A prehistoric site in British Columbia has shot to fame with the discovery of nearly 3800 years old potato crop. The garden is believed to have remained submerged for a long time. It showed the sign of advanced techniques for the purpose of controlling the flow of water.
The site is located nearly 30 kilometers east of Vancouver and is on land belonging to Katzie First Nation. The garden was discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Tanja Hoffmann of the Katzie Development Limited Partnership and Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.
The garden contained 3,767 whole or part wapato plants. These plants are considered to be highly important to indigenous people. Due to the passage of time, the tubers found at the site had turned black or dark brown. However, some of the samples still maintained their starchy interiors.
The waterlogging of the site helped to preserve the crop and other organic materials including wooden tools. Such type of material is prone to disintegration over time.
The site also contained a dry area, aside from the waterlogged garden. It is assumed that the dry area was used by the inhabitants as living quarters. The researchers found nearly 150 tools from the site. These tools are made of wood and were likely used for digging out the crop.
The garden also featured an artificial pavement made of rocks, which stopped the tubers from venturing too deep into the ground.
Radiocarbon analysis date the site to be 3,800 years old. It is believed to have been abandoned nearly 3,200 years ago. The site is one of the oldest known examples of cultivation of non-domesticated plants in the Pacific Northwest.
The findings of the archaeologist group have been published in the Journal Science Advances.