oldest known site occupied by humans in the Western Hemisphere. With the future archeological research in mind, about half of the rock shelter has not been excavated yet. The next generation of archeologists will be able to make their independent discoveries.
Meadowcroft Rockshelter is a small archeological site. For those who are not interested in archeology, it is just a hole in the ground and nothing more. However, if you are interested in Native American history, listen to the guide and you will enjoy your visit. Another historical place in close proximity is the recreation of a 16th century Monongahela village as well as buildings from early European settlements. At Meadowcroft we spent the whole day and it was not wasted time for us.
