Paleo-Indian Period - 10,000 to 14,500 Years Ago

First Inhabitants

More than 10,000 years ago, Russell Cave was inhabited by people whom we now call the Paleo-Indians. These individuals were descendants of those who crossed the exposed Bering Strait land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska during the last Ice Age from 28,000 to 10,000 years ago. Inside of Russell Cave, only a handful of stone artifacts were recovered from the Paleo-Indian period along with teeth fragments from an now extinct species of wild boar called a peccary (Mylohyus nasutus).

Various style of Paleo-Indian stone points recovered from the excavation of Russell Cave. The bottom fragments were not identified due to its damaged nature.

NPS Photo

Clovis points from the Rummells-Maske Site, Cedar County, Iowa.

Bill Whittaker

Spear heads, scrappers, axes, and other sharp-edged tools were crafted by striking a piece of chert or flint methodically with billets made from stones, antlers, and bones. Spear points in this time period were usually elongated, razor sharp on the upper ¾ portion and purposefully dulled near the base to prevent the bindings from being cut when the point is hafted (or attached) to the foreshaft of the spear. Although believed to be one of the oldest prehistoric sites east of the Mississippi River, Russell Cave’s collection of artifacts only reach approximately 11,000 BCE (Before Common Era), or 13,000 years ago as its oldest. However, there were a couple of broken stone points that were not identified due to uncertainties, but it is possible that they are the priced Clovis point or a similar point in the same era. Older spear heads tend to be more lance-shaped, while the ones in the later part of the Paleo-Indian period became increasingly concave that often results in flaring “ears”.

Tooth (top) of the peccary (illustration shown), now extinct in the Southeast, were found at Russell Cave. Stone knives and scrappers (bottom) that would've been used for butchering meat were also found inside the cave shelter.

NPS Photo

Upon arriving in the New World, the Paleo-Indian people entered a hunter's paradise. The land was filled with large games such as mastodons, mammoths, giant ground sloths, peccaries, and prehistoric camels, horses, and bison. All of which are now extinct. These megafaunas, or large animals, had no prior experience with people and therefore, lacked the behavioral adaptations against the hunters which in turns made them easy targets. The Paleo-Indians hunted in groups, composed of a dozen or so hunters. A favorite hunting strategy seems to be creeping up on the target and wounding it with their spears. Once the wounded animal has ran off, the hunters would follow close behind and harass it until it is exhausted enough for the final blow to be safely delivered. Another popular hunting technique was to frightened the herd into a stampede in the direction of a cliff, causing them to fall to their death. This method was especially effective in feeding the group for a long period of time. The Paleo-Indians may have also relied on smaller game and wild vegetables for food, but this is harder to verify since the remains of such do not endure the passage of time as well as the remains of the larger animals.

Due to the lack of variety in artifacts, we know relatively little about the Paleo-Indian culture. However, it is believed that these hunters and gatherers had some notion of an afterlife when archeologists unearthed two remains buried with various artifacts. This includes full stone points and intentionally broken bone foreshafts. The bodies and the artifacts also had red ochre (made of silica and clay) sprinkled on top of them. From this discovery, archeologists can infer that the Paleo-Indians participated in rituals as a mean of coping with death.