Information AboutMonte Verde |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MONTE VERDE | |
| archaeological cultures | |
| pre-columbian cultures | |
| prehistory | |
| archaeological sites in chile | |
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Excavated by Tom Dillehay starting in 1977, the excavation at Monte Verde is situated on the banks of Chinchihuapi Creek, a tributary of the Maullin River located 36 miles from the Pacific Ocean . One of the rare open-air prehistoric sites found so far in the Americas, Monte Verde was preserved as the waters of the Creek rose a short time after the site was occupied and the peat-filled bog that resulted inhibited the bacterial decay of organic material and preserved many perishable artifacts and other items for millennia. According to Dillehay and his team, the site was occupied around 12,000 - 11,800 B.C. by about twenty to thirty people. A twenty-foot-long tent-like structure of wood and animal hides was erected on the banks of the Creek and was framed with logs and planks staked in the ground, making walls of poles covered with animal hides. Using ropes made of local reeds, the hides were tied to the poles creating separate living quarters within the main structure. Each of those living quarters had a brazier pit lined with clay. Around those hearths, many stone tools and remnants of spilled seeds, nuts, and berries were found. Outside the tent-like structure, two large hearths had been built for community usage, most probably for tool making and craftwork. |
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