How Old Is The United States

How old is America in 2023?

How does America compare to the oldest countries? – So, 246 years may sound like a decent innings in human or dog years, but in terms of a country, the USA is a relative baby. The oldest country – although there is a distinction needed between country and empire – is believed to be the Republic of San Marino, the small landlocked nation within Italy,

  1. It was founded in 301 BCE, making it a whopping 2,321 years old today.
  2. Other examples of countries that have not changed significantly since their early roots include: France (CE 843), Austria (CE 976), Portugal (CE 1143) and Thailand (CE 1238).
  3. Out of interest, going back to the US claiming independence from Great Britain, the history and age of those colonial rulers is a rather more complicated story to tell.

Here is though so that you can impress anyone you’re talking to at the July 4th celebrations. About the author Sports-lover turned journalist, born and bred in Scotland, with a passion for football (soccer) and a keen follower of NFL, NBA, golf, tennis, among others, and a keen eye on science, tech and current affairs. As Managing Editor at AS USA, uses background in operations and marketing to drive improvements for reader satisfaction.

How old is USA right now?

Most historians emphasize the year 1776. It was the year that the soon-to-be United States of America declared its independence from British imperialism. This means that the United States will turn 247 years old on July 4, 2023.

How old is the us on July 4th 2023?

On July 4, 2023, the USA will celebrate its 247th Independence Day. Americans eagerly anticipate this day and exchange Happy 4th of July wishes with friends and family. The USA, once under British rule, gained its independence in 1776 thanks to the sacrifices of American freedom fighters.

Since then, the nation has celebrated the 4th of July as American Independence Day. This day holds great significance as it symbolizes the hard-fought battles and the values of liberty and freedom. Americans come together to participate in parades, outdoor gatherings, and fireworks displays, showcasing their patriotism and honoring the nation’s history.

Let us join in the celebration and share our heartfelt wishes to commemorate this remarkable milestone in American history.U.S. Independence Day 2023, which falls on July 4th, marks the 247th anniversary of America’s independence. This significant day commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 when American freedom fighters declared their separation from British rule.

Independence Day is celebrated throughout the United States with great enthusiasm and patriotism. Citizens engage in various activities such as parades, barbecues, picnics, and fireworks displays. It is a time for Americans to reflect on the values of liberty, freedom, and the sacrifices made by their ancestors to establish a sovereign nation.

As the nation comes together to celebrate, let us honor the spirit of independence and pay tribute to the rich history and enduring ideals of the United States.

Date July 4, 2023
Occasion 247th anniversary of America’s independence
Significance Commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776
Category Event
Celebrations Parades, fireworks, picnics, barbecues, cultural events
Themes Liberty, freedom, patriotism, unity
National Monuments Historical landmarks and monuments
Importance Reinforces national identity and values
Observance Throughout the United States

How old is America in 1776?

Technically, America is 245 years old: the nation first declared her independence from Great Britain on July 4th, 1776. Long before Independence Day, settlers from Europe had begun the westward expansion, a vast immigration to the Americas in order to find improvements in their lives.

Is the USA 200 years old?

Is the USA 200 years old? – No, the U.S.A. is not 200 years old. The Constitution was officially ratified on June 21, 1788, making the United States 234 years old this year. This date is sometimes regarded as America’s “birthday” after the 4th of July and is still celebrated in the United States.

Is USA older than Germany?

A united American government was founded in 1776 and the constitution was written in 1787 while Germany United in the 1800s almost 100 years after the USA got its independence from the United Kingdom. So yes the modern day United States is indeed older than Germany.

What is America number 1 in?

The United States of America is a North American nation that is the world’s most dominant economic and military power. Likewise, its cultural imprint spans the world, led in large part by its popular culture expressed in music, movies and television. The country is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing deep economic recession.

And calls for greater social justice reignited in the country following the death of Black American George Floyd at the hands of police in May 2020. Public demands to address racial inequality in the country, expressed in institutions such as the criminal justice system and health care, spurred similar movements in countries around the world.

In November 2020 the country’s voters elected Joe Biden as the nation’s 46th president, removing Donald Trump after one term. The country in 2021 is wrestling with deeply polarized politics. The deadly Jan.6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who rejected the November 2020 election result underscores concerns about the health and future of American democracy.

  • Following the terrorist attacks on Sept.11, 2001, the U.S.
  • Launched its War on Terror, including the Iraq War, the ongoing war in Afghanistan and other military strikes, including the 2011 killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
  • The war has had wide-reaching effects on the country’s politics, economy and global alliances that resonate to this day.

The American colonies declared independence from the British Empire in 1776 and were recognized as a new nation in 1783. The country nearly split in two during a civil war in the mid-1800s, but regained its footing in the 20th century, during which time it was on the winning side of both world wars.

