Archaeologists unearth artifacts dating back 8,000 years

CANTON, Ky. (AP) — Archaeologists in Canton have discovered hundreds of artifacts at the construction site of the new Lake Barkley bridge.

The Paducah Sun reports (http://bit.ly/1Io5dIz ) archaeologists say some of the artifacts date back almost 8,000 years and are associated with early Native Americans who lived in the area between 8,000 and 6,000 B.C.

For six months, members of the University of Kentucky Program for Archaeological Research have been excavating the site. The dig is a cooperative effort between the research group and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Project archaeologist Michael Loughlin says they have found an unusually high volume of items from the Canton site given how old it is.

Louglin says the artifacts recovered will provide information about how people lived during that time and what they did.

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