In 1908, George McJunkin Found Ancient Bones After a Flood And Rewrote American History

In the year 1908, a violent storm tore through the area around Folsom, New Mexico, cutting into an arroyo and unearthing layers that had been hidden under the earth for thousands of years. After the storm, George McJunkin, who was a cowboy employed at a nearby ranch called the Crowfoot Ranch, took a ride around the fenced property and discovered something quite strange. Bones from large creatures were exposed on the slope of the ravine, and these bones were unlike any that he had ever seen before in the area.

The unique thing about the moment, however, lies in its response. What sets it apart is the fact that instead of ignoring the bones or treating them as some waste products resulting from the flood, McJunkin chose to highlight their significance and try to contact people who could help in identifying the bones despite lacking any archaeological expertise himself. Historical accounts provided by the University of Houston support the claim that McJunkin discovered the bones after the rains and kept working towards drawing the attention of scholars to these findings. The important thing here is the delay in excavations, which means that although the bones were discovered as a result of floods, it took McJunkin some time before his efforts paid off, and experts began excavating the site.

The Detail That Made the Discovery Impossible to Ignore

A critical point was reached when archaeologists examined these remains in greater depth and made one key observation. As per the National Park Service, a stone spear point was found lodged in the ribs of the extinct bison, indicating a definite connection between humans and the extinction of these creatures. There is no need for interpretation here because the spear was physically attached to the rib remains.

The significance of such archaeological finds should be recognized, especially considering the importance of finding evidence like this. While discovering a tool close to the remains could be seen as a coincidence, finding one actually embedded in the remains cannot be written off. The University of Oklahoma research demonstrates that there is a pattern to discoveries of these kinds, where similar Folsom points have been found in conjunction with extinct bison hunting grounds. In other words, this finding does not appear to be an outlier. However, it is not the object found that is important. Rather, it is the ability to provide a repeatable link between humans and Ice Age animals. This link led to an eventual reexamination of the timeline of human arrivals to North America.

The Timeline That Had to Be Rewritten

As more studies are conducted on the matter, the significance of the Folsom Site becomes more evident. According to the University of New Mexico, the period when the Folsom people existed was around 13,000 and 12,000 years ago, much older than previously believed. As a result, the history of humans in North America was rewritten, and many misconceptions regarding the migration of people were dispelled.

The University of Texas at El Paso also provides additional information, stating that the time period of the Folsom Site is around 10,260 and 10,890 years before present. Moreover, the Folsom Site is considered one of the first examples proving the connection between people and extinct Ice Age mammals. In this regard, the Folsom Site is especially unique, as the evidence found here was much clearer than that in the rest of the archaeological studies. The data provided by the National Park Service also proves that the Folsom hunters developed tools specifically for hunting bison.