The U.S. is a constitution-based federal republic composed of 50 states. The U.S. economy is the world’s largest in terms of gross domestic product, and also the most technologically powerful. The country’s most significant exports are computers and electrical machinery, vehicles, chemical products, food, live animals and military equipment.

The U.S. also has the world’s largest coal reserves. The U.S. is culturally and racially diverse, and was shaped by large waves of immigration from Europe and beyond. American literature, art and music reflect the rich heritage of the country’s people. The U.S.

Is the birthplace of jazz, and Louis Armstrong, an African American, is one of the country’s most recognized and admired musicians. Prize-winning Jewish writers Saul Bellow and Philip Roth are some of the best known literary figures in the U.S. The media industry in the U.S. has a global audience, with its television shows, music videos and films distributed worldwide.

The country is home to some of the top universities in the world, including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Despite being the foremost global power, the U.S. still faces domestic challenges, including racial tensions, income inequality and an increasingly polarized electorate.

  • All of these fissures were on display during Trump’s presidency, as even his own party has been divided on some of the nation’s most important legislation.
  • While national security is a concern, so too, is the debt incurred from wars and expenditures on an aging population. The U.S.
  • Leads the developed world in deaths due to firearms.

The U.S. often takes a leading role in international organizations, and was a founding force behind institutions such as the United Nations, NATO and the World Bank. Following the terrorist attacks on Sept.11, 2001, the U.S. launched its War on Terror, including the Iraq War, the ongoing war in Afghanistan and other military strikes, including the 2011 killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

  • The war has had wide-reaching effects on the country’s politics, economy and global alliances that resonate to this day.
  • The American colonies declared independence from the British Empire in 1776 and were recognized as a new nation in 1783.
  • The country nearly split in two during a civil war in the mid-1800s, but regained its footing in the 20th century, during which time it was on the winning side of both world wars.

The U.S. is a constitution-based federal republic composed of 50 states. The U.S. economy is the world’s largest in terms of gross domestic product, and also the most technologically powerful. The country’s most significant exports are computers and electrical machinery, vehicles, chemical products, food, live animals and military equipment.

  • The U.S. also has the world’s largest coal reserves. The U.S.
  • Is culturally and racially diverse, and was shaped by large waves of immigration from Europe and beyond.
  • American literature, art and music reflect the rich heritage of the country’s people. The U.S.
  • Is the birthplace of jazz, and Louis Armstrong, an African American, is one of the country’s most recognized and admired musicians.

Prize-winning Jewish writers Saul Bellow and Philip Roth are some of the best known literary figures in the U.S. The media industry in the U.S. has a global audience, with its television shows, music videos and films distributed worldwide. The country is home to some of the top universities in the world, including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

  • Despite being the foremost global power, the U.S.
  • Still faces domestic challenges, including racial tensions, income inequality and an increasingly polarized electorate.
  • All of these fissures were on display during Trump’s presidency, as even his own party has been divided on some of the nation’s most important legislation.

While national security is a concern, so too, is the debt incurred from wars and expenditures on an aging population. The U.S. leads the developed world in deaths due to firearms. The U.S. often takes a leading role in international organizations, and was a founding force behind institutions such as the United Nations, NATO and the World Bank.

Is America older than England?

In fact, England dates back to around 890 AD as a political concept and 937 AD as a reality. The colonies declared their independence as the United States of America only in 1776.

How many years ago was July 1776?

Create a countdown for July 4, 1776 or Share with friends and family. July 4th 1776 was 246 years, 11 months and 16 days ago, which is 90,200 days. It was on a Thursday and was in week 27 of 1776.

How old is USA compared to other countries?

How Old Is The United States The average age has risen in almost all countries since the World War II. In 1950, it was 23.9 years worldwide. In 2005, it was 28.1 years. Among the 127 countries evaluated here, the USA are in 50th place with an average age of 38.5 years, led by Japan at 48.6 years. Niger has the lowest average age at only 14.8 years.

What happened on July 4th 1776?

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing the colonies’ separation from Great Britain. The Constitution provides the legal and governmental framework for the United States. However, the Declaration, with its eloquent assertion “all Men are created equal,” is equally beloved by the American people. July 4th fireworks, Washington, D.C. Carol M Highsmith, photographer, July 4, 2008. Highsmith (Carol M.) Archive, Prints & Photographs Division Philadelphians marked the first anniversary of American independence with a spontaneous celebration, which is described in a letter by John Adams to his daughter, Abigail, Unanimous Declaration of Independence, Passed in the United States Congress 1823. Printed Ephemera: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera, Rare Book & Special Collections Division In 1859, the Banneker Institute of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, urged African Americans to celebrate Independence Day while bearing witness to the inconsistencies between the ideals espoused in the Declaration of Independence and the practice of slavery.

