One Of The Oldest Archaeological Sites In The Americas Is A Historic Sandy Beauty In Virginia

Just 30 miles south of Arlington, Virginia, is an archeological site that was likely home to a community more than 18,000 years ago. Archeologists at the early Native American campsite dubbed Cactus Hill have uncovered artifacts indicating humans settled in the Americas much earlier than previously believed. Cactus Hill rests in the sand along Virginia's Nottoway River, which has shifted its path over time and has revealed tools and other archeological finds.

When most people think of archeological sites, they envision sites like Mesa Verde National Park, an underrated archeological wonder in Colorado. The experience at Cactus Hill is very different, however, since discoveries of an ancient civilization here were uncovered relatively recently in the middle of the 1990s. Before then, most archeologists believed that the earliest humans to occupy the Americas arrived approximately 13,000 years ago. Members of the Clovis culture, these early inhabitants are believed to have found their way into North America via a land bridge from Siberia.

Those Siberian immigrants have long been believed to be the first humans to set foot in the Americas. Cactus Hill and the archeological finds there could change that understanding. Charcoal deposits that are likely remnants of campfires were radiocarbon-dated back nearly 20,000 years. Well-preserved remnants also date back to Paleoindian, Archaic, and Woodland periods, which archeologists say offer a look at the Native American settlement's history in Virginia prior to European settlement.

Cactus Hill is unlike many tourist destinations and far different than some of Virginia's most historic sites on the Colonial Parkway. To the untrained eye, Cactus Hill may simply look like an open field with some sandy mounds. The area is not an official tourist destination, according to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, but you may be able to catch a glimpse from public access roads nearby.

Historians say the Nottoway River covered the hills here with sand. Buried in that sand were handmade stone tools that are like the Clovis culture tools found elsewhere. So far, two archeological teams have worked to uncover the history of Cactus Hill.

There is no welcome center or information posted at the site, and much of the land nearby is privately owned. The most comfortable accommodations nearby are in geographically and historically ideal Fredericksburg, halfway between Washington D.C. and Richmond, Virginia. Curious visitors are advised to stay on roadways and to respect the privacy of nearby residents. Since the area is an active archeological site, it's critical to leave the area undisturbed.