Ten Truly Ancient Places in North America
Notes: contains only places in Mexico, the US, and Canada. Arranged in rough chronological order from oldest to most recent. I tried to include a mix of regions and also of "types" of sites (so not just petroglyphs or just mound sites, but a more diverse mixture). Where relevant, I have noted continuing Indigenous stewardship of these sites. Not all of these sites are open to the public; if you want to visit, do your research and be respectful.
Wyam / Celilo Falls (Oregon/Washington) Occupied from 15,000 years ago until 1957, when the US government flooded the site to create the Dalles Dam. In 2019, tribal leaders formally called on the US to remove the dam and restore the falls.
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Guilá Naquitz Cave (Oaxaca) Occupied from 10,750 – 8,900 years ago; then abandoned and re-occupied 1,300 to 500 years ago The first known evidence of plant domestication was found here in the form of 8,000 year old squash.
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Mesa Verde National Park / Ute Mountain Tribal Park (Colorado) 9,500 years old From approximately 1000 BCE to 1285, this area was home to the Ancestral Puebloan peoples, and since then has been home to the Ute people, who currently operate a tribal park you can visit.
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Tlapacoya (Hidalgo) at least 6,000 years old (maybe 25,000 years old???) This rich archaeological site is home to the earliest documented ceramics, from around 1500 BCE. Some have argued there may be "pre-Clovis" evidence of humans dating to 25,000 years ago but it is highly debated.
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Estipah-skikikini-kots / Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (Alberta) 5,500 years old until mid-19th century Stewarded by the Blackfoot people (who have a museum there), this location was used by communities on the plains to hunt buffalo efficiently.
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Mnjikaning Fish Weirs (Ontario) 4,500 years old The oldest known human-created structures still standing in "Canada." These wooden weirs were used until the 1700s and the site is currently managed by Rama First Nation.
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Cannomok'e / Pipestone National Monument (Minnesota) 3,000 years old Location of a major quarry for the red pipestone used to make ceremonial pipes held sacred by many nations throughout the midcontinent, which is still quarried by Indigenous people today. (Fun fact, this is the only one of the places on this list that I have visited. It's super cool!)
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Poverty Point National Monument (Louisiana) Built continuously from 1700 to 1100 BCE (600 years!) One of the oldest major earthwork ("mound") sites which is publicly visitable.
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San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán (Veracruz) 1700 BCE to 900 BCE First major Olmec city, and one of the first major cities in North America. This is where (some of) the famous big heads come from.
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SG̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay British Columbia Village occupied from at least 320 CE until the 19th century; the island of Haida Gwaii in general has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years and is still stewarded by the Haida people.
