REISTERSTOWN, MARYLAND—According to a report by The Baltimore Banner, a team of volunteers and archaeologists from the Maryland Historical Trust unearthed a 13,000-year-old stone tool from a churchyard in Reisterstown. The find was made on the property of St. John’s Western Run Episcopal Church, where investigators had been searching for the remains of an ancient quarry once used by Clovis peoples thousands of years ago. The site, known as Piney Grove, was first brought to archaeologists’ attention when hundreds of fragments of chalcedony were uncovered during a construction project. Chalcedony is a type of quartz commonly used by Clovis communities to fashion arrowheads, spear tips, and other sharp implements. The recent excavations at the site revealed a chalcedony tool, likely used to scrape animal hides. “This was an exciting find,” said archaeologist Zachary Singer. “It’s the first formal stone tool found at the site. This hints at how much more there could be to find.” The object is slated to be sent to a laboratory for analysis to identify any residual animal proteins, perhaps that of deer or even woolly mammoth. For more on the Clovis culture and the migration of people into North America, go to "America, in the Beginning: Destination: The Americas."
