Over 1,000 Ancient Stone Tools, Left by Great Basin Hunters, Found in Utah Desert

One of the spear heads found at the site is the largest Haskett point yet found, measuring 22.6 centimeters, or about 9 inches. (Courtesy of Far Western Anthropological Research Group)

 
An array of stone tools discovered in northern Utah — including the largest instrument of its kind ever recorded — may change what we know about the ancient inhabitants of the Great Basin, archaeologists say.

Researchers exploring the desert flats west of Salt Lake City have uncovered more than a thousand tools, such as spear points, a type of rectangular implement that hasn’t been reported before, and objects that an archaeologist describes as “giant scrapers coming out of the ground … fresh as daisies.”

“We collected a thousand-some artifacts on this survey, and those are tools, not just [stone] flakes,” said Dr. Daron Duke, lead researcher of the team that made the finds. “There are tools lying out there.

“It’s a virtual blitzkrieg when you’re walking. I had to be careful about how people stopped and recorded things.”

The tools were found in 2012 on the grounds of the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range, where Duke’s firm, the Far Western Anthropological Research Group, was hired to conduct a survey before a section of the range was developed. [...] westerndigs.org / Link 2