Layser Cave

Layser Cave, also known as the Layser Cave Archaeological Interpretative Area, is a natural rock shelter located in Gifford Pinchot National Forest within Lewis County, Washington, approximately south of Randle, Washington. The shallow cave is open to the public via a short, steep trail and is under the oversight of the United States Forest Service (USFS).

The cave was a seasonal domestic and hunting site for indigenous people in the area, including the Upper Cowlitz and possibly the Yakama. Archaeological evidence has shown the landform to have been used for the processing of deer, elk, and salmon as early as 7,000 years ago but was abruptly abandoned approximately 3,500 years later. The abandonment was most likely due to a loss of animal and vegetation sustenance for native people due to severe volcanic eruptions and subsequent ash fallout from Mt. St. Helens during the period. With a lack of historical documentation or stories, the cave is thought to have been forgotten.

Layser Cave is named after Tim Layser, a USFS employee who rediscovered the landform accidentally in 1982. Looting and vandalism in the years after the announced finding led to a severe loss of historical artifacts. Archaeological studies began in earnest due to the losses, finding tools made of various materials, and evidence of hunting and preparation of foods. Further examinations found evidence of regional trade, as arrowheads, beads, and flora at the site were not endemic to the site or region.

The cave is formed in basalt with calcium carbonate veining, while the floor contains multiple layers of tephra.

Layser Cave was originally part of the indigenous homelands of the Cowlitz people, specifically the Upper Cowlitz, also known as the Taitnapam; the site may have been in use up to 7,000 years ago. The Yakama people have also been theorized to have used the landform. The cave was rediscovered by college student, Tim Layser, in 1982. Working for the United States Forest Service (USFS) as a cultural resource technician, Layser happened upon the cave by accident while marking trees for thinning. He originally investigated the rock shelter using a cigarette lighter. A USFS archaeologist, Rob McClure, toured the cave the next day, recording up to 50 artifacts. After the rediscovery announcement, the cave was left open to the public, forcing the first archeological studies to begin in 1986 and 1987, due in part to ongoing looting and vandalism at the site.

Continuing archeological studies in the 20th century into the next millennium provided evidence of tool building and hunting at Layser Cave, which was used as a long-serving communal shelter and work site for thousands of years by the Cowlitz tribe and their ancestors. Evidence suggests that the cave went unused between 2,000 and 4,000 years ago, possibly abandoned abruptly at one point 3,400 to 3,500 years ago, coinciding with volcanic activity at Mt. St. Helens. A common theory suggests the abandonment was due to excessive ashfall and a subsequent, long-term loss of vegetation and wildlife. With a lack of sustenance, indigenous people no longer had a need for the site and the cave was forgotten.

Though the cave is considered to have gone unused since that time, the cave was possibly used by the Cowlitz again by the 18th century, though permanently abandoned after the tribe fled the area during a rise in what was called the "grey fever", a deadly illness theorized to be either influenza or malaria. No written record, nor historical telling, of why the cave was abandoned has been found.

The cave was not a permanent camp but was found to be occupied mostly during spring and summer hunting seasons and used primarily for processing deer and elk for meat and hides. Due to the nature of domestic-type tools discovered, it is theorized that occupants of the site were often nomadic family units, usually between 12 and 15 members, rarely exceeding 20 people.