These are some of the artifacts from the 15,500-year-old horizon. (Credit: Image courtesy of Michael R. Waters)
Posted on 03/25/2011 6:23:43 AM PDT by Red Badger
Researchers in Texas have discovered thousands of human artifacts in a layer of earth that lies directly beneath an assemblage of Clovis relics, expanding evidence that other cultures preceded the Clovis culture in North America. This pre-Clovis toolkit appears to be between 13,200 and 15,500 years old and it includes biface and blade technology that may have later been adapted -- and improved upon -- by the Clovis culture.
The Clovis people, whose tools were known for their distinctive "fluted" points, were once thought to be the original settlers of North America about 13,000 years ago. Over the past few years, however, scattered evidence has hinted at several earlier cultures. But, such evidence has often been disputed in part because so few artifacts have actually been recovered.
The new site in Texas, known as the Debra L. Friedkin site, documents a pre-Clovis settlement in the region and informs researchers about the transition to Clovis culture and technology, which is later seen across North and Central America (and also into northern South America). These new artifacts comprise what researchers are calling the Buttermilk Creek Complex, and details of its excavation will be reported in the 25 March issue of Science, which is published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society.
Michael Waters from Texas A&M University and colleagues from across the United States describe the various blades, scrapers and choppers found among the 15,528 artifacts in the Buttermilk Creek Complex. They used luminescence dating, which measures the light energy trapped in sediment grains, to date the 20-centimeter thick layer of sediment surrounding the toolkit.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
These are some of the artifacts from the 15,500-year-old horizon. (Credit: Image courtesy of Michael R. Waters)
GGG Ping!..............
ping
More info on the artifacts, L. If I kept everything that looked like these, I’d have to add a room onto my house.
If you kept records of exactly where and how deep the finds were, you could afford a whole new house...............
Interesting... it should be noted that ‘different culture’ doesn’t imply ‘different people.’ Archaeologists could be looking at a process of more or less continuous technological innovation in the same people group.
The big blade up top left has markings on it that can just be made out. It says “Ginsu” or something like that.
It says Yoshi Blade......
My grandparents were avid arrowhead hunters back in the day, but their wonderful collection was apparently sold by my uncle (who recently died). I’m sure my grandfather didn’t keep records tho, but he had a great knowledge of the cultures (at least what was known of them at the time—who knows if it was accurate). I sure wish they had been passed on to us as they were supposed to be. I do remember him telling me about an “elephant” carving he found. It disappeared from his collection after he died tho, and I don’t recall actually seeing it. I wish I had paid more attention.
Well, I find most on the surface near creeks and the lake. My sister recently talked to someone who used to live next to our farm. He told her the part I inherited had Indian mounds, but my dad had that area dozed years ago. I’ll do some serious hunting after I retire.
When I was a kid, I used to find them in the spring after plowing was done in the fields near the creeks in Northern Mississippi. They were all over the place............
See my reply just below yours. This fellow used to walk along the dry creeks on our place and just pull arrowheads out of the wall. I used to find many artifacts in the fields on our place. Just north of the field is an Indian burial ground. We used to have boxes of arrowheads, but they disappeared years ago. No one has a clue as what happened to those.
“Elephant” was probably a mammoth or mastodon.
That would have been worth a fortune!...................
I pick up stuff like that all the time out by Seguin along the Guadalupe.... Hmmmmmm.....
A place I work just built a 3 acre lake and there is a mess of that kind of stuff.... I have picked up some arrowheads on the dam and birm. Before about 4 months ago I had not seen any arrowheads in South Central Texas for a long time.
Sorry, but I strongly suspect this is “junk” science and will be debunked in 20 or 30 years.
Same here. I remember seeing one in the furrow while using a flat bottom mole board plow. I stopped the tractor and picked it up. Unfortunately, the plow had broken the 5” long knife. I got both pieces and glued them back together.
I had an elderly aunt back then that had a 3 inch long perfectly shaped spear head and a perfectly smooth and rounded grinding stone about the size of a bar of soap that they found while plowing........
Have you ever visited Lake Georgetown? There are signs at every park and launch ramp that say:
“It is illegal to pick up artifacts on this lake.”
DUH!! Nothing like advertising the facts.
Why?.............
My Grandparent’s all came from New Mexico. They had lots of pot shards and arrow heads and beads.
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