  1. Chairman of the meeting, Mr. Jacob C.
  2. White Jr., also promised his audience a brighter future: We have learned by experience and by the comparison of ourselves with people similarly situated, to hope that, at some day not very far in futurity, our grievances will be redressed, that our long lost rights will be restored to us, and that, in the full stature of men, we will stand up, and with our once cruel opponents and oppressors rejoice in the Declaration of our common country, and hail with them the approach of the glorious natal day of the Great Republic.

Mr. Jacob C. White Jr., Introductory Remarks, In The Celebration of the Eighty-Third Anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence by the Banneker InstituteJuly 4, 1859, Philadelphia: W.S. Young, 1859.p.8 African American Perspectives: Materials Selected from the Rare Book Collection, The Flag That Has Waved One Hundred Years–a Scene on the Morning of the Fourth Day of July, 1876, Dominque C. Fabronius, artist. c1876. Popular Graphic Arts, Prints & Photographs Division By the 1870s, the Fourth of July was the most important secular holiday on the calendar.

Congress passed a law making Independence Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1870. Even far-flung communities on the western frontier managed to congregate on Independence Day. In an American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940 interview, Miss Nettie Spencer remembered the Fourth as the “big event of the year.

Everyone in the countryside got together on that day for the only time in the year.” She continued: There would be floats in the morning and the one that got the eye was the Goddess of Liberty. She was supposed to be the most wholesome and prettiest girl in the countryside — if she wasn’t she had friends who thought she was.

But the rest of us weren’t always in agreement on thatFollowing the float would be the Oregon Agricultural College cadets, and some kind of a band. Sometimes there would be political effigies. Just before lunch – and we’d always hold lunch up for an hour – some Senator or lawyer would speak. These speeches always had one pattern.

First the speaker would challenge England to a fight and berate the King and say that he was a skunk. This was known as twisting the lion’s tail. Then the next theme was that any one could find freedom and liberty on our shores. The speaker would invite those who were heavy laden in other lands to come to us and find peace.

  1. The speeches were pretty fiery and by that time the men who drank got into fights and called each other Englishmen.
  2. In the afternoon we had what we called the ‘plug uglies’ — funny floats and clowns who took off on the political subjects of the dayThe Fourth was the day of the year that really counted then.

Christmas wasn’t much; a Church tree or something, but no one twisted the lion’s tail. “Rural Life in the 1870s”, Miss Nettie Spencer, interviewee; Walker Winslow, interviewer; Portland, Oregon, December 15, 1938. American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940, July 4th Parade,, July 4, 1915. Carpenter Collection, Prints & Photographs Division. Boy on Float in Fourth of July Parade. Vale, Oregon, Russell Lee, photographer, July 1941. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black and White Negatives, Prints & Photographs Division French Ward for Bone Cases in American Red Cross Hospital at Evreuxpicture shows decorations in honor of the 4th of July, August 1918. American National Red Cross Photograph Collection. Prints & Photographs Division Down South the celebration was much the same.

  1. Ninety-six-year-old Dr. Samuel B.
  2. Lathan recalled the Independence Day celebrations of his South Carolina childhood: The Fourth of July was observed at Caldwell Cross Roads.
  3. The military companies of infantry would assembly here from the surrounding counties making up a brigade.
  4. A drill and inspection were had, and a dress parade followed.

There was an old cannon mounted on the field. The honor of firing it was assigned to Hugh Reed, who had been in the artillery of Napoleon’s army at Waterloo and afterward emigrated to South Carolina. A great barbecue and picnic dinner would be served; candidates for military, state, and national offices would speak; hard liquor would flow; and each section would present its ‘bully of the woods’ in a contest for champion in a fist and skull fight. 4th of July Celebration, St. Helena Island, S.C., Marion Post Wolcott, photographer, July 1939. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Color Photographs, Prints & Photographs Division Fourth of July, or American Independence Day, Fireworks Light Up the Sky Over Denver, Colorado’s Downtown Civic Center, Carol M. Highsmith, photographer, July 3, 2016. Highsmith (Carol M.) Archive, Prints & Photographs Division Use the online resources of the Library of Congress to learn more about Independence Day and the Declaration of Independence.

How old is England in years?

England became inhabited more than 800,000 years ago, as the discovery of stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh in Norfolk have indicated. The earliest evidence for early modern humans in Northwestern Europe, a jawbone discovered in Devon at Kents Cavern in 1927, was re-dated in 2011 to between 41,000 and 44,000 years old.

Continuous human habitation in England dates to around 13,000 years ago (see Creswellian ), at the end of the Last Glacial Period, The region has numerous remains from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age, such as Stonehenge and Avebury, In the Iron Age, all of Britain south of the Firth of Forth was inhabited by the Celtic people known as the Britons, including some Belgic tribes (e.g.

the Atrebates, the Catuvellauni, the Trinovantes, etc.) in the south east. In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Romans maintained control of their province of Britannia until the early 5th century. The end of Roman rule in Britain facilitated the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, which historians often regard as the origin of England and of the English people,

  • The Anglo-Saxons, a collection of various Germanic peoples, established several kingdoms that became the primary powers in present-day England and parts of southern Scotland,
  • They introduced the Old English language, which largely displaced the previous Brittonic language,
  • The Anglo-Saxons warred with British successor states in western Britain and the Hen Ogledd (Old North; the Brittonic -speaking parts of northern Britain), as well as with each other.

