In 2021, on a golf course in Sugarcreek, Ohio, a young explorer found something unexpected beneath the soil: a collection of stone tools from thousands of years ago, carefully shaped and remarkably well preserved.
The discovery was made by a boy named Joshua Fetter, who spotted a stone biface (a stone with flakes removed from both sides, shaping it into a tool with sharp edges) just a few meters from a pond where the soil was being stripped and graded for redevelopment.
When Joshua kept digging, he unearthed an astonishing nine bifaces in an area less than one square meter.
Realizing the significance of this find, Joshua’s family connected with local archaeologists at Kent State University, who worked quickly to investigate the site and recover any additional specimens—locating two additional bifaces in the process.
Left: Joshua Fetter points to the location where the cache was discovered. Right: Dr. Michelle Bebber points to the excavation site, a small yellow spot just above her left hand. Image: Eren et al., Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 72 (2026).
The bifaces, now known as the “Joshua Cache,” are the subject of a newly published study by authors including Dr. Brian Redmond, Emeritus Curator of Archaeology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Drs. Metin Eren and Michelle Bebber, both Museum Research Associates and professors at Kent State University.
"The Joshua Cache was a rare discovery of an important collection of Indigenous artifacts dating to about 2,000 years ago,” said Dr. Redmond. “I worked with Dr. Metin Eren to understand the approximate age of the artifact cache based on previous information about such features in Ohio.”
While many archaeological discoveries emerge slowly through planned excavations, others, like this one, can arrive unexpectedly—and with very little surrounding context. That uncertainty is part of what makes the Joshua Cache so compelling. The objects themselves are beautifully preserved, but the story behind them holds several unresolved mysteries.
What is a cache?
Archaeologists use the term “cache” to describe a group of objects stored or deposited together. In this case, the cache consists of 11 finely crafted stone bifaces.
The artifacts were found clustered tightly together, suggesting they had been intentionally placed rather than accidentally discarded. Researchers believe the tools likely represent a purposeful deposit, though exactly why they were buried remains uncertain.
That ambiguity is familiar in archaeology. Objects often survive long after the circumstances surrounding them have disappeared.
Still, the discovery offers an unusually direct glimpse into a moment in the past. Unlike archaeological sites that accumulate layers of debris over centuries, caches preserve a more concentrated event—a deliberate act that was, for whatever reason, never revisited.
The 11 Joshua Cache bifaces recovered in Sugarcreek, Ohio, which are now in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Image: Eren et al., Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 72 (2026).
Clues hidden in stone
One of the most revealing aspects of the cache is its skilled craftsmanship.
The tools were created through a process known as knapping, in which stone is carefully shaped by striking away thin flakes to produce sharpened edges. The process requires both technical skill and deep familiarity with the material being worked. Even small mistakes can fracture a tool beyond repair.
The leaf-shaped bifaces in the Joshua Cache display an impressive degree of precision and control. Researchers noted their straight edges, symmetry, and refined shaping, all indicators of experienced craftsmanship.
The stone itself also provides important clues. According to the researchers’ analysis, the tools were likely made from Upper Mercer chert, a stone material sourced approximately 43 to 45 kilometers (~26–28 miles) from where the cache was discovered. That detail suggests that the makers of these tools moved them across the landscape before depositing them in the cache, though why they chose this location remains an unanswered question.
Connecting the cache to the Adena world
Based on the tools’ characteristics and comparisons with similar discoveries, researchers suggest the cache may be associated with the Early Woodland Adena culture, which existed in parts of Ohio and the broader Ohio River Valley roughly 1,900 to 2,500 years ago.
The Adena are perhaps best known for their elaborate earthworks and burial mounds, many of which still shape the archaeological landscape of Ohio today. But beyond those monumental sites, much of what we know about the Adena comes from carefully interpreting the smaller, everyday objects they left behind. Now, the Joshua Cache may offer another piece of that larger story.
Importantly, the study’s authors emphasize that this interpretation remains provisional. Because the cache was discovered outside a controlled excavation and lacked extensive surrounding archaeological deposits, there are limits to what researchers can conclude with certainty.
What was the purpose of the cache?
One of the most intriguing questions raised by the discovery is why the tools were deposited in the first place.
Archaeologists have documented caches in many different cultural contexts throughout history. Some caches appear to have been practical in nature, storing tools or other items for future use. Others may have held ceremonial or symbolic significance. In some cases, caches were likely intended for retrieval; in others, they may have been deliberate offerings.
The Joshua Cache does not provide enough evidence to conclusively determine its exact purpose. However, the researchers observed that many of the tools show little evidence of wear, suggesting they were carefully made and deposited in the cache before ever being used.
That detail opens several possibilities. Whoever buried the cache may have intended to store the tools for future use. But the cache may also have carried ritual or symbolic meaning now lost to time.
A discovery beneath familiar ground
The Joshua Cache is also a reminder that important archaeological discoveries still lie beneath ordinary places—from golf courses and construction sites to our own backyards.
It’s easy to imagine archaeology unfolding only at remote excavation sites or famous ancient ruins. But discoveries of genuine scientific importance frequently emerge during construction projects, roadwork, farming, or development activity in familiar modern landscapes.
In Ohio especially, layers of human history remain deeply embedded beneath contemporary communities. Every discovery contributes to a broader understanding of the people who lived, traveled, worked, and built lives here long before written records existed.
Continuing a legacy of research
The study reflects the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s ongoing role in archaeological research throughout the Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley.
Dr. Redmond has spent decades advancing scholarship on the prehistory of Northern Ohio and beyond, as well as training hundreds of future archaeologists through the Museum’s Archaeology in Action program. And Drs. Eren and Bebber’s work in experimental archaeology—recreating ancient technologies to better understand how tools were made and used—has helped illuminate the technical knowledge behind artifacts like those found in the Joshua Cache.
While many questions surrounding the cache remain unresolved, that uncertainty does not diminish the discovery’s importance. As the study notes, “Despite these questions, the importance of publishing and curating the Joshua Cache and other finds like it cannot be overemphasized—future scientific advances or field discoveries may provide clues, clarity, or even resolution.”
And, as Dr. Redmond said, “Of equal importance to the rarity of the find and documentation of the artifacts is the fact that this site was discovered by a young person, who understood its importance and made it known to professional archaeologists for study.” He also noted that the cache was generously donated to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where it can contribute to further research and education.
As this discovery demonstrates, archaeology rarely provides complete narratives. More often, it offers moments of contact between the present and a past that can only be partially reconstructed. What remains are traces—precise, deliberate, and remarkably enduring—waiting thousands of years beneath the Ohio soil.
Curious to dive in deeper?
You can access the full study, “The Joshua Cache: salvage, description, and analysis of a possible Early Woodland (Adena) biface cache from Sugarcreek, Ohio, USA,” for free online at ScienceDirect.
You can also explore more stories like this one at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where exhibits help bring Ohio’s human history into focus. Learn more and plan your visit today.
