The earliest known human occupation of the Idaho Falls area reaches back about 1,200 years, according to archaeological evidence. Bones of mammoths, ground sloths, camels, and other extinct mammals, discovered with Native American artifacts, have been found deep beneath the floor of a cave a few miles west of the city. Numerous ancient campsites once occupied by members of the Shoshone-Bannock tribes lay along the Snake River within the present city limits, especially near the areas now occupied by Freeman Park and the LDS Temple. Before white settlers arrived, the land along the Snake River served as a wintering area for elk and deer, and large fist-sized hide scrapers indicate that their hides were tanned there. The Shoshone-Bannocks camped there during trips north to salmon fishing areas, and early Idaho Falls resident Fred Keefer remembered visiting these camps as a boy and being taught various handicrafts by tribal members. In 1909 the Lemhi band of Shoshones camped along this section of the river on their way to Fort Hall Indian Reservation after being evicted by the U.S. Government from their ancient homelands in the Salmon River country, and these campsites continued in use until the World War I years.