Washington - Ten-year-old Noah Cordle has always loved history. But when he went on vacation to New Jersey this summer, he never expected that he'd find a piece of it.
On second thought, it might be more truthful to say that a piece of history found him. The fifth-grader from Fairfax County , Virginia, was walking along the beach, waves lapping at his feet, when he felt something solid hit him underwater.
The wave receded and Noah glanced down.
“I saw something shiny. It looked cool, kind of like an arrowhead or a shark tooth, so I picked it up,” he said.
It was a smooth, black stone, about the size and shape of an adult's thumb, with one pointed side. Noah ran to show his family what he'd found. But after a few minutes of examination, the object was put on a shelf and almost forgotten.
It wasn't until Noah's mom started doing some research online that she realised Noah's discovery might be more than just a cool vacation souvenir. She e-mailed a picture to Greg Lattanzi, an archaeologist (someone who studies human history by digging up artifacts). Lattanzi immediately invited Noah to visit him at the New Jersey State Museum, where he works.
“They told me that it was a real artifact and that it might be 10 000 years old,” Noah said. “That made me feel really good.”
In fact, Noah had discovered a 14 000-year-old Clovis point, a unique type of spear tip used by prehistoric people for hunting. (“Prehistoric” means “before history” and describes the time before the invention of writing.) Found almost entirely in North and South America, Clovis points are thought to be one of the very first American inventions.
The months since Noah found the point have been a whirlwind: He has done newspaper interviews, visited museums and presented his find at school.
“My teacher made me sit on his chair and talk about the point,” Noah recalled. “That was a little scary but really cool.”
But the coolest part of this experience has been learning about the Clovis point and the people who may have used it, Noah said. This month, he donated the point to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (his all-time favourite museum), where researchers are studying prehistoric tools. Museum staff members explained to Noah how the object was used and how his point would fit in with their collection.
“I'm definitely going to try and learn more and more about it,” Noah said. “I think it's really cool to look at the past.”
Feeling inspired to search for an ancient artifact of your own? Noah has some advice.
“Just keep looking down,” he said. “It'll take a long time, but don't give up.” - The Washington Post