Paisley Caves

Paisley Five Mile Point Caves
Photograph of a man walking at the base of a cliff
A Bureau of Land Management archaeologist walks near Cave No. 5
LocationAddress restricted[1]
Nearest cityPaisley, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates42°45′41″N 120°33′05″W / 42.7613°N 120.5514°W / 42.7613; -120.5514
Builtca. 14,300 BP
NRHP reference No.14000708
Added to NRHPSeptember 24, 2014

The Paisley Caves or the Paisley Five Mile Point Caves complex is a system of eight caves[2] in an arid, desolate region of south-central Oregon, United States north of the present-day city of Paisley, Oregon. The caves are located in the Summer Lake basin at 4,520 feet (1,380 m) elevation and face west, carved into a ridge of Miocene and Pliocene era basalts mixed with soft volcanic tuffs and breccias by Pleistocene-era waves from Summer Lake. One of the caves may contain archaeological evidence of the oldest definitively-dated human presence in North America. The site was first studied by Luther Cressman in the 1930s.

Scientific excavations and analysis in the Paisley Caves since 2002 have uncovered substantial new discoveries, including subfossil human coprolites with the oldest DNA evidence of human habitation in North America, various artifacts, and animal remains. The DNA was radiocarbon dated to 14,300 BP or roughly 12,000 BC.[3] The caves were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.[4]

  1. ^ Federal and state laws and practices restrict general public access to information regarding the specific location of this resource. In some cases, this is to protect archaeological sites from vandalism, while in other cases it is restricted at the request of the owner. See: Knoerl, John; Miller, Diane; Shrimpton, Rebecca H. (1990), Guidelines for Restricting Information about Historic and Prehistoric Resources, National Register Bulletin, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, OCLC 20706997.
  2. ^ Connolly, Thomas J. (n.d.). "Five Mile Point Paisley Caves" (JPG). Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  3. ^ Staff (October 3, 2014). "Cave containing earliest human DNA dubbed historic". Phys.org. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  4. ^ National Park Service (October 3, 2014). "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 9/22/14 through 9/26/14" (PDF). Retrieved November 9, 2014.