Impact Pits and Particles in the Taylor Artifacts from Illinois with

Associated Uranium 235 Enrichment and Excess Plutonium 239.

William Topping, James Taylor and Tony Baker
This publication first was released as a draft on June 23, 1998 and has been refereed by way of exchanged
comments. It is subject to copyright restrictions, but may be used and/or distributed for scientific purposes
provided proper citation is included.

This revised edition is publicly released on September 18, 1999.

Introduction:
Particles, particle tracks and impact pits have been observed in Paleo-Indian artifacts from Michigan,
Ontario, Indiana, New Mexico and also from Pennsylvania although the identification in that last case is
tentative. Such particles (1) could indicate prehistoric bombardment from some as yet unidentified
prehistoric event that involved a massive shockwave. In the search for more evidence, some fluted
points and typical Paleo-Indian diagnostics from the Taylor site in Illinois (which also yielded Early
Archaic artifacts) were recovered and examined. These artifacts, which on the basis of chert type and
patina were "most likely" Paleo-Indian in affiliation, manifested odd features like "spalls" or small pits
to the naked eye that seemed to appear on only one side of respective artifacts.
Examination:
Under low-power microscopic examination (100 x), the unique features appeared to occur
preferentially on one side of respective artifacts (which implies particle bombardment in which the
artifacts self-shielded) and in the cases where impact pits were angled the trajectories appeared to
be parallel. The features in the photos below match the configurations of the particles and particle
tracks or impact pits observed in other Paleo-Indian artifacts.
Presentation:
Figures 1 through 6 show the various configurations of the pits in the Taylor artifacts. Many are
subject to interpretation because of high numbers of mineral inclusions of about the same size. It seems
probable that over time, some of these inclusions worked out of the chert and left holes which could be
misidentified as impact pits. In some cases illustrated, it does appear as if inclusions had worked out
over time. But in the cases of the pits shown in Figures 5 and 6, it is difficult to explain those pits as
anything other than impact pits.
Figure 7 illustrates the problem of discrimination between impact pits and pits that may have formed
from inclusions working out of the chert. The two small diamond-shaped pits at the left center easily
could be eroded mineral inclusions that infilled over time. It is difficult to be certain since the method of
identification is visual. At the lower left, a view of a diamond-shaped inclusion is clearly visible.

Figure 8 shows a pit with a dark mass in the center of the pit. In this case it is difficult to be conclusive
about whether or not the pit filled in over time, or if the mass was deposited when the pit formed.
Figure 9 shows more pits with masses in them, and these masses appear to be embedded particles.
The large pit appears to contain a somewhat spherical mass.

Figure 10 shows more pits with what appear to be embedded particles; the particle in the pit on the
right appears to have a spherical shape.

Figures 11 and 12 show features like those observed in Paleo-Indian flakes from New Mexico.
These spots in the case of the New Mexico artifacts apparently are infilled pits; acid (HCl) was used
to remove all of the infilling which probably was irons and silica which are common in sediments and
percolating water. Figure 12 in particular shows brownish-orange dimples, again exactly like the
features in the artifacts from New Mexico. These spots in the Taylor flakes also appear to be infilled
pits and they are important for analysis because they indicate that after the pits formed (from whatever
cause), time has passed to let them fill in completely.

Figure 13 is a view of the most important feature observed and photographed in the Taylor flakes. It
is a spherical particle embedded at an angle within an impact pit. Furthermore, a very small
chondrule-like feature can be seen on the surface of the particle; the focus is adjusted on the surface
of the chondrule to highlight it. A chondrule also was observed on a piece of magnetite/ilmenite from
the Gainey site in Michigan. This particular feature is critically important because it only could have
formed from high heat which signifies either extra-terrestrial material (with chondrules already
present), or formation from high speed entry through the atmosphere (2).
Figure 14 shows the same particle at a different aspect and focus. In this case, the focus is slightly
deeper to reveal the presence of more small chondrule-like bodies on the mass of the particle. The
presence of these chondrules is fundamental for an interpretation of the pits, and the particles in the
pits, for the reasons set forth below.

Discussion:
The presence of chondrules on the surface of particles means those particles were subjected to high
heat. Since these particles are embedded at the bottom of pits in chert artifacts that are not burned or
visibly heated, and since high heat is required to form the chondrules, the evidence indicates these pits
are impact pits that formed as the particles entered at high speed. Furthermore, since high speed is
required to allow particles sufficient energy to penetrate the artifact, a reasonable conclusion is that
any embedded particle with chondrules on it must have passed through the atmosphere. All of these
considerations suggest that particles such as these must be extraterrestrial in origin. Whether or not
the chondrule-like features on particles are present before they pass through the atmosphere, or form
during entry, is inconsequential at this stage of research.
Associated testing:
Some of the Taylor artifacts were tested (chemical pretreatment/reduction and alpha spectroscopy)
for the presence of Plutonium 239 at Nuclear Technology Services, Inc., in Roswell, Georgia.
Reserved portions of those artifacts then were tested at McMaster Nuclear Reactor in Hamilton,
Ontario. Although Plutonium 239 is expected to occur at an amount of 5E-12 per gram of uranium in
nature (3), the determined amount of activity in the Taylor flakes was 3.83E-3 pCi per gram of chert
which is about 1,000 times more than expected on the basis of the calculated uranium content. The
results from McMaster Nuclear Reactor revealed that in the 6 Taylor artifacts submitted for analysis,
there was enrichment of Uranium 235 to about 1% in all cases with the range from .84 to 1.04%.
The apparent process for the enrichment of Uranium 235 was decay from Plutonium 239, and the
excess Plutonium 239 and enriched Uranium 235 both can be accounted for by an ancient neutron
event in which the following process occurred:
[ n + 238U yields 239U decays 239Np decays 239Pu decays 235U ].
Time is the key agent for the buildup of Uranium 235 since 239Pu has a half life of about 24,000
years.
Conclusion:
The results for 239Pu and 235U are consistent with a model that proposes an ancient thermal neutron
event that would have accompanied a massive shockwave. In turn, that would explain the presence of
impact pits and particles with chondrules in the Paleo-Indian artifacts. Initial indications are that the
particles themselves have an independent effect on activity rates, but more research is required to draw
particular conclusions.
References Cited:
(1) Zinner, Ernst. Stellar Nucleosynthesis And The Isotopic Composition Of Presolar Grains From Primitive
Meteorites, Annual Review Earth Planet. Sci. 26: 147-188, 1998.

(2) Norton, O. Richard. Rocks from Space. Meteorites and Meteorite Hunters. Second Edition. Mountain Press
Publishing Company, Missoula, 1998.
(3) Haschke, John. The Actinide Research Quarterly, 1-3 (Summer), 1996.

Contacts: Baker, Taylor, Topping.