Archaeologists from the University of Oregon have found evidence of oldest human activity in coastal Southern California. Three sites scattered with ancient tool-making debris and the shells of harvested shellfish have been found on Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the Channel Islands. The artifacts are traces of what’s known as the Island Paleocoastal culture, dated to the Ice Age.

The people of this culture used boats to hunt marine mammals, fish, and birds, and gather shellfish, seaweeds and plant foods. Numerous archaeological sites connected with these people were found throughout the Channel Islands. On one of the sites the researchers found more than 100 chipped stone artefacts, mostly leftovers from the tool-making process, along with a handful of flake tools and the remnants of the crescent-shaped tool that’s been found elsewhere on the islands. Also, shells have been submitted to carbon-14 tests and revealed to be 8,560 to 8,725 years old. Due to the fact that sea levels were much lower 12,000 years ago, many of the sites used by Palaeoecologist people are probably  underwater now.

(after Western Digs)