The age of Clovis—13,050 to 12,750 cal yr B.P (original) (raw)
PaleoAmerica 1(2): 134-162, 2015
This paper reviews the published information, uncertainties about claims, and possible technological and cultural relationships of a sample of sites which have older-than-Clovis dates in North America. The goal is to trace the origins of “Classic” Clovis techno-cultural patterns. Some sites in the sample contain lithic artifacts and some do not. Production technology and artifact characteristics in a number of the lithic sites (such as Debra Friedkin and possibly Page-Ladsen) may be evidence of Clovis ancestry, but the lithic materials in most pre-Clovis sites cannot be explicitly linked to Clovis. A few nonlithics sites (such as Manis, Firelands, and Lindsay) may indicate a pre-Clovis pattern of large-mammal exploitation foreshadowing a later Clovis trait. Overall, the available data are incomplete or ambiguous, and, as a result, individual interpretations have produced incompatible models of Clovis origins.
Further Thoughts on the Age of the Sylwester Clovis Point: A Response to Haynes
PaleoAmerica, 2018
We are indebted to C. Vance Haynes Jr for his careful reading of our 2017 report and for proposing alternative explanations for our field observations. In response, we consider each of the alternatives, present additional data, and find that our main conclusionnamely that some Clovis points in California may be of early Holocene agedoes not require emendation in light of current knowledge.
Evidence for Pre-Clovis Sites in the Eastern United States
Peopling of the Americas, 2003
Over the past 25 years, a number of archaeological sites in eastern North America have manifested evidence of human occupations dating earlier than 11,500 RCYBP. These sites include Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Penn.; Cactus Hill, Va.; Saltville-2, Va.; and Topper, S.C. Except for Topper, pre-Clovis (earlier than 11,500 RCYBP) remains were encountered incidental to conducting normal research. Topper was intentionally tested for the possibility of pre-Clovis remains. This paper is a brief review of the geological contexts, dating, and artifactual evidence of these sites. Collectively, they indicate a late-glacial time range of approximately 12,000 to 16,000 RCYBP. Technologically, Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Cactus Hill are the most similar, with evidence of bifacial points, unifaces, and prismatic blades. Although probable bone and ivory artifacts are present, lithics at Saltville- 2 are expedient and minimal, making comparisons difficult. Topper, which is a chert quarry, is distinctive in that it has no evidence of bifaces and is dominated by small flake tools with an emphasis on burin-like tools. More geoarchaeological fieldwork is needed to target landforms that possess sediments deposited from 18,000 to 12,000 RCYBP. The Southeast may be a good place to prospect for these sites, given its milder climate during late-glacial times. The purpose of this paper is to present briefly archaeological evidence of human occupation of the eastern United States prior to 11,500 RCYBP, the conventional pre-Clovis temporal boundary. Four sites are reviewed for their artifacts, geological contexts, and dating. While questions, reservations, and rejections exist within the profession concerning some or all of these sites, nevertheless it is believed that they sufficiently meet these criteria and thus constitute evidence.
Clovis is the most geographically extensive occupation of any time in the archaeological record of the Americas. One aspect of this geographic diversity is the remarkable mobility and adaptability of Clovis people. Understanding adaptability requires, in part, understanding the environmental conditions at the time and the rate and direction of environmental change. Another aspect of adaptability, and one more germane to archaeological research, is that of land use. Where were Clovis people on the landscape, and can we tell how they used the local environment? This chapter addresses issues of climate and landscape conditions that Clovis populations had to contend with. The Clovis landscape, both in terms of geomorphology and vegetation, was undergoing significant changes before, during, and after the Clovis occupation. Continental ice sheets were retreating, and sea level, though 40 to 50 m lower than today, was rising, rapidly inundating the Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains. Stream systems were undergoing changes in discharge, sedimentology, and flow regime whether or not they had glaciated headwaters. Discharges generally were declining, but remained higher or variable compared with today. Paleo-lakes were changing dramatically, but also must have provided a wide array of resources to the early foragers. Proglacial lakes evolved as a function of changes in ice-margin position and drainage direction, and as a result of isostatic rebound. In the Great Basin and Southwest, some paleo-lakes and pluvial lakes were low or completely dry in the late LGM and then came up just before or during the YDC, while others were high before the YDC and then declined just before or during the YDC. Nonetheless many basins had either standing water or wetlands, and, therefore, an array of resources for humans.
The geographic origin of Clovis technology: Insights from Clovis biface caches
Multiple hypotheses have been advanced for the geographic origin of the Clovis technocomplex. Several competing hypotheses are considered in relation to the distribution of Clovis caches. Clovis caching behavior is interpreted as a strategy for maximizing exploration and migration rather than an embedded strategy associated with an annual foraging round. Based on this analysis, it is hypothesized that the Clovis technocomplex may have originated along the North Pacific coast or south of the Cordilleran ice sheet in the Puget Lowland before rapidly spreading across the continent.