Raids by Vikings became frequent after about AD 800, and the Norsemen settled in large parts of what is now England. During this period, several rulers attempted to unite the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, an effort that led to the emergence of the Kingdom of England by the 10th century.

  • In 1066, a Norman expedition invaded and conquered England,
  • The Norman dynasty, established by William the Conqueror, ruled England for over half a century before the period of succession crisis known as the Anarchy (1135–1154).
  • Following the Anarchy, England came under the rule of the House of Plantagenet, a dynasty which later inherited claims to the Kingdom of France,

During this period, Magna Carta was signed. A succession crisis in France led to the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453), a series of conflicts involving the peoples of both nations. Following the Hundred Years’ Wars, England became embroiled in its own succession wars.

  1. The Wars of the Roses pitted two branches of the House of Plantagenet against one another, the House of York and the House of Lancaster,
  2. The Lancastrian Henry Tudor ended the War of the Roses and established the Tudor dynasty in 1485.
  3. Under the Tudors and the later Stuart dynasty, England became a colonial power.

During the rule of the Stuarts, the English Civil War took place between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists, which resulted in the execution of King Charles I (1649) and the establishment of a series of republican governments—first, a Parliamentary republic known as the Commonwealth of England (1649–1653), then a military dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell known as the Protectorate (1653–1659).

The Stuarts returned to the restored throne in 1660, though continued questions over religion and power resulted in the deposition of another Stuart king, James II, in the Glorious Revolution (1688). England, which had subsumed Wales in the 16th century under Henry VIII, united with Scotland in 1707 to form a new sovereign state called Great Britain,

Following the Industrial Revolution, which started in England, Great Britain ruled a colonial Empire, the largest in recorded history. Following a process of decolonisation in the 20th century, mainly caused by the weakening of Great Britain’s power in the two World Wars; almost all of the empire’s overseas territories became independent countries.

What year was U.S. 200 years old?

The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Founding Father delegates of the Second Continental Congress.

How old is British America?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For the British Empire’s colonial territories in North America after 1783, see British North America,

British America and the British West Indies
1585–1783
Top: Flag of Great Britain Bottom: Colonial Red Ensign Royal coat of arms
British colonies in continental North America (red) and the island colonies of the British West Indies of the Caribbean Sea (pink), after the French and Indian War (1754–1763) and before the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)
Status Colonies of England (1585–1707) Colonies of Scotland (1629–1632) Colonies of Great Britain (1707–1783)
Capital Administered from London, England
Common languages English ( de facto official) Spoken languages: English German French Spanish Dutch Swedish Finnish Welsh Cornish Irish Scottish Gaelic Manx Ojibwe Indigenous languages West African languages (spoken among the imported African slaves in the beginning)
Religion Anglicanism, Protestantism, Lutheranism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Native American religions, Traditional African religions, Sunni Islam (practiced by some West African slaves in the beginning)
Demonym(s) British American
Government Constitutional monarchy
Monarch
• 1607–1625 James VI and I (first)
• 1760–1783 George III (last)
History
• Colony of Virginia 1585
• Newfoundland Colony and Province of Avalon 1610
• Bermuda 1614
• Plymouth Council for New England ( Massachusetts Bay Colony ) 1620
• Province of Maryland 1632
• Colony of Jamaica 1655
• Rupert’s Land 1670
• Treaty of Utrecht 1713
• Treaty of Paris ( French and Indian War ) 1763
• American Revolutionary War 1775–1783
• Treaty of Paris 1783
Currency Pound sterling, Spanish dollar, bills of credit, commodity money, and many local currencies
Preceded by Succeeded by
New France
New Netherland
New Sweden
Spanish Florida

/td>

British North America
Confederation period
Spanish Florida
British West Indies

/td>

/td>

British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, and the successor British Empire, in the Americas from 1607 to 1783. These colonies were formally known as British America and the British West Indies just before the thirteen of the colonies declared their independence in the American Revolution (1765–1783) and formed the United States of America,

Which country will be the most powerful in 2025?

