Graham Cave is a Native American archeological site near Mineola, Missouri in Montgomery County in the hills above the Loutre River. It is located in the 356 acre Graham Cave State Park. The entrance of the

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

forms a broad arch wide and high. Extending about into the hillside, the cave protects an historically important

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

archaeological site from the ancient

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor ch ...

and Archaic period dating back to as early as 10,000 years ago. Graham Cave was formed at the point of contact of Jefferson City dolomite and St. Peter sandstone. Due to water flowing and freezing, the cave grew over the years. The cave originally extended about 100 feet into the hill, but an accumulation of debris over the years filled the lower part of the cave with about seven feet of deposits. With a broad entrance, the cave provided sufficient shelter to humans and animals alike. Robert Graham, who originally settled in the area in 1816 when he purchased some

bottomland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...

from a son of

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

, purchased the property including the cave in 1847. Graham's son D.F. Graham sheltered hogs in the cave and became interested in archeology from the artifacts he found there. After his death, his collection of artifacts was offered by his son Benjamin to the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

, which investigated the cave in 1930. Benjamin's son-in-law was persuaded to delay plans to enlarge the shelter for his

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

in 1948 so that archeological excavations could be made. Graham Cave excavation f12

The University of Missouri and the Missouri Archaeological Society excavated the cave between 1949 and 1961. These excavations revealed clues that linked the site to the lifestyle of the Dalton and Archaic Native Americans. The importance of the findings in that period resulted in the site being the first archaeological site in the United States to be designated a

National Historical Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

. Reports were published by the Missouri Archaeological Society. The first report was published by W. D. Logan in 1952 and a second report was published by Walter Klippel in 1971. The site is discussed by Professor Carl Chapman in The Archaeology of Missouri, volume 1 (1975), and by Professors O'Brien and Wood in The Prehistory of Missouri (1998). The cave is now part of a state park operated by the

Missouri Department of Natural Resources The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) of the government of the U.S. state of Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied fo ...

. Visitors are allowed up to the entrance of the cave where interpretive signs point out important archaeological discoveries.

References

External links

Graham Cave State Park
{{Navbox prehistoric caves Archaic period in North America Caves of Missouri National Historic Landmarks in Missouri Protected areas of Montgomery County, Missouri Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Missouri

See also

References

External links