Paisley Caves, Archaeological cave system in Lake County, Oregon

Paisley Caves is a system of eight caves and rock shelters in the Summer Lake basin of Lake County, Oregon, 8 km north of Paisley, at 4,520 feet elevation. They face west, cut into a ridge of Miocene and Pliocene basalts mixed with soft volcanic tuffs and breccias by Pleistocene waves of the lake. The photograph shows a dark, rough rock wall with rounded masses projecting over deep shadowed hollows, loose stones and dusty soil at the base.

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.

The site is not open to visitors; the caves lie on private land and access is restricted. The finds include a human-made bulrush shaft dated to 12,270 years BP and projectile points of the Western Stemmed Tradition, whose narrow bifaces and thick convex bases differ from Clovis points. Coprolite lipids show a diet of plants, seeds, rodents, fish and beetles.

The eight caves open west from a basalt ridge in the Summer Lake basin, about 8 km (5 mi) north of Paisley, Oregon, at 4,520 ft (1,380 m). The site is an active University of Oregon teaching and research excavation, so entry to the cave floors is not open to the public. The surrounding region is arid and desolate, with loose dark stones and dusty soil at the cave mouths.

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.