CAST #P-102

BONE NEEDLE
BUHL BURIAL SITE
TWIN FALLS COUNTY, IDAHO
EST. 10,500 TO 11,000 YEARS BEFORE PRESENT
COPYRIGHT AUGUST 31, 2012 PETER A. BOSTROM
Cast of a bone needle from the Buhl burial site.
CAST ILLUSTRATED
CAST #P-102
BONE NEEDLE
BUHL BURIAL SITE
TWIN FALLS COUNTY, IDAHO

     This bone needle was found in 1989 during the excavation of the "Buhl Woman" burial. It was restored before it was cast. Approximately 9/16 inch (1.4 cm) of the tip of the point is restored. The original length of the broken needle measured 1 5/16 inches (3.3 cm) long. This needle also measures 2 mm in diameter and the eye measures .8 mm in diameter. Microscopic examination of the eye of the needle suggests that it was formed by gouging, rather than drilling, with a hand-held perforator.
    The Buhl site is located in Twin Falls County, Idaho about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) north of the town of Buhl. The initial discovery was made by gravel quarry workers who pulled a human femur out of the screen of a rock crusher. The actual burial site was quickly located after the initial discovery.  Bone samples taken from the burial produced a radio carbon date of 10,675 + 95 years before present. Study of the teeth and bones suggest that the "Buhl Woman" was between 17 and 21 years old when she died. No genetic testing was done but the skull's morphology was similar to both American Indian and East Asian populations.
 

Casts of three bone artifacts from the Buhl burial site.
CASTS ILLUSTRATED
THREE BONE ARTIFACTS
FOUND WITH "BUHL WOMAN" BURIAL (CASTS)
TWIN FALLS COUNTY, IDAHO

    This picture shows three casts of bone artifacts that were found with the Buhl burial. The black line on the bone needle indicates where it was originally broken.  The other two bone pieces have been described as fragments belonging to possibly a single awl or pin. The broken segment on the left has 11 engraved lines cut along the edges.
     All of the Buhl site human remains were handed over to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, who claimed them, in December of 1992 for reburial. Tribal elders commented that "recent deaths on the reservation were caused by the stirring of the Buhl woman's spirit."

"REFERENCES"

1993, Tarmina, Paul, "A Famous Skeleton Returns To The Earth," High Country News, (March 8, Vol. 25 No. 4).
1998, Slayman, Andrew L., "Buhl Woman," Vol.51 Number 6, December, Archaeology.
1998, Green, Thomas J., Cochran, Bruce, Fenton, Todd W., Woods, James C., Titmus, Gene L., Tieszen, Larry, Davies, Mary Anne, Miller, Susanne J., "The Buhl Burial: A Paleo Indian Woman From Southern Idaho," American Antiquity, Vol. 63 No. 3, pp. 437-456.
2002, Legon, Jeordan, "Oldest American Skull Found," CNN.com./Science & Space.

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