In 2021, the Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania was identified as the oldest human occupational site in North America, dated to at least 16,000 years old. In 2022, it was Cooper’s Ferry in Idaho , which was also dated to 16,000 years old. Now, that title might be usurped by Rimrock Draw Rockshelter, which is displaying evidence of occupation to at least 18,000 years ago! Analysis of blood residue on a scraper tool crafted by humans and extracted from the rockshelter in southeastern Oregon revealed the presence of animal proteins on the tool.
‘Magical Preservation’ at Rimrock Draw Rockshelter
Under an official partnership agreement with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), archaeologist Patrick O’Grady from the University of Oregon’s Archaeological Field School and his colleagues have been conducting excavations at Rimrock Draw Rockshelter since 2011.
“It’s not so much that we have such old dates, but that we’re getting consistent results,” archaeologist Patrick O’Grady, who led the excavation, said. “This site is beautiful in that sense because … for the past 11 years, we’re actually seeing something that’s preserved through time that dates from about 7,000 years back to 18,000 years. And that’s magic.”
Hellbound and Down 
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