In
2009, Darrin Lowery, an archeologist
from the Smithsonian Institution
specializing in Paleo- Indian history
was working in the area, and because it
was raining, stopped by the Museum.
After browsing through some of the
Indian artifacts, he came across the
small display case containing the 3
items dredged up by Thurston  Shawn
and became very excited. He called his
boss at the Smithonian saying “I think
you should get down here as soon as
possible. This little museum on Gwynn’s
Island has some very exciting
artifacts”. The following weekend his
boss, Dennis Stanford. Ph.D. and Curator
of the Paleo-Indian Program at the
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural
History and Darrin Lowery came to the
Gwynn’s Island Museum to see the
artifacts. Extremely excited, Dr.
Stanford obtained permission from Dean
Parker and took the bi-faced blade,
mammoth molar and tusk section back with
him to the Smithonian for further
research. After 2 years of testing which
included carbon dating, DNA tests, and
X-rays, it was concluded that the
mammoth was a 30 year old female who
died approximately 20,000 years ago
which also dated the bi-faced blade. It
was also established that the blade was
made from rhyolite, a stone material
found in a quarry located in
Meadowcroft, PA. 20,000 years ago
the edge of the Continental shelf was
dry land, gradually submerging under
water over the next 10,000 years due to
the ice melt which stretched from
western Europe to what is now the
eastern U.S. Coincidentally, similar
biface blades have been discovered in an
area of western Europe called Solutria,
now known as France, Spain  and
Portugal, leading to the hypothesis
shared by Dennis Stanford and others
that 20,000 plus years ago, hunter /
gatherers followed the ice mass that
crossed the North Atlantic in skin
boats. They not only caught fish but
hunted for seals , which provided
them with food and also clothing and
skin for their boats. It is also
possible that as they followed the ice
shelf, they eventually reached the mid
Atlantic coastline with warmer
temperatures and a more hospitable
environment.
The original bi-face blade found by
Thurston Shawn, will eventually be on
display in the Smithsonian Institution,
but an exact replica, along with the
original mastodon molar and tusk section
are in a special display at the Gwynn’s
Island Museum. We are proud to have
played a part in one of the most
significant discoveries in North
America.
The Gwynn's Island Museum
would like to thank Dr. Dennis
Stanford and the Smithsonian
Institution for providing the
display and case.
|
migrate
to the Americas crossed the Bering
Strait land mass from Siberia
approximately 12,000 years ago and
eventually traveled south through the
west coast of North and South America.
In 1922 the remains of a mammoth were
uncovered in Clovis, New Mexico along
with a distinctive man made stone arrow
point, a type which had not been seen
before in the Americas. Since it was
found in Clovis, New Mexico the point
was called a Clovis point.
Subsequent research found similar points
were common in Siberia, therefore, the
theory went that the first people to
settle in the Americas were from Siberia
who gradually migrated westward across
the ice covered Bering Straits, then
southward along the west coast of the
Americas, hence the Mongolian features
such as coarse black hair, high
cheekbones and slanted eyes found in
many of the native Americans.
In 1970 Captain Thurston
Shawn of Mathews County, Va., skipper of
the scallop dredger Cinmar, out of
Hampton, Va. was dredging 40 miles off the
Virginia Capes in 240 feet of water at the
edge of the Continental Shelf. After one
particular dredge haul, he found in the
dredge an ivory mammoth tusk, a large
molar and a stone knife blade. He later
sawed the tusk into sections and divided
it amongst the crew and kept part of the
tusk, the molar and the stone blade.
Several years later, Mr. Dean Parker of
Mathews Co. acquired these 3 artifacts
from Capt. Shawn and in 2002 loaned them
to the Gwynn’s Island Museum for
exhibition.
lead to the Museum.
Take Route 223 at Donk's Theater in
Hudgens, Virginia. Cross over the
Gwynn's Island Bridge at Cricket
Hill. You are now on Old Ferry
Road. Follow the road through the
Gwynn's Island Cemetery, look for
the RUDDER and the MUSEUM SIGN on your
left and you're here!
THE BLACK AMERICANS OF GWYNN'S
ISLAND, 1600'S TO 1900
