PreClovis Artifacts from Central Texas

[Charlie Hatchett]

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[Minimalist]

OK. That would leave enough of a blade above the "haft" to make a useful point.

[Charlie Hatchett]

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[Minimalist]

No, I hadn't seen that. Do you have a link?

[Charlie Hatchett]

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[Minimalist]

Great stuff, Charlie.

In my view the archaeological manifestation that we call “Clovis” is more complex than our usual accounts would suggest. Clovis occurs in diverse habitats and some of the more significant sites, such as Gault, Thunderbird, and Aubrey, have the distinctive signature of a generalized adaptation rather than a specialized mammoth hunting lifeway. Clovis is too common, too widespread, and too well adapted in too many environments to satisfy the theoretical expectation of the first colonizers in the New World. There are also numerous archaeological indicators of an earlier human presence. Comprehensive and objective review of the empirical and logical bases for the Clovis-first theory is in order, and I predict that it will be replaced with a significantly different account of the peopling of the Americas.

Maybe they expect too much from a simple spear point? A tool is useful to whatever hand wields it. When firearms were introduced they were seen as a good idea and adopted by various cultures. Those that did not adopt them or could not obtain them were quickly consigned to the dustbin of history.

There could have been any number of cultures who looked at the clovis point and said "damn fine idea...let's make some for ourselves!"

[Charlie Hatchett]

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[Minimalist]

Yes, but The Club has envisioned Clovis as some sort of continent-dominating "culture" when maybe all it was was a damn nice spear point.

Humans have a remarkable ability to mimic what they see. But creativity, such as the creativity to design a clovis or solutrean point for the first time is rare.

[Charlie Hatchett]

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[Cognito]

I'm still waiting for you to get your butt down here!
Same with you, Pat! I'll still have your rocks under my desk.

So, is the standard storage fee still a bottle of beer? How ya been?

[Cognito]

Cultures that existed prior to the timeframe of Clovis tech. The tech spread like wildfire.

Charlie, that's my take on it also. The site that I visit has been dated between 18-20kya at the surface. The people living there weren't very sophisticated and only made tools for processing food, wood, etc. Not a spearpoint to be found at those levels, but some nice hand axes. The Clovis tech would have caught on quickly since it meant more food to put on the table for dinner and better protection from some nasty predators.

Those Clovis spearheads embedded into the animal and then the shaft fell off for recycling. You're correct -- whoever invented that killing system was a true genius.

[Minimalist]

but some nice hand axes.

In North America???

[MichelleH]

but some nice hand axes.

In North America???

You mean like these in Massachusetts??

http://www.wickedlocal.com/littleton/news/x317099158

Littleton - Finding stone artifacts that are approximately 4,000 years old is not just rare, it’s never happened in Littleton, said Martin Dudek of J. Milner Associates, an archaeological consulting firm on Great Road.

“I’ve never seen stone axes that are found on private property,” said Dudek after confirming that five-year-old Dalton Blake dug up two Native American tools in his grandmother’s backyard earlier this month.

Does this mean that stone axes are only found on public property?

[Minimalist]

The Club is going to be pissed.

[Charlie Hatchett]

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