32 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol. 28, No. 11 



man is believed to have established the earli- 

 est culture, followed in time by Folsom man. 

 Sea level during this period was as much as 

 several hundred feet below the present level. 

 Consequently, large expanses of coastal plain- 

 now the Continental Shelf- -were available for 

 habitation by man before this land was sub- 

 merged. Corroborating evidence suggests that 

 prehistoric man could have inhabite d areas 

 many miles beyond the present shoreline 

 (Emery 1966). If coastal areas were inhabited 

 by man 10 to 12 thousand years ago, we may 

 find fluted projectile points, teeth, mollusk 

 shells from "kitchen middens," animal bones. 



or similar objects in what is now rather deep 

 water, such as Georges Bank. Evidence of 

 early human occupation of the offshore banks 

 or other shelf areas would be exceedingly val- 

 uable to archaeologists in reconstructing the 

 history of man. 



Fishermen, marine scientists, and others 

 whose occupation provides them with an oppor- 

 tunity to discover submarine fossils, are urged 

 by the author to collect and send to scientific 

 institutions objects similar to those illustrated 

 or mentioned in this paper, including any un- 

 usual ones. 



UTERATURE CITED 



EMERY, K.O. 



1966. Early man may have roamed the Atlantic Shelf. Oce - 

 anus, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 3-5, 



,K.O.; R.L. WIGLEY; and M. RUBIN 



1966. A submerged peat deposit off the Atlantic Coast of the 

 United States. Limnology and Oceanography , vol. 

 10, Spec. Supp., pp. R97-R102. 



HAYNES, C.V., Jr. 



1964. Fluted projectile points: their age and dispersion. Sci - 

 ence , vol. 145, no. 3639, pp. 1408-1413. 



It Could Send You To The Bottom 



The most recent acquisition of Woods Hole's 

 benthic staff was a large, yellow, cylindrical 

 crystalline mass weighing about 20 pounds. 

 It was proudly turned in as this year's $64 

 question. It turned out to be TNT! 



Since it had no paleontological value, it was 

 turned over to the local Air Force explosives 

 disposal unit. 



Created in 1849, the Department of the Interior—a department of conservation—is concerned with the 

 management, conservation, and development of the Nation's water, fish, wildlife, mineral, forest, and park 

 and recreational resources. It also has major responsibilities for Indian and Territorial affairs. 



As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department works to assure that nonrenewable 

 resources are developed and used wisely, that park and recreational resources are conserved for the future, 

 and that renewable resources make their full contribution to the progress, prosperity, and security of the 

 United States—now and in the future. 