New global line-up lists India as 3rd most powerful nation Washington: Recognising India’s growing clout in the world, an official US report on global governance has declared the country the third most powerful nation after the United States and China, reports PTI.The new global power line-up for 2010 compiling the world’s most powerful countries/regions recognised India as the third most powerful country behind the US and China, and predicted that its clout as well as that of China and Brazil would further rise by 2025.”Global Governance 2025″ — a follow-on to the NIC’s 2008 report — was jointly issued by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of the powerful Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the European Union’s Institute for Security Studies (EUISS).In 2010, the US tops the list of powerful countries/regions, accounting for nearly 22% of the global power.The US is followed by China (more than 12%), European Union (more than 16%), India (nearly 8%), and less than 5% each for Japan, Russia and Brazil.According to this international futures model, by 2025 the power of the US, EU, Japan and Russia would decline while that of China, India and Brazil would increase, even though there would be no change in this listing.By 2025, the United States would still be the most powerful country of the world, but it would have a little over 18% of the global power.The US would be closely followed by China (nearly 16%), European Union (14%) and India (10%).The report concludes that three effects of rapid globalisation are driving demands for more effective global governance — economic interdependence, the interconnected nature of the challenges on the international agenda, and interwoven domestic and foreign challenges.According to the 82-page report, more effective global governance is critical to addressing “threats such as ethnic conflicts, infectious diseases, and terrorism as well as a new generation of global challenges including climate change, energy security, food and water scarcity, international migration flows and new technologies,” which are increasingly taking centre stage.

Who has New Year’s first?

Which country celebrates New Year’s first? As the year draws to a close there are now only a few hours of 2022 remaining. Unless, of course, you happen to live in one of a number of regions where the bell has already struck midnight and 2023 is well underway! People around the world will celebrate the New Year as the clock strikes twelve in their, meaning that the NYE celebration spreads around the world like a wave.

  1. The first region to celebrate the New Year is Kiritimati in Oceania.
  2. The small island, also known as Christmas Island, inhibits a time zone 14 hours ahead of (GMT).
  3. The first major islands to reach midnight in the region will be Tonga, Samoa and parts of New Zealand, one hour later.
  4. One hour after that the most easterly parts of Russia, along with Fiji, will enter 2023.

GMT is the time zone that passes through Greenwich in London, United Kingdom, Here, midnight will come exactly 14 hours after the first bottles of bubbly were popped in Kiritimati. But even at this stage, only around half of the planet will have hit midnight In the United States, the east coast will be the first to reach 2023, doing so five hours after London.

Areas covered by Eastern Standard Time are five hours behind GMT, meaning that thein New York City can begin. One hour after, areas covered by Central Standard Time will reach midnight, followed by Mountain Standard Time one hour later. Pacific Standard Time comes one hour later, followed by Alaska Standard Time,

This means that, 22 hours after the beginning of 2023 in Oceania, all of mainland United States will have finally made it into the New Year. The last place on earth to hit 2023 will be the islands of American Samoa, back in the Pacific Ocean where things first started.

Why was 1976 so special in the US?

1976 in the United States

This article needs additional citations for, Please help by, Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: – · · · · ( July 2014 ) ( )

List of events

in

Decades:

See also:

Events from the year 1976 in the United States, Major events include defeating incumbent president in the of that year, the incorporation of and, and the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that Karen Ann Quinlan could be disconnected from her ventilator.

What is 250 years called?

According to Wikipedia, the preferred term for a 250th. anniversary is Sestercentennial.

How long were humans in America?

The First Americans In the 1970s, college students in archaeology such as myself learned that the first human beings to arrive in North America had come over a land bridge from Asia and Siberia approximately 13,000 to 13,500 years ago. These people, the first North Americans, were known collectively as Clovis people.

Their journey was made possible, according to archaeologists far and wide, by a corridor that had opened up between giant ice sheets covering what is now Alaska and Alberta. Thus did the Clovis people move down through the North American continent, carrying their distinctive tools to various sites in the Plains States and the Southwest and then moving eastward.

And all of this they did very quickly. Significant evidence of Clovis culture had been discovered in New Mexico. In 1908, a rancher riding along an arroyo on his property near Folsom noticed what looked like large bones embedded in the embankment. They turned out to be from gigantic Ice Age bison and other late Pleistocene megafauna, such as mammoths, and they had cut marks that had clearly been made by humans.

South of there, in Blackwater Draw, elegantly fashioned spear points, some about the size of the palm of your hand, turned up in the 1930s. The spear points had fluting and were large enough to fell Ice Age animals. Clovis First, as it was called, was the one and only accepted explanation of initial human arrival and subsequent expansion throughout North and South America.

To be taken seriously, any artifact of human culture had to be dated after those found at Clovis. I remember learning all this in introductory archaeology at a college in southeastern Pennsylvania. Little did I or my professors know that a couple hundred miles away, at a place called Meadowcroft, not far from Pittsburgh, an archaeological dig led by James Adovasio was finding evidence that would cast the primacy of Clovis Man completely in doubt and produce major challenges for existing theories of how the first human beings arrived in North America.

