Lost River Cave - The First Inhabitants

The First Inhabitants

From the moment the first human set foot at Lost River Cave, the cave and valley have been used as a safe and plentiful source of food, water and shelter. Evidence of such use has been uncovered by archaeologists at Western Kentucky University. The cultural artifacts discovered by these experts tell the story of Kentucky’s earliest inhabitants and Lost River’s place in their lives. Ten thousand years ago, the Kentucky climate was cooler and wetter—supporting a landscape of evergreen forest. The Paleo Indian Cultural Tradition, also known as "big game hunters", roamed the forests in search of food and shelter. These humans utilized Clovis spear points to bring down such animals as the giant ground sloth, the mammoth and the mastodon. They were nomadic groups, moving between different camp sites seasonally. Anthropologist Jack Schock of Western Kentucky University believes that these prehistoric Kentucky tribes camped at Lost River Cave in the winter, enjoying shelter from the cave as well as clean water from the blue hole. One of the only Dalton points found in situ in southeastern Kentucky was discovered at Lost River by Dr. Schock. This spear point, dated at around 8,000 years old, is a rare find, making Lost River stand out as a unique archaeological site for the Archaic Indian Cultural Tradition! These native groups enjoyed a period of occupation from about 8,000 B.C. till around 1,000 B.C. Their culture included more exploitation of the environment than their predecessors.