YSU Students Find Axe Fragment at Bahamas Dig Site

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University students discovered a fragment of a flint stone axe during a recent seven-say excavation in the Bahamas.

The 10-student delegation, led by YSU faculty Tom Delvaux of anthropology and Ron Shaklee of geography, participated in the excavation of the Fresh Lake prehistoric archaeological site on San Salvador Island. The site was once home to the Lucayan Indians, who inhabited the Bahamas in pre-Columbian times.

Students attending were Hannah Scarazzo of Youngstown, Robert James of Niles, Ramona Kindell of Cleveland, Kathleen Burdette of Hubbard, Tess Jones of Lakewood, Marina Pavlichich of Austintown, Aaron Loveless of Hubbard, Alec Kalis of Austintown, Stephen Biroschak of Austintown, and Antony Crowe of Middleburg Heights.

Flint is not a naturally occurring element in the Bahamas, Shaklee said. The closest source of flint is in continental areas of North America, so therefore, discoveries of flint tools are rare in the Bahamas.

The find is only the fifth piece of flint recovered by YSU archaeologists since they started excavations on San Salvador in 1996. It is, by far, the largest and most impressive flint piece found by archaeologists working on San Salvador, according to the university.

Pictured: YSU students found this fragment of a prehistoric flint stone axe at a dig in the Bahamas.

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