Posted on 09/05/2007 11:02:12 AM PDT by blam
Projectile points look old, old, old
Second site - Archaeologists suspect fluted obsidian tools date almost to the last ice age
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
RICHARD L. HILL The Oregonian Staff
Archaeologists working in south-central Oregon's sagebrush steppes have found signs of some of the region's earliest inhabitants.
Researchers from the University of Oregon and U.S. Bureau of Land Management have uncovered four fluted projectile points and related artifacts at a remote site near Riley. The obsidian points could be 12,000 years old, but the archaeologists are being cautious about giving an exact age until they're able to obtain radiocarbon dates from the site.
"But these fluted points are very early, around the 11,000-year range," said Patrick O'Grady, an archaeologist with the UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History. "This is only the second site in Oregon where more than one of these kinds of points have been found, so it's special."
Fluted points have a long flake removed from the stone's base toward the tip, which made it easier to attach points to the shaft of a spear or other tool. Fluting was the first technological and cultural innovation developed in the Americas.
O'Grady led a research team that examined an area called the Sagehen Gap site during a three-week UO archaeological field school in July and August. The researchers, who included students from the Burns Paiute Tribe and volunteers from the Oregon Archaeological Society, found about 150 stone tool fragments.
The artifacts may be Clovis, a name that refers to the prehistoric people and their distinctive fluted projectile points who flourished in North America at the end of the last ice age. Clovis points, which have been found with the remains of ancient mammoths and mastodons, were durable weapons.
"This site has strong Clovis connections, but we're being cautious about that until we do a complete analysis," O'Grady said. "These probably are Clovis, but without radiocarbon dates on the site placing these in the time period of Clovis, we have no way to say that they are without some small degree of doubt."
The points, all found on the surface, are about an inch wide at the base and up to 2 inches long.
The technique of making the points is "very sophisticated," O'Grady said. "Driving off these central fluting points is a hard thing to do. When you see these kinds of points, it reflects not just on the age of the site, but on the toolmakers' skills. They're doing pretty remarkable work."
The only other Oregon site where similar fluted points have been found is the Dietz archaeological site near Wagontire, about 50 miles southwest of the Riley site. A few dozen fluted points considered to be from the Clovis period have been found at the Dietz site in recent decades. Both sites have obsidian, the volcanic glass that the early foragers used to make the points.
O'Grady said the site near Riley would have been an excellent place for early travelers to make and refit broken tools. The location also has a commanding view of the surrounding area, making it ideal to watch for game.
The site had edible plants and a dry streambed next to the site that would have been a natural travel route, O'Grady said.
Evidence indicates that it wasn't used very long, he said. "It's curious to me that a place that has obsidian and has such a commanding view of the area didn't get used again and again by other people."
The site was identified about 20 years ago when a fluted point was discovered. A BLM archaeologist wrote a description of the site and filed it away.
Scott Thomas, an archaeologist with BLM's Burns District, spotted the document in agency files and decided to investigate. A BLM crew found two fluted points in February, and the other two points were found this summer.
Tiny samples of the points were removed to determine the source of the obsidian and for use in a dating method called obsidian hydration. The technique measures moisture absorption rates to help determine whether one artifact is older or younger than another. The measurements support the ancient age of the points, O'Grady said.
The four points have been sent to a lab at California State University, Bakersfield, to analyze any blood residue. They then will be examined by Mike Rondeau, an archaeologist in Sacramento who is a specialist in fluted points.
"This is a significant discovery," said Rondeau, who found one of the points during a brief visit to the site. "Sites that show fluted points and other stone tools that old are quite rare in the far western United States. And Oregon is blessed with two of these important sites."
O'Grady said this year's initial findings have made him eager to take another look at the site. "We definitely will be going back there for additional work."
Richard L. Hill: 503-221-8238; richardhill@news.oregonian.com
GGG Ping.
I’m waiting for them to find Clovis Points in Tennessee or the Carolinas............
Most of the Clovis Points found are east of the Mississippi.
Thanks for the interesting post. So far none of the usual jerks have polluted this thread with their adolescent attempted humor.
I thought it was west of the Mississippi. Clovis New Mexico and all that. I have found many arrowheads in Mississippi as a kid and recently right here in Ft. Walton Beach along the bay shore. But they were not Clovis Points. A Clovis Point farther east would indicate that man had reached the Eastern shores much earlier than what was thought possible thru mere migration........
I just haven’t got started yet........
So, what’s the point? (pun)
Yup. Most people think that but, it's not true.
You called?
:)
(Like your tag line BTW.)
The "arrowhead" I recently (June) found appears to be a "recycled" arrow or spear point that was broken at some point and re-flaked to make into a scraper, as the pointed end is now convex. The other end has the two tangs, common among the usual arrowheads found in the Southeast.......
It's what I've read, just don't remember where.
What is the source of your information?
Artifact ping.
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Clovis Points are found in many places in North and Central America. Finds are in places in Washington state, Montana, Wyoming and of course New Mexico. They are not rare, but are highly prized by collectors all over because of their age. I have read that they are fairly common in Texas and Oklahoma mixed in with non-Clovis arrowheads which are much newer, the ones with tangs.......
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/native/prehist.htm
Dalton points and Clovis point (far right). The Clovis was used by Paleo-Indians in hunting prehistoric animals such as the Mastodon or Mammoth. After those creatures went extinct, the indians adapted their points to hunt animals like elk and deer (notice the three points on left are slightly serrated so the point would stay inside the animal. While the Dalton was thrown using a spear thrower, the Clovis was made for a spear used in thrusting into big game. St. Louis County has one of the highest densities of Clovis points found anywhere in the country, although they are still very rare. A Clovis point was found with the remains of a Mastodon in Mastodon State Park in adjacent Jefferson County, Mo. Dalton points, dating to 8500 to 7000 B.C., are believed to have been made by the direct descendants of the Clovis people. Left to Right: Dalton, off Mason Road, west St. Louis County; Dalton, Florissant, north St. Louis County; Dalton, Ellisville, west St. Louis County; Dalton, Florissant, north St. Louis County; Clovis, replica of one found near Silver Creek in Madison Co., Illinois (Pete Bostrum Collection). All the above Daltons were found by the author.
When I was a kid in north Mississippi, I would go into the fields right after spring plowing and hopefully a recent rain. The arrowheads could be seen on the plowed surface washed off by the rain. My aunt had a huge, 4” spearhead she found as a kid just as I did and a smooth grinding stone about six inches IIRC. Most of the ones I ever found were Bird Points about a half inch or less. The best places to look were fields along creeks..........
Riley, Oregon ... I’ve driven “through” there a number of times. Basically a gas station at the intersection of US20 and US395.
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