Saturday Speaker Series kicks off today: Expert to discuss 10,000-year-old tools found in Redmond

Published 3:13 pm Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Special to the Reporter

Redmond’s contemporary claim to fame has been software, but there’s something that goes way back — more than 10,000 years — that is redefining Redmond’s importance by helping scientists understand how humans first settled North America.

That something is an ancient tool-making site that was found along Bear Creek during the City of Redmond’s recent salmon restoration project. It is the oldest artifact assemblage from western Washington.

“This site is our first opportunity to study how Native Americans made the Puget Lowlands their home at the end of the Ice Age,” says Dr. Robert Kopperl, the project’s lead archaeologist. Kopperl, who works for SWCA Environmental Consultants, will speak today at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse as part of the Redmond Historical Society Saturday Speaker Series. The program begins at 10:30 a.m.

“This is the first public presentation of information since the big excavation in 2013, so there will be a wealth of new information about how old the site is, what people were doing there over 10,000 years ago, and what the landscape of this area was like back then,” shares Kopperl, who is speaking courtesy of the City of Redmond.

Interest in this site has grown nationwide. “There is a growing national recognition by those interested in Native American life-ways at the end of the Ice Age that western Washington, and the vicinity of Bear Creek in particular, is a place we should be paying attention to,” Kopperl says.

Michael Haley, senior project manager for the City of Redmond, recalls that it “was both exciting and concerning” when the team discovered what turned out to be a site where arrowheads and other hunting tools were made. Buried underneath the peat along the creek were thousands of stone flakes and scrapers — as well as parts of six stone tools.

“I was excited to be a part of the extraordinary discovery, but concerned with how this unexpected find would impact our ability to deliver the stream relocation project within budget and in a reasonable timeline,” says Haley. “I am happy to report,” he adds, that both budget and timeline were met.

The most significant artifacts will be curated at the Muckleshoot Tribe’s museum in Auburn, says Haley. “The artifacts will be available at the museum for professional archaeologists to perform research on a permanent basis and may be available for public display in coordination with the museum.”

The Saturday Speaker Series is a monthly program presented by the Redmond Historical Society on every second Saturday (with the exception of June, July, August and December) at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, located at 16600 NE 80th Street. Topics range from local, state and Pacific Northwest historical interest. There is a suggested $5 donation for non-members.

The Redmond Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that receives support from the City of Redmond, 4 Culture, Nintendo, the Bellevue Collection, and Happy Valley Grange as well as from other donors and members.