PAGE 1
BLACKWATER DRAW
CLOVIS TYPE SITE
LOCALITY #1
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

est. 13,500 (calibrated) years ago

PAGE 1 OF 1 PAGES
COPYRIGHT SEPTEMBER 30, 2012 PETER A. BOSTROM
Abstract image of bison bones and Clovis point, Blackwater.
ABSTRACT IMAGE OF BISON BONES & CLOVIS POINT
FROM THE BLACKWATER DRAW LOCALITY #1 SITE

Abstract image, Blackwater Draw site.

ABSTRACT
BLACKWATER DRAW CLOVIS TYPE SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

est. 13,500 (calibrated) years ago

    This article illustrates and describes several examples of stone and bone artifacts that were found on the Blackwater Draw locality #1 site in east central New Mexico. Staff archaeologist George Crawford supplied most of the pictures for this article and some of the site description information. The Blackwater Draw site is famous for being the location where an occupation level that is older than Folsom was first discovered. The site is credited with the honorable distinction of being the Clovis type site. The people who once camped and hunted there were drawn to the area's ancient lakes and springs. The site has produced a wide variety of extinct animal bones, including mammoths and bison that were found in direct association with Clovis, Folsom and Agate Basin projectile points.

    "One of the most important areas investigated by students of Early Man is (Blackwater Draw) a section between Clovis and Portales in New Mexico which contains the remains of ancient lake beds."--------1957, H. M. Wormington, "Ancient Man In North America" p. 47.
    "Late in 1936 the finds (at Blackwater Draw, Locality #1) began to receive national publicity. Popular articles describing the association of human artifacts with extinct animals appeared in the "New Mexico Magazine" and the "Literary Digest."------1972, James J. Hester, "Blackwater Locality No. 1", p. 4.
    "The distinctive weapon tips found with mammoth bones at Blackwater Draw were named after the nearby town, and the people who produced these points have since been known as Clovis."--------2012, Dennis J. Stanford and Bruce A. Bradley, "Across Atlantic Ice, The Origin Of America's Clovis Culture," p. 5.
     "Blackwater Draw, Locality 1, New Mexico is a kill and camp (site). It was the first site to show that Clovis artifacts and mammoth remains were stratigraphically beneath, and thus older than, Folsom."----2006, Bruce B Huckell and W. James Judge, "Paleo-Indian: Plains and Southwest," Handbook Of North American Indians, Environment, Origins, And Population, Vol. 3, p. 152.
    "Blackwater Draw, Locality 1, contains a series of Folsom locales, including at least six bison bone beds (
kill sites), three camps, and an unusual suite of Folsom points and other artifacts from a spring conduit."---------2006, Bruce B Huckell and W. James Judge, "Paleo-Indian: Plains and Southwest," Handbook Of North American Indians, Environment, Origins, And Population, Vol. 3, p. 154.
    "Blackwater Draw produced the first Clovis blade assemblage to be recognized and described as such (Green 1963), and for over thirty years the data on those blades as detailed by Green have been the nearest thing to a type description or definition."---------1999, Michael B. Collins, "Clovis Blade Technology, A Comparative Study of the Keven Davis Cache, Texas," p. 150.
    "In the Black Water Draw between the towns of Clovis and Portales, 180 miles south of the Folsom site in eastern New Mexico, the assemblage of bones and cultural material is found in a bluish-gray deposit that is believed to be the bottom of old lake beds that correlate with the high-water stage of ancient Lake Estancia located some distance farther west."---------1944, Frank H. H. Roberts, "The New World Paleo-Indian," Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, p. 405.
    "In the decades after the publication of the original Clovis discoveries, Clovis artifacts were documented throughout most of North America and as far south as Venezuela."--------2012, Dennis J. Stanford and Bruce A. Bradley, "Across Atlantic Ice, The Origin Of America's Clovis Culture," p. 5.

Abstract image, Clovis point from Blackwater Draw site.
 
BLACKWATER DRAW
CLOVIS TYPE SITE

ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

est. 13,500 years ago

     In 1927 most archaeologists were not convinced that people were living in North America at the end of the late Pleistocene period. But the discovery of the Blackwater Draw site, in the early 1930's, literally changed history. Blackwater Draw provided scientists with unquestionable proof of a previously unknown ancient people. This site actually moved the human timeline back farther than all the other archaeological sites that had been discovered previously. Blackwater Draw provided one of the most fascinating chapters in the archaeological record, known as the Clovis cultural tradition. Blackwater Draw is recognized as the Clovis type site.


PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
INTERPRETIVