From Chapter One
First Las Vegas Visitors
The first people to visit the Las Vegas Valley saw a very different place than we see today. Ten thousand years ago, water flowed in rivers through the Las Vegas Valley, lush grasses and bushes covered the land, and herds of animals roamed the valley.
The first visitors arrived in hunting parties. They were attracted by such animals as deer, elk, antelope, and mountain sheep. However, other, much larger animals also roamed the Las Vegas Valley, including wooly mammoth, mastodons, a type of camel, and even ground sloths. Early humans also had to watch out for ferocious lions and sabertoothed tigers.
The first people in Southern Nevada were called Paleo-Indians. This name literally means “ancient Indians.” They didn’t live in one place like we do;instead, they camped in different places, following the animals they hunted.
Paleo-Indians often set up camp in caves. That is where we find their fire circles and the tools they left behind. These tools were made out of animal bones and mastodon tusks. Since they didn’t have bows and arrows, the Paleo-Indians hunted with spears. While it is rare to find a spearhead in the Nevada wilderness, it is still possible to find the chips that fell away, when they were making spearheads in their camps…
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