Geology and Age of the Early Man Site at Taber, Alberta

Abstract Human bones, found by the writer's geological field party in 1961, came from a cliff (Woodpecker Island Bluff) on the east side of Oldman River about 3 mi. north of Taber, Alberta. This paper discusses stratigraphy of the bluff and age of the bones, which have been described by Langsto...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American Antiquity
Main Author: Stalker, A. MacS.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1969
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/277740
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0002731600083931
Description
Summary:Abstract Human bones, found by the writer's geological field party in 1961, came from a cliff (Woodpecker Island Bluff) on the east side of Oldman River about 3 mi. north of Taber, Alberta. This paper discusses stratigraphy of the bluff and age of the bones, which have been described by Langston and Oschinsky (1963). The bones cannot be dated directly; however, they were found about 60 ft. below prairie level, in a sand unit lying beneath a till sheet. As the till was deposited by a Classical Wisconsin ice sheet that spread over the area more than 22,000 years ago, the bones are at least that old. Correlation with other bluffs along Oldman River indicates they are more than 32,000 years, and probably more than 37,000 years, old.