BOISE, Idaho – A hiker stumbled upon a really old piece of Idaho history in Hells Canyon. Now, archaeologists know just how old it is. It dates back centuries.
"We know that people have lived in Idaho for at least 130 centuries," said State Archaeologist Dr. Ken Reid.
And those people left evidence of their lives. Their artwork in the form of petroglyphs and pictographs decorates the rocks and cliffs in Hells Canyon. Their house pits sit in neighborhoods along the banks of the Snake River.
Hells Canyon is beautiful. It's also rich in history.
"There's an intact outdoor museum really of Idaho's past that survives," said Dr. Reid.
A hiker found part of that surviving past under a rock pile under a rock ledge made by a huge boulder.