Oil Spill Cleanup Uncovers Archaeological Sites

Forrest Travirca III, looks at an ancient pottery shard he found as he walks along Port Fourchon Beach searching for artifacts from Pre-historic American-Indian settlements in Caminada Headland, La. (AP)

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig a year and a half ago in the Gulf of Mexico killed dozens, and disrupted the lives of countless others. Now it’s bringing one unexpected, positive impact– new archaeological discoveries.

Archaeologists traveling with BP workers working to clear the oil from beaches along the Gulf Coast have discovered 60 new archaeological sites in Louisiana alone, and artifacts from these sites are shedding new light on the complexity of Native American civilizations that lived along the Gulf as far back as 15,000 years ago.

• Native American Times: Relics example of culture mixing with enterprise

Guest:

• Chip McGimsey, Louisiana State Archaeologist and Director of the state’s Division of Archaeology