THE FIRST COMERS

Establishing the Paleoindians

- Folsom site, eastern New Mexico, 1926, J.D. Figgins

- 19 Folsom points, in association with Bison antiquus; now dated 10,500 BP

- Blackwater Draw, eastern New Mexico, 1937

- J.L. Cotter found 2 Clovis points in association with mammoth bones; now dated 11,200 BP

- this site also yielded Folsom and other Late Paleoindian artifacts

- Folsom and Clovis now known from many APaleoindian@ sites throughout western and central North America

- in the last 65 years, no culture older than Clovis has been confirmed in North America

- but there have been some sites: was Clovis first?

Routes

- 2 questions here: (1) who were the AFirst North Americans@? (2) how did they get south of the ice?

Routes I: Who were they?

- probably descendants of Upper Paleolithic hunters in N.E. Asia: Dyuktai Culture

- Dyuktai: widespread throughout eastern Siberia beginning 18,000 BP

- bifacial tools, microblades, and choppers

- probably Sinodonts (ie., AChinese-like teeth@, C. Turner): shovel-shaped incisors, single-rooted upper first pre-molar, triple-rooted lower first molars

- Sinodonts found in northern Asia and America

- probably developed in China before 20,000 BP, moved into N.E. Asia ca. 20,000 BP (Dyuktai?), and into North America ca. 14,000 BP

- Sinodont hypothesis receives support from genetic and linguistic evidence

- genetic evidence compared Gm allotypes (blood protein) in New World indigenous groups

- result: one very large group with similar Gm allotypes, and two smaller groups with different Gm allotypes

- interpretation: 3 distinguishable migrations into New World

- linguistic evidence (J. Greenberg) compared N. and S. American languages

- result: one Asuper-language@ family, Amerinds; and two smaller families, Na-Dene, and Eskimo-Aleut

- genetic and linguistic evidence in close agreement: 3 groups that diverged (from common N.E. Asian ancestor: Sinodont?) more than 10,000 years ago

- this evidence points to Beringia as likely point of entry into New World

- alo implies multiple migrations through Beringia, beginning late Pleistocene

• Beringian Alternatives?

- alternatives to Beringia migration: (1) South Pacific; pre-Lapita voyagers? (2) North Atlantic; Upper Paleolithic ice-walkers?

- neither hypothesis is likely

• Beringia

- a vast, low-lying land mass connecting Siberia to Alaska during last glaciation (Wurm-Wisconsin)

- fully formed 75,000-45,000 BP (cold period, lowered sea levels)

- almost submerged 40,000-25,000 BP (warming trend)

- wider again 20,000-14,000 BP (cold period)

- after 14,000 BP, Beringia shrinking rapidly due to warming; disappears by 12,000 BP?

- a steppe-tundra environment, very cold and dry, not glaciated

- Beringian vegetation: varied with climate; sedges and grasses, few trees

- Beringian fauna: variety of mammals including mammoth, bison caribou, horses, musk ox, and many smaller mammals C abundance varied with climate, probably not very high during cold periods

• Who Were the First Beringians? The Nenana Complex

- probably Sinodonts who gave rise to Amerinds: Nenana Complex

- Nenana: central Alaskan stone tool complex; dated +12,000 BP

- projectile points (Chindadn), no microblades; technology similar to Ushki I (Kamchatka), dated 14,300-13,600 BP, and to Clovis

- probably terrestrial hunters in Beringian steppe

- key sites: Broken Mammoth, Walker Road, Dry Creek

• Denali Complex: The Second Beringians?

- Denali Complex differs from Nenana in presence of microblades/cores

- very similar technologically to Dyuktai

- found in Dry Creek site, stratigraphically above Nenana material

- dated to 10,500 BP

• Routes II: Out of Beringia

- 2 possible routes out of Beringia: (1) inland Aice-free corridor@, (2) coastal route

• Ice-free Corridor

- eastern foothills of Rocky Mts. (Alberta), between Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets

- most likely route of terrestrial hunters (Nenana/Clovis?)

- but corridor inhospitable until ca. 13,000 BP (glacial flooding, ice dams, high winds)

- 2 sites once suggested ice-free corridor migration before 13,000 BP: (1) Taber child, (2) Wilson Butte Cave, Oregon

- Taber now re-dated ca. 3,500 BP

- Wilkson Butte dated 14,500 BP, but "artifact" assemblage is small and dubious

• Coastal Route

- implies martime-adpated Beringian cultures (which is likely)

- also implies ice-free Pacific coast by +12,000 BP (not likely)

- some argue that ice-free refugia existed in late Pleistocene (eg., Queen Charlotte Is.; bears at 14,000 BP)

- but oldest Q.C.I. site is Ellen Island, 9,500 BP

- big problem with verifying coastal route: sites older than 10,000 BP probably submerged

• The Pre-Clovis Question

- are there any sites in the New World older than 11,500 BP?

• Pre-Clovis Possibilities and Rejects in the Arctic

- two localities in northern Yukon: Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves

Old Crow Flats

- investigated by W. Irving, U of T, 1970s

- lots of mammoth and other Pleistocene bone

- "caribou bone flesher" C14 dated 27,000 BP; re-dated (AMS) 2,000 BP

- no other clear association of artifacts with Pleistocene bone

- mammoth bone "tools" now regarded as naturally fractured (M. Friesen)

Bluefush Caves

- 3 small rock shelters south of Old Crow, excavated by J. Cinq-Mars 1978-85

- small tool assemblage includes burins, microblades, mammoth bone "core", in Llte Pleistocene loess deposit

- C14 dated 12,900-15,500 BP

- but tool assemblage is very small and association with mammoth bone layer is unclear

- Q: Old Crow and Bluefish Caves both located in Beringia -- why shouldn't there be pre-Clovis sites here?

• Pre-Clovis South of the Ice?

- many possibilities, but best 3 are: Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Pedra Furada, Monte Verde

Meadowcroft Rockshelter

- located in Pennsylvania; archaeologist, J. Adovasio 1970s

- stratigraphic sequence of dates to +19,000 BP (Stratum IIa); good artifact association

- criticisms: (1) dates contaminated by ancient carbon in ground water (esp. in Stratum IIa);

(2) fauna and flora from IIa are Holocene, not Pleistocene

- Adovasio counters; debate goes on

Pedra Furada

- large rockshelter located in N.E. Brazil, several excavators, 1980s

- dated to 40,000 BP

- but Pleistocene "artifacts" are very crude, and may be "geofacts"

- and so-called hearths may be from natural fires, so charcoal dates may not be cultural

Monte Verde

- open site in N. Chile, T. Dillehay, 1980s

- 2 sets of dates -- earliest around 30,000 BP; later set around +12,000 BP

- older dates now rejected -- no good artifact association

- but 12,000 BP dates have been accepted by many skeptics; reliable dates, good artifact association

Q: what are the implications for pre-Clovis of Beringian descendents in South America by 12,000 BP?

• New Evidence from Coastal California

- several recently excavated sites from coastal California suggest an early maritime adaptation

- Daisy Cave, San Miguel Island -- maritime location, shellfish, 9500 BP

- Cross Creek, central Calif. coast -- millingstones, 9500 BP

- Baja human skulls, dated ca. 8,000 BP, very different craniometrics from Paleoindian

- above evidence may support coastal migration route