Paisley Caves, Archaeological cave system in Lake County, Oregon
Paisley Caves is a cave system with eight natural chambers carved into a basalt ridge in Lake County, Oregon, at 4,520 feet above sea level. The site sits near the former Summer Lake, a basin in the southern part of the state that once held water.
Excavations starting in 2002 revealed evidence of human presence around 14,300 years ago, when the region's climate was wetter and cooler. Later phases show repeated use by communities over thousands of years into more recent times.
Artifacts found here reveal that people organized tools and everyday life differently from other groups at the time, pointing to independent ways of living. Visitors can understand how early inhabitants used natural shelters and left traces that remain visible today.
Access to the site is restricted to protect the research area and its fragile sediment layers. Visitors should be prepared for uneven ground and changing weather conditions in this remote inland high-elevation setting.
Analysis of organic remains provided the oldest confirmed genetic traces of humans on the North American continent. The findings offered insights into diet habits and migration routes of early inhabitants that were previously only speculated.
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