MOSCOW, IDAHO—In northern Idaho along the Clearwater River, a stone tool and debris from tool-making has been found in a layer of soil with charcoal radiocarbon dated to 13,740 to 13,490 years ago. Points dating to 11,000 years ago were also found at the site, which was probably used as a short-term place to rest, fashion tools, process game, and fish. These points are from the Western Stemmed Tradition, and have been found throughout the Great Basin and the Northwest. Tests show that the tools were made from materials from as far away as Montana and Oregon, and may have been obtained through travel or trade. “I think the region was an active place where people were constantly coming and going on their way to collect the next available resource, or on their way home for the winter,” Laura Longstaff of the University of Idaho told Western Digs.
