Next Wednesday 7-15

[Minimalist]

Time Team America will be exploring the Topper site on the Savannah River in South Carolina on PBS.

I'll be recording it. If anyone wants it via Pando, sing out or pm an e-mail address.

[dannan14]

Sweet! Please send it to me Min. i'll be on vacation then, but i'll watch as soon as i get back.

[Minimalist]

OK, D14. I've got you in my group code already.

[Rokcet Scientist]

That could be interesting! Please write me down too!

[Minimalist]

Will do.

[Minimalist]

http://archaeology.about.com/b/2009/07/ ... r-site.htm

Topper is one of the few stratified Clovis period sites anywhere, buried about two feet below the current surface, and of unknown size and shape. At this site, Clovis people quarried a fairly high quality stone material, and made stone tools to take away elsewhere about 12,000 years ago. Note: Faithful reader Derek A points out that radiocarbon dates are rare in the southeast, and c14 dates for Clovis are primarily from western sites.

That's exciting in and of itself—there are very few intact Clovis sites at all, let alone one so large and dense. The controversial part is that excavator Al Goodyear believes that there is a preclovis site beneath the Clovis, dated to between 15,000 and 50,000 years ago.

Preclovis sites are gaining some ground in archaeological circles these days—but not preclovis sites dated to 50,000 years ago. Accepting a date that old would take a great deal more than one site with some pretty iffy artifacts, because if true, it would overthrow much of what archaeologists have learned about the way the world was populated.

[Minimalist]

A good effort even if they did wimp out at the end about pre-clovis. Prof. West shows up on the 3d day looking for comet debris. I should be able to get it out to whoever wants it by tomorrow.

A very interesting chart of Clovis finds in North America showing an overwhelming concentration east of the Mississippi.

[Minimalist]

Technology being what it is, PBS has already passed Pando by.

They have a video link for the episode (and the earlier one on Roanoke Island if anyone is interested) with far better quality than I could obtain via Pando.


http://www.pbs.org/video/video/11765274 ... 1100231536

[Leona Conner]

A good effort even if they did wimp out at the end about pre-clovis. Prof. West shows up on the 3d day looking for comet debris. I should be able to get it out to whoever wants it by tomorrow.

A very interesting chart of Clovis finds in North America showing an overwhelming concentration east of the Mississippi.

Prof. West has been on other programs dealing with the impact and getting debris from Topper. Seems he's a fixture there.

Didn't realize that so many places have Clovis artifacts. But then, if they feel it's Clovis then it's an artifact; if they don't, then they say it' a geofact.

[Minimalist]

Exactly.

They managed to avoid mentioning Meadowcroft which is only a couple of hundred miles away when they were insisting that there had to be "other sites." In a comment section on the Time Team American web site I noted a few comments from people suggesting Monte Verde and Cactus Hill among others. The evidence is there for whoever is willing to see it.

[Leona Conner]

That's for sure. There's a hell of a lot of people willing to see it, and WANTING to see it. Is the problem that those who do not want it to be seen have so much clout that they can stop it? I know they can't be in the majority.

[Minimalist]

They won't live forever.

[Frank Harrist]

I watched the original Time Team from the UK. I loved it. I like this one too. They teach a lot on the program. I haven't missed one yet. I'm really into the "geo-phys" stuff. I did a little of that in Arkansas. It takes away a lot of the guesswork. We didn't dig any "dry holes" when we used it. It's primarily a tool to tell us where to dig. I'm watchiing TTA right now, but I just had to post a comment for you guys. Fremont culture this week.

[Frank Harrist]

For the record, I too was disappointed in the time team's conclusions at Topper. I do however agree with the reasoning behind said conclusions. Slow process...changing the world.

[Digit]

I still haven't seen it, has it been shown in the UK yet?

Roy.