Thanks BenLurkin and Kenny Bunk. My apologies to anyone getting this ping message in error. Donald K. Grayson is another climate change advocate, opposes the Superhunter/Overkill hypothesis, and coauthored a very cranky and strawman-based hatchet job on the Clovis impact theory. This hand tool really is a hand tool, and isn't the first Pre-Clovis artifact ever found, not by a long shot.
Well, if you say so -- you probably have more info about it than me. But I work with quartz materials like agate, chert, flint and chalcedony on a regular basis and count me skeptical, at least based on the image. I see no evidence of knapping and the piece's blunt edge shows little sign of the sharp conchoidal cleavage "blade" most scrapers I've seen display.
As for using the volcanic ash for dating it should be mentioned that streams flood (there's one nearby) and winds blow. Both can redistribute sediments, especially light ones like volcanic ash. The discovery will be exciting if it proves out but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
I agree about pre-Clovis artifacts. Many more will likely be found when the oceans again start receding in the coming ice age.
