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Humboldt Cave
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Lovelock, Nevada
Area	40 acres (16 ha)
NRHP reference No.	76001140
Added to NRHP	March 15, 1976

Humboldt Cave is an archeological site in Churchill County, Nevada, USA that is one of the earliest documented human habitations in North America. It was inhabited by people of the eponymous Humboldt Culture and the Lovelock Culture, and its documented habitation extends to 9000 BC.

Humbolt Cave is a dry cave which was first excavated by archeologists in 1936. The cave's environment preserved artifacts including fiber and skin garments, bags and mats. Other artifacts found in the cave have documented contact with cultures in what are now Arizona and California. The cave was formed by vertical faulting in a cliff face, which was periodically flooded by Lake Lahontan. The flooding deposited tufa over the cave's surfaces, preserving them from erosion. The remains of the lake, now known as Humboldt Sink, are 220 feet (67 m) below the cave, 6 miles (9.7 km) away. The cave opening is about 8 feet (2.4 m) high and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide, widening to 8 feet (2.4 m) inside, with a depth of about 49 feet (15 m). In addition to humans, the cave was also inhabited by bats, whose guano was 3 feet (0.91 m) to 6 feet (1.8 m) in depth on the cave's floor before excavation.

Excavation

Humboldt Cave was excavated in 1936 by Robert F. Heizer of the University of California, Berkeley. The Archaeology of Humboldt Cave, Chruchill County, Nevada was not published until 1956. Heizer concluded that the remote location relative to the lake and marshes made Humboldt Cave a temporary refuge rather than a permanent residence.

Initial stages of excavation concentrated on improving access by widening the cave's opening. The cave was surveyed and divide into twelve sections 3 feet (0.91 m) wide by the width of the cave for individual excavation. Sections were excavated in 6 inches (15 cm) increments.

Humboldt Cave was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1976.

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Mertens, Roger L. (October 9, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Humboldt Cave" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
3. Heizer, Robert F. (1956). "Alex D." (PDF). University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology. 47 (1). Retrieved 2 August 2012. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
4. Heizer, Kreiger, p. 7

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• National Register of Historic Places in Nevada
• Churchill County, Nevada
• Archaic period in the Americas
• Archaeological sites in Nevada
• Caves of Nevada
• Nevada Registered Historic Place stubs