Humboldt Cave
S of Lovelock off U.S. 40, Lovelock, NVThe Humboldt Sink area was one of the first areas west of the rockies inhabited by man. Human habitation covering a span of approximately 11,000 years has been established by study of cultural materials recovered from the caves and rock shelters on the border of Humboldt Sink.
The "Humboldt Culture" prevailed from about 9,000 B.C. to 5000 B.C., the ''Leonard Culture" from 5000 B.C. to 2000 B.C. and the "Lovelock Culture" from 2000 B.C. to 1000 A.D.
The Humboldt Cave was first excavated by scientists from the University of California in 1936. Rich cultural deposits showed that it was in use during late "'Love lock Culturel period, from about 1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D. The people who lived here were in touch with others in California and in the southwest, because articles that came from these distant places, such as beads, baskets, and pipes, were found in the cave.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.