Clovis Excavations at Topper 2005-2007: Examining Site
2010
With this inaugural issue of the Occasional Papers series of the Southeastern Paleoamerican Survey, we are pleased to offer this monograph by D. Shane Miller which was based on his masters thesis research at the Topper site. His excavations, conducted over 2006-2007, resulted in a 64m square block, the largest contiguous unit yet excavated at Topper. Situated in a previously plowed firebreak on the southern hillside exhibiting partial erosion, it was decided to take advantage of this situation and recover the basal Clovis remains in the undisturbed portion of the profile. This strategy worked well and allowed Miller to fairly quickly access a large, relatively well preserved portion of the Clovis deposit as found in the lower firebreak. Miller presents the first thorough analysis of the Clovis occupation of what has been called the Hillside at Topper, reconstructing the geoarchaeological matrix so necessary for contextualizing these important 13,000 year old artifacts. In the course of his study, he does yeoman service by systematically analyzing the assemblage and stratigraphy by considering a variety of relevant agencies that might have formed or even deformed the original deposit. He provides a compelling reconstruction of the natural and cultural formation processes and concludes that the Clovis deposit as it is found on the hill slope is reasonably intact and interpretable and well suited for archaeological inferences.
The geographic origin of Clovis technology: Insights from Clovis biface caches by Alan Schroedl
Plains Anthropologist 66 (258) May pp. 120-148, 2021
Alan Schroedl: Multiple hypotheses have been advanced for the geographic origin of the Clovis technocomplex. Several competing hypotheses are considered in relation to the distribution of Clovis caches. Clovis caching behavior is interpreted as a strategy for maximizing exploration and migration rather than an embedded strategy associated with an annual foraging round. Based on this analysis, it is hypothesized that the Clovis technocomplex may have originated along the North Pacific coast or south of the Cordilleran ice sheet in the Puget Lowland before rapidly spreading across the continent. In terms of Croes and Kucra's paper referenced: Entering the American Continent: The Chehalis River Hypothesis 2017 (https://www.academia.edu/40393271/Entering\_the\_American\_Continent\_The\_Chehalis\_River\_Hypothesis) Alan's thought provoking paper involves our paper as follows: --Croes and Kucera (2017) are the most recent proponents of the hypothesis that Clovis technology entered the interior of the continent from the Pacific Northwest just south of the receding Cordilleran ice sheet. (page 130) --Croes and Kucera (2017) hypothesize that populations migrating south along the North Pacific coast encountered nothing but the Cordilleran ice sheet to the east for almost 2000 km until arriving below the ice sheet in the Puget Lowland in modern-day northwest Washington state. (p. 136) --The occurrence of scattered fluted Clovis points in the Puget Lowland area (Croes et al. 2008) demonstrates that this area represents the first deglaciated interior continental setting south of the Cordilleran ice sheet accessible to human populations. (p. 136) --Conclusion As presented here, people practicing a Clovis lifeway and utilizing a unique fluting technology most likely entered North America below the ice sheets from the Puget Lowland in northwest modern-day Washington state. (p. 139, see map Fig. 2)
Clovis-era Subsistence: Regional Variability, Continental Patterning (book chapter)
Paleoamerican Odyssey (eds. Graf, Ketron, Waters), 2013
Clovis-era subsistence was variable from site to site and region to region, but large mammals numerically dominate at archeological sites with food remains. Plant remains are extremely scarce in Clovis sites. The lack of specialized processing and storage technology suggests seeds and nuts were not prominent in the diet, as they became in later times. Sites dated to a possible proto-Clovis phase, 1,000—3,000 years older than the generally accepted age of Clovis, also contain mostly or exclusively large-mammal remains. Many (perhaps most or all) of the largest animals were probably killed and butchered by Late Glacial foragers; they were not found dead and scavenged by people. Proboscidean carcass utilization by Clovis butchers was often incomplete, because Clovis foraging bands were small in number, very mobile, and most likely could predict where to find vulnerable prey.
Clovis Caches: Current Perspectives and Future Directions
Paleoamerican Odyssey (Graf, Ketron,and Waters, ed.'s; TAMU Press), 2013
"Scattered sporadically across much of the American interior are tight clusters of Clovis artifacts identified as material caches. Clovis caches consist of bifaces, projectile points, blades, flakes, cores, bone and ivory rods, and occasionally other items that appear to have been carefully set aside rather than discarded or lost. As the defining attributes of Clovis caches have become clearer, caches are recognized and reported with increasing frequency, in the form of new discoveries in the field and among existing collections. The first section of this paper provides an overview of currently known Clovis caches, ranging from assemblages discovered as much as 50 years ago to less familiar collections just coming to light, with the goal of presenting an up-to-date synopsis for every reported cache attributed to Clovis. A second section reviews our current understanding of the temporal and spatial distribution of Clovis caching and caching behavior, along with some proposed explanations for those patterns. A final section provides an overview of contemporary perspectives on Clovis caches, with special consideration given to their relationships to other assemblages and to Clovis migration and mobility, along with a summary of current and future directions for research involving Clovis caches."