Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Holcombe Site

Archaeological site in Michigan, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Holcombe Sitemap
Remove ads

The Holcombe Site, also known as Holcombe Beach,[3] is a Paleo-Indian archaeological site located near the intersection of Metropolitan Parkway and Dodge Park Road[1][3] in Sterling Heights, Michigan, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971[2] and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1970.[3]

Quick facts Location, Coordinates ...
Remove ads

Site discovery

In 1961, amateur archaeologists Jerome DeVisscher and Edward J. Wahla[4] discovered evidence of an ancient settlement at this site.[3] Later radiocarbon dating of hearth elements determined the site to be an 11,000-year-old Paleo-Indian settlement.[3][5] A five-year dig by archaeologists from the University of Michigan uncovered numerous artifacts.[4] The distinctive small, thin, fluted arrowheads found at the site were dubbed "Holcombe points;" similar flint arrowheads have been found at other sites in Michigan and southern Ontario, with scatterings in northern Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.[5]

Remove ads

Historical description of the site

The Holcombe site was situated on what was, at the time it was occupied, the strandline of a small glacial lake that probably drained into nearby Lake Algonquin.[6] Arrowheads, flint chips, and bone fragments were recovered, indicating that these Paleo-Indians hunted Barren-ground Caribou, a species particularly adapted to the tundra-like conditions that existed at the time. The site yielded evidence of the Indigenous people's change in culture and subsistence as the climate in the area changed.[3]

Remove ads

See also

References

Further reading

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads