George M. Zeimens

Bone Projectile Points: An Addition To the Folsom Cultural Complex

FOLSOM HAS BEEN OF LONG-STANDING INTEREST to American Archaeology and there are a number of acceptable radiocarbon dates that place it within the 10,200-10,850 B.P. time range (Haynes 1967; Frison 1978: 23). It provided the first satisfactory evidence for the association of man and extinct animals in the New World and, in doing so, opened the way for Early Man or Paleoindian studies. Recognized by a distinctive projectile point with flutes or channels removed on one or both faces, the stone technology expressed in the manufacture of Folsom projectile points has unfortunately tended to overshadow other aspects of the culture. A number of bison kills are known for the Folsom time period (Wormington 1957) and these have yielded fluted projectile points. The original Folsom site (Figgins 1927) was the scene of a seasonal animal kill judging from the ages of the animals recovered. Animals in age groups one year apart, as determined by tooth eruption and wear, strongly indicate seasonal restrictions of the procurement period to the late fall or early winter (Frison 1978:149). The Lindenmeier site (Roberts 1935, 1936) may have been associated with a bison kill but the skeletal material was not preserved for study. The Linger site in Colorado (Hurst 1943) was a Folsom bison kill; the Lipscomb site (Schultz 1943), the Lake Theo site (Harrison and Killen 1978), the Bonfire Shelter (Dibble and Lorrain 1968), and the Lubbock Lake Site (Sellards 1952; Johnson 1974), all in Texas, contain evidence of bison procurement in Folsom times.

Paleo-Indian procurement of Camelops on the northwestern plains

Abstract Camelops have been recorded in a number of Paleo-Indian sites that lack evidence of past procurement methods. Recently, two occurrences of Camelops remains have been recorded in Paleo-Indian animal kills in Wyoming. One kill situation was in a Hell Gap cultural context that produced remains of a single Camelops taken along with about 100 bison in a parabolic sand dune trap. The other Camelops was in a Clovis cultural context and deals with a single animal believed to have been taken in an arroyo trap that was used to take bison at several Paleo-Indian time periods. Identification of geomorphic features involved in these kill sites offers a basis for beginning to interpret Paleo-Indian camel procurement methods.

FURTHER INSIGHTS INTO PALEOINDIAN USE OF THE POWARS II RED OCHER QUARRY (48PL330), WYOMING

We report major new insights from recent research at the Powars II Paleoindian red ocher quarry (48PL330). We salvaged more than 7,000 artifacts from Powars II between 2014 and 2016 by screening redeposited sediment from the talus slope below the intact portion of the site. Clovis artifacts dominate the diagnostic artifact assemblage, including 53 Clovis points, 33 preforms, and artifacts associated with a previously unrecognized blade core industry. We report the first radiocarbon dates from the site, determined from dating bone tools, which indicate Cody-aged use (ca. >10,000 cal BP). Further, salvage efforts discovered a previously unknown toolstone source from which many of the Clovis artifacts were produced. The Powars II Clovis points most resemble early Paleoindian points from the far Northern Plains and were likely both produced and discarded in the red ocher quarry after hunting, as evidenced by preform production and the presence of impact fractures on many used points. Given these production and discard patterns, Powars II holds some of the best evidence archaeologists currently have for Paleoindian ritualism related to hunting. Presentamos nuevas perspectivas importantes derivadas de investigaciones recientes en la cantera de ocre rojo Paleoindia Powars II (48PL330), ubicada en la parte oriental del estado de Wyoming. Recuperamos más de 7,000 artefactos en Powars II entre 2014 y 2016 mediante el tamizado de sedimentos redepositados en el talud abajo de la parte intacta del sitio. Los artefactos Clovis predominan en el ensamblaje de artefactos diagnósticos, incluyendo 53 puntas Clovis, 33 preformas y artefactos asociados con una industria de núcleo de hojas no identificada previamente. Presentamos las primeras fechas de radiocarbono procedentes del sitio, determinadas a través del fechado de herramientas de hueso, que indican uso durante el complejo Cody (ca. 10.000 cal aP). Además, las investigaciones descubrieron una cantera previamente desconocida de la cual se extrajo el material para producir muchos de los artefactos Clovis. Las puntas Clovis de Powars II tienen el mayor parecido con las primeras puntas Paleoindias del extremo norte de las Planicies norteamericanas y probablemente fueron producidas y desechadas en la cantera de ocre rojo después de cazar, como lo demuestra la producción de preformas y la presencia de fracturas por impacto en muchas puntas. Powars II proporciona algunas de las mejores evidencias encontradas hasta la fecha para el ritualismo Paleoindio relacionado con la caza.