It all started one day in 1955 when Albert Miller, a farmer, conservationist, and amateur historian was out hiking on his property. While passing a steep cliffside aerie with a distinctive rock overhang that yielded a naturally occurring shelter, he noticed a groundhog slip down a hole. Upon closer inspection, Miller found bones near the entrance of the hole.

More than likely, the groundhog had dug up the bones and deposited them there. Miller wondered what else lay beneath that patch of soil. He fetched a shovel and a screen, then started digging. Very quickly he unearthed a flint knife and some burned bones.

Already familiar with rock shelters in western Pennsylvania, he knew to expect Indian artifacts. His own interests and experiences had trained him to look for such things. As a young man, he had been a pilot and an accomplished aerial photographer. An interest in conservation led to a project in which he planted trees on land that had been disrupted by mining.

His own farm he turned into a wildlife habitat. Yet he was also fascinated by manmade things such as antiques, but not in the usual way. “Some people are interested in that chair,” he once said of an antique. “I’m interested in the people who sat in it.” Miller quickly realized that the land around the rock shelter was possibly significant, so he stopped digging.

  • Instead of exploiting the site, he selflessly became its protector.
  • The rock overhang, he realized, might easily attract hikers looking for shelter, who might happen onto evidence of something going on here, just as he had, and feel compelled to dig.
  • To ward off potential looters, he covered the hole and hid it from view.

The site called for professional attention, and he was willing to wait until the right archaeologists came along. For almost twenty years, the discovery remained a closely guarded secret. When Miller encountered someone he thought trustworthy who might be able to connect him to the right archaeologists, he took that person into his confidence.

One such person was Phil Jack, a historian of colonial America at the state college in California, Pennsylvania. In the meantime, Miller pursued another project of historical interest, founding the Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life on land near the rock shelter. For this reconstructed nineteenth-century village, he and his brother Delvin—a legend in harness racing—restored old cabins, a schoolhouse, a church, a barbershop, a covered bridge, and a railroad car.

The museum, which was run by a board, came to own the land with the rock shelter. In the early seventies, a young archaeologist named James Adovasio was hired by the University of Pittsburgh. He put out the word among colleagues that he would be interested in hearing about any sites near the Iron City that might be appropriate for teaching students the meticulous techniques needed to excavate archaeological digs.

He got a call from Jack, the historian at the state college, who told him about Meadowcroft. Adovasio visited Albert Miller, and they hit it off. Miller realized he had found the archaeologist with the appropriate skills to dig below the rock shelter. After Adovasio received permission from Meadowcroft’s board, he and his students began working at the site.

They were joined by teams of geologists, paleontologists, climatologists, and other experts in ancient plants, pollen, and seeds. They used trowels as if they were scalpels and even razor blades to ever so gently remove soil covering the floor of the rock shelter, layer by layer, or in the lingo of a dig, horizon by horizon.

  • The strata beneath the spot where decades earlier Miller had spied the groundhog were uncommonly intact.
  • The crew chief was David T.
  • Clark, a former U.S.
  • Marine and an “utter genius with a trowel,” writes Adovasio.
  • Precise in his work and uncompromising in his standards, Clark was said to have taught his colleagues so well that they could hear it when their tools scratched another microlayer.

Climate and stratigraphic expert Joel Gunn was another character in the lineup, someone the crew came to know and fear for his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personalities. The archaeologists liked to get their hands dirty. They were more comfortable, Adovasio once observed, sitting in a “front-end loader or a roadside saloon than at the Princeton Club in a Hepplewhite chair.” When the project began in June of 1973, the team expected to dig for about three or four feet before hitting bedrock, which, of course, would be sterile in terms of human activityand thus mark the end of their work there.

But, even so, students would get excellent experience, comparable to that offered by other western Pennsylvania rock shelters, going back in time perhaps three thousand years. The first human artifacts they discovered were aluminum beer cans. Lower down they found steel cans, followed by glass beer bottles, and then colonial-era glass.

By the next summer, the team had gone through ever more successive layers of parallel stratification, reaching a depth of ten feet. Surprised at being able to continue deeper, but not yet finding anything unexpected, the students cataloged every point encountered (early field use of computers assisted in this) and duly noted remains of ancient hearths.

  1. Archaic points unearthed that summer resembled others found in the same region, dating back ten thousand years.
  2. What the archaeologists encountered next would have disheartened any amateur who had endeavored to dig this deep: rocks.
  3. But Adovasio and his team recognized this for what it was, a spall—boulders that had fallen from the rock shelter’s roof thousands of years ago.

They dug onward. Breaking through the spall, they began encountering the unexpected and the unknown. Because of the stability of the site—Meadowcroft Rockshelter is nestled in Morgantown-Connellsville sandstone about 300 million years old and held high above the constantly eroding waters from nearby Cross Creek—the team surmised from the undisturbed strata that they were finding artifacts more than 12,000 calendar years old.

Even without radiocarbon dating (which was used later on), they knew they were entering the realm of pre-Clovis. Among the points they now encountered was one about three inches in length and lanceolate in shape, with no fluting. This was unlike any Clovis point and did not closely resemble anything previously discovered in North America.

Later dubbed the Miller Lanceolate Projectile Point in honor of Albert Miller, it was proof that sophisticated toolmakers were in this region long before craftsmen at the Clovis site were fashioning their tools. The lesson was clear: Clovis was not first.

One and all members of Adovasio’s team repaired to a nearby watering hole to discuss, celebrate, and allow it all to sink in. Beneath the level where the Miller point was found, however, there was still more: fire pits, baskets, and cordage. While excavating the strata making up the “Deep Hole” they found a finished lithic tool later called the Mungai knife, which would be the oldest human artifact found at the site, dating back 16,000 years.

The oldest findings at Meadowcroft, then, predated by thousands of years the time when many believed that giant sheets of glacial ice had shifted to make it possible for humans to cross the land bridge from Asia and descend through an ice-free corridor.

Radiocarbon dating at the Smithsonian Institution confirmed their age. Visitors to Meadowcroft today can peer into the dig site from a platform within the rock shelter. Tags on the boulders correspond to the horizons from which artifacts had been taken. There are eleven strata and many microlayers, covering the times of George Washington back to 16,000 years ago.

Throughout antiquity and into modern times, the rock shelter was part of the marked landscape. Anyone traveling along Cross Creek would have immediately recognized it as a good place to camp for a few days or weeks. Jim Ulery, a retired geologist, who helps interpret the NEH-funded public programs at Meadowcroft, and other knowledgeable guides at the rock shelter take visitors through the chronology of geologic events.

Over a period of thousands of years the grain-by-grain attrition of the sandstone falling from the roof provided the stratification of the floor of the shelter, which consequently rose continuously. Those layers of stratification formed in a natural trough, oriented north to south, in the Birmingham shale making up the shelter’s floor, which kept the layers intact and protected them from any kind of water erosion.

The north-south orientation of the natural trough also afforded further protection from prevailing east winds. Some sense of the events of the later Pleistocene is definitely a big help during a visit to the site as you gaze across the valley sculpted by Cross Creek.

  1. About 70,000 years ago, the stream left the rock shelter high and dry as it continued shaping the valley below.
  2. Then sometime, perhaps twenty thousand years ago, hunters, travelers, foragers, and collectors of chert and jasper started using the shelter regularly, a human rhythm there that continued until the moment Adovasio’s crew blocked off the area and removed their first trowel full of dirt.

In all, ten thousand artifacts significant to human culture were recovered from the dig, as well as 956,000 animal bones and 1.4 million plant remains. The findings at Meadowcroft had to be defended, however, long after the last artifact, soil sample, or molluscan remains were lifted from the Deep Hole.

  • At conferences, in papers, and even a few drinking establishments, Adovasio has seen his team’s findings tested against professional criticism.
  • With careers at stake, the debate has been, at times, quite heated.
  • The esteemed archaeologist Vance Haynes, a committed Clovis Firster, argued that the cultural artifacts at Meadowcroft must have been contaminated by seepage from other strata, thereby giving them false pre-Clovis radiocarbon dates.

Adovasio deflected this objection by explaining that the calcium carbonate signature—left from the remains of mollusks—was present in all strata behind the drip line, or the tip of the shelter’s roof. If there had been any groundwater seepage from any surrounding springs, the calcium carbonate signature would have been erased.

  1. Ulery likes to remind visitors that a third of the shelter still needs to be worked on.
  2. Adovasio left a significant part of the pit unexcavated.
  3. This decision was both selfless and reminiscent of Albert Miller’s decision not to dig any further in 1955.
  4. Ulery casts a meaningful gaze at any children on the observation platform as he explains that Adovasio wanted to wait for better technology to be available before finishing the job, in hopes that future generations of archaeologists might learn even more from the site than his crew already has.

The question still nags, Who were the first humans to arrive on the continent and when did they come? During the last ice age there was a brief window of opportunity for humans from Siberia to cross the land bridge, probably about 13,000 to 14,000 years ago.

  • Before that, closer to the glacial maximum, the icescape may have been a treacherous expanse of jagged frozen forms—unforgiving to man and beast.
  • There would have been little for the nomads to hunt along the way, and any food they could have brought with them would have been depleted before they finished the trek.

After that window, temperatures toward the end of the last ice age would have warmed enough for the land bridge to disappear beneath the sea. So, for most of the time, it was either too dangerous or simply impossible to cross the land bridge. But there should have been a short window of opportunity between the too-cold and too-warm periods.

Was it possible for the peopling of the continent to occur in such a short span of time? That is, would it have been possible for relatively small bands to cross the land bridge and within half a millennium or so reach the southern tip of South America? And what about the finds at Meadowcroft and elsewhere that predate the land bridge crossing in the first place? Some Native Americans put little stock in what is often called archaeology’s greatest mystery.

Aren’t they, they ask, the original inhabitants of North and South America? As it happens, many Indian creation myths describe the arrival of humans to the western hemisphere by sea, an idea that is increasingly gaining credence. Evidence found along the western coast, especially in California’s Channel Islands and a site in southern Chile—Monte Verde—appears to support the possibility that a “kelp highway” helped bring the first Americans to these continents.

  1. Another theory even speculates that the first arrivals came on the other side of the continent, at a time when frozen northern Atlantic waters would have been passable by foot and by boat from an overpopulated area in what is today southwestern France.
  2. This group was part of the Solutrean Culture there, and their spear points resemble Clovis points.

Dennis Stanford, archaeologist at the National Museum of Natural History, has become the leading exponent of this theory. In fact, the three theories are not mutually exclusive. Discoveries at Meadowcroft and at other sites in Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida all compel further speculation.

  • On a recent chilly evening, as the light at Meadowcroft began to wane after the last tour of the rock shelter, Jim Ulery considered the possibilities, then shook his head inconclusively.
  • A retired geologist, a scientist, he is loath to jump to conclusions.
  • So, we stood there quietly, peering down the dark hole and wondering, like Albert Miller and Jim Adovasio before us, what lessons further digging might yield.

: The First Americans

Which country is in 2023 first?

As the globe bids adieu to 2022- a year marked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Covid pandemic and conflicts, the world commemorates a fresh start of a calendar year annually by sharing greetings, eating, dancing and having fun. But did you know that not all the parts of the world do not observe the New Year at the same time. How Old Is The United States Happy New Year 2023: The New Year’s Eve ball sits atop One Times Square in New York.(AP) The New Year will be ushered in throughout the day around the earth, with various countries embracing the start of the year with their customs and festivities. Read more: 6 facts on Barbara Walters who interviewed all US presidents since Nixon Here are the countries that celebrate New Year first and last: Which country will celebrate the New Year first? Oceania is the place in the world which marks the New Year celebration first.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, “What is the purpose of journalism in society?”

What year is it in 2023?

2023 Current calendar year Calendar year : :

:

:

2023 by topic:
Transportation
By place
By international organization
Categories

2023 in various 2023 MMXXIII 27761472ԹՎ ՌՆՀԲ6773179–1801944–1945143029731 – 2 256713857531–7532年 (Water )4719 or 4659 — to — 癸卯年 (Water )4720 or 46601739–174031892015–20165783–5784 – 2079–2080 – 1944–1945 – 5123–5124120231023–10241401–14021444–1445 5(令和5年)1956–1957112Gregorian minus 13 days4356 112民國112年5552566阳水虎年(male Water-)2149 or 1768 or 996 — to — 阴水兔年(female Water-)2150 or 1769 or 9971672531200 – 1704067199 Wikimedia Commons has media related to,2023 () is the current year, and is a of the, the 2023rd year of the (CE) and (AD) designations, the 23rd year of the and the, and the 4th year of the decade.

  1. Calendar year On May 5 this year, the ceased calling the a, as infections continued to decrease.
  2. The, which began in 2022, continued, and broke out in, beginning in April.
  3. Catastrophic natural disasters included the and, leaving nearly 60,000 people dead, as well as, the longest-lasting recorded tropical cyclone in history, leading to over 1,400 deaths.2023 additionally witnessed a resulting in the collapse of numerous regional banks as well as the of by in,

Among American banks, the two largest banks which collapsed were and, the third and second largest in US history respectively. In the realm of technology, 2023 has seen, with applications across various industries reaching new heights. These models, leveraging advancements in and, have become capable of creating realistic and coherent text, images, and music.

Is usa 245 years old?

How Old Is The United States Of America? – The simple answer is that as of the 4th of July 2021, the United States is 245 years old, It’s 245-years-old because the Declaration of Independence was ratified by the US Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

  • The passing of the Declaration of Independence meant that the thirteen original British colonies in North America ceased to be colonies and officially (at least according to them) became a sovereign nation.
  • But, as I said before, this is just the simple answer and the simple answer may or may not be correct depending on when you count the birth of a nation.
  • Here are 9 other potential birth dates and ages for the United States of America.

What era will 2023 be?

Which year does the date 2023 CE refer to? 2023 years after the birth of Jesus Christ. Right on! Give the BNAT exam to get a 100% scholarship for BYJUS courses 2023 years before common era. No worries! We‘ve got your back. Try BYJU‘S free classes today! No worries! We‘ve got your back. Try BYJU‘S free classes today! No worries! We‘ve got your back. Try BYJU‘S free classes today! Open in App Suggest Corrections 5 : Which year does the date 2023 CE refer to?

Posted in FAQ