Oregon Cave Men: Description, Shelter, Language

Excavation Reveals History of Life 9,000 Years Ago in Great Basin

Sep 11, 2008

An Oregonian from 9,000 years ago would have dark skin and dark brown eyes. His hair would be almost black and very coarse.

Most likely he would have a broad head, as his closest relatives would be the Mongoloid family. The Oregonian cave man would be of medium height and well built. His face would be broader than later Indians.

Life 9,000 Years in History

From evidence gathered from different caves dated to about the same time as the sandal from Fort Rock Cave, the cave man would have probably spent his evenings around a small sagebrush fire making weapons, perhaps a knife made out of basalt.

Currently, archaeologists are very unsure of what languages were spoken so long ago. It is suggested that this man might have spoken some form of Penutian, as the Klamath and Columbia region tribes’ languages have their roots in Penutian.

Archeologists Suggest Sagebrush as Oldest Human's Clothing

He probably was fairly young by today’s standards. Very few humans during this era lived to be even 50 years old. Nearly half died before reaching adulthood.

His clothes would have been scarce, if any, and would have been made of shredded sagebrush like his sandals. He might also have worn a sagebrush blanket for warmth. A child’s sandal found in a different cave had rabbit fur sewn into for comfort, but other than that, most clothes were kept simple. The famous sandal he wore was made of twisted sagebrush bark. In the sole of the sandal was caked mud between the sagebrush ropes, and the mud was baked for solidness.

Oregon Cave Man A Simple Human: Bed of Grass, No House

A cave made out of waves from the water would have been his house. No evidence that houses were constructed exists until a few thousand years later. He probably had a small bed of grass and branches to sleep on, next to a small sagebrush or pine fire.

Crevices in caves walls served as holding spaces for this man. His caves might have had a few holes lined with an old basket. He would keep things like spear points or obsidian knives in these small holes. The cave wasn’t much of a home, but it was dry and close to water, all that this cave man needed to survive.

Human Ancestors in America: Mammoths, Horse, Camels for FoodMammoths, camels and a type of horse would be his main source for food until they all became extinct 7,500 years ago. This cave man would have had plenty of good meat to choose from with these animals for thousands of year until these animals became extinct, about 7,500 years ago. He might cook these meats in his cave in the evening, then settle down to sleep on a bed made of grass and branches near the fire. The fire would have to be kept small, so the smoke wouldn’t build up too much to suffocate him before it escapes out of the cave opening.

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