The Fascinating Archaeological Discovery That Put This Kansas Town On The National News
By Lisa Sammons|Published July 05, 2023
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Lisa Sammons
Author
Lisa loves animals and has dogs, rats, cats, guinea pigs, and snakes. She is passionate about animal rescue and live music - traveling across the country to see a favorite band is a pretty regular occurrence! Being out hiking in the woods enjoying the scenery with her beloved dogs is another favorite hobby, and also checking out the Pokemon Go scene in whatever city she happens to be in at any given time (coffee and dog leash in hand). You can reach Lisa at lsammons@onlyinyourstate.com
People have lived in Kansas for thousands of years, so it should come as no surprise that there have been some major archaeological sites in Kansas. From lost cities to mysterious skeletal remains, just about everything possible has been found in the Sunflower State, and we’re sure there will be even more discoveries in the future, but one of the strangest finds occurred over a century ago. Have you ever heard of the Lansing Man? This discovery is no longer in the headlines today, and even now, it remains shrouded in mystery, but this is a fascinating story from Kansas history that we don’t think should be forgotten.
The city of Lansing is now a bustling place of about 11,000 residents, but it was once a small farming community.
Archaeologists were called out to the site, which was quite unique because the layers of rock that the bones were found in were older than the last ice age. It is thought that they were anywhere from 10,000 to 35,000 years old.
However, there was some controversy regarding the age of the bones themselves. They resembled the structure of Native Americans that had been known to reside in this area, but if they were actually as old as the surrounding rock, they were some of the oldest bones ever found in North America.
Sadly, the bones are not on display at either location and their current whereabouts are unknown.
While the exact age and current fate of the "Lansing Man" remains unknown, the remains are most assuredly the oldest ever found in Kansas. A marker was recently placed at the archaeological site where the bones were discovered.
