CLICK ON PICTURE FOR  LARGER IMAGE
CLOVIS CULTURE ARTIFACTS
THREE COLBY SITE POINTS AT LOWER LEFT
WESTERN UNITED STATES
UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING ANTHROPOLOGY DEPT., MONTANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
PLAINS MUSEUM, MARK MULLINS, GREG NUNN COLLECTIONS
 

   The three Clovis points in the lower left corner in this picture were all found on the Colby mammoth kill site. Other artifacts in this picture are from the Anzick cache site in Montana, the Domebo mammoth kill site in Oklahoma, the Fenn cache site in Utah, a point found near the Dietz site in Washington state, the Blackwater Draw kill site in Colorado and a Clovis point found on the surface in Utah. The large biface core in the center is the largest complete Clovis artifact made of stone discovered to date.

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR A  LARGER IMAGE
CLOVIS POINT
COLBY SITE
NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING
UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT COLLECTION

   This  is the largest complete Clovis point found on the Colby mammoth kill site. It was found by Donald Colby in 1962 while using heavy earth moving equipment during the construction of a reservoir. It's made of banded chert from the Madison Formation and it measures 3 11/16 inches (93mm) long.
   The peculiar base style of this particular point has always been a topic of conversation among archaeologists studying Clovis lithics. That's because it's probably one of the most exaggerated examples ever found that has the rounded looking "ears". Several others are known but most don't have the wide and rounded base design and wide "ears" this one has. This one has been described as having a basal notch rather than noting that it has either a shallow or deep concave base as would be the case for descriptions of most Clovis points.
   It is theorized that the base of this point may have been altered to it's current form from the repair and reshaping of a previously damaged base. The step fracture on one of the channel flakes has been removed with a long percussion flake. An attempt to remove the hinge fracture on the opposite side was unsuccessful because of a flaw in the stone. This Clovis point may also have been resharpened at least once for tip damage.

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR A  LARGER IMAGE
CLOVIS POINT
COLBY SITE
NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING
UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT COLLECTION

   This  Clovis point was found during the 1975 excavation. It was found in bone pile number 2 below a row of ribs. This point also has the "Colby style base" which is a base that is more rounded and a concavity that is becoming almost "notched". If the concave area was more uniformly flaked all the way to both edges it would look more like a typical Clovis point. This point was probably resharpened at least one or more times. It is made of a dark red Phosphoria Formation chert and measures 2 3/16 inches (56mm) long.

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR A  LARGER IMAGE
CLOVIS POINT
COLBY SITE
NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING
UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT COLLECTION

    This  Clovis point was found during the excavation of bone pile number 1 near one of the ribs. It's a good representative example of a "classic" style Clovis point. The base on this point is not as rounded and the concavity is shallow & not deeply notched as are the three other examples found on this site. Both hinge fractures at the end of the channel flakes were removed by percussion flakes. The heavily ground basal edges are also more parallel than the other points that have more rounded or tapered basal edges. This point is made of a translucent Phosphoria Formation chert and measures 2 1/2 inches (61mm) long.

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR  A LARGER IMAGE
CLOVIS POINTS
FENN CACHE
UTAH
PRIVATE COLLECTION

    Here is another example of the variation of Clovis basal styles from a single site. These three points are part of what has become known as the Fenn cache and they are believed to have been found together as a single group. But there is still a difference in style just as there is in the points found on the Colby site. One of these points has a base which was made very similar to the "classic" Colby notched bases. It has the same rounded wide "ears" and a very deep concave base.
   The longest point in this group is 6 inches long and made of deep red Phosphoria Formation chert. It's considered by many to be the most skillfully made Clovis point so far discovered. The even edge-to-edge diagonal percusson flaking on both sides of this point is proof that the ancient flintknapper that made it was one of the most highly skilled craftsman of Clovis lithic technology that has ever been documented by modern scientists.

"REFERENCES"

1984, "Egypt Before the Pharaohs," by Michael A. Hoffman, pp 66 & 67.
1986, "The Colby Mammoth Site," by George C. Frison and Lawrence C. Todd.
1988, "Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory," by Ian Tattersall, Eric Delson and John Van Couvering, p. 97.

HOME    ORDERING