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Site Details

Wilson Butte Cave - 10 JE 6

Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection Read more about this collection »

Site Typecave DescriptionThe site is located in the northeast quarter of Section 27, Range 19 E, Township 7 S. Wilson Butte cave is a site of long occupation on the Snake River Plain in Idaho, starting c 14,500 bp, which makes it one of the oldest known occupations in North America. It is located on what is thought to be one of the major migration routes to the interior. Another date of 12,500 BC from an overlying stratum indicates a human presence south of the ice at the height of the Wisconsin glaciation. Six layers covering a period of 10,000 years have been defined, five of which are middle-late Holocene. There are few artifacts, but tool assemblages indicate a hunting and gathering way of life prior to the Clovis specialization. Lithic remains are made of ignimbrite, obsidian, basalt and chalcedony. Also recovered were artifacts of bone, shell, pottery and perishable materials. The latter category is only from the upper-most occupation, and includes a moccasin.

Site Name Wilson Butte Cave Alternate Site Name 10 JE 6 Site Type cave Description
The site is located in the northeast quarter of Section 27, Range 19 E, Township 7 S. Wilson Butte cave is a site of long occupation on the Snake River Plain in Idaho, starting c 14,500 bp, which makes it one of the…
The site is located in the northeast quarter of Section 27, Range 19 E, Township 7 S. Wilson Butte cave is a site of long occupation on the Snake River Plain in Idaho, starting c 14,500 bp, which makes it one of the oldest known occupations in North America. It is located on what is thought to be one of the major migration routes to the interior. Another date of 12,500 BC from an overlying stratum indicates a human presence south of the ice at the height of the Wisconsin glaciation. Six layers covering a period of 10,000 years have been defined, five of which are middle-late Holocene. There are few artifacts, but tool assemblages indicate a hunting and gathering way of life prior to the Clovis specialization. Lithic remains are made of ignimbrite, obsidian, basalt and chalcedony. Also recovered were artifacts of bone, shell, pottery and perishable materials. The latter category is only from the upper-most occupation, and includes a moccasin.

Citation

Page Citation for Wilson Butte Cave - 10 JE 6

Page Citation

"Site Details - Wilson Butte Cave - 10 JE 6, Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection." University of Alberta Museums Search Site, https://search.museums.ualberta.ca/g/7-160/17-2501. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.

Publications

Author Gruhn, Ruth
Title The Archaeology of Wilson Butte Cave, south-central Idaho
Publication Date 1961
Author Kipfer, Barbara Ann
Title Archaeology Wordsmith

Site Information

There are 2 specimens from this Item Group

988.15.1 - modified bone

Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection

Object Typemodified bone Place CollectedNorth America: United States, Idaho, Snake River Plain

988.15.2 - modified bone

Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection

Object Typemodified bone Place CollectedNorth America: United States, Idaho, Snake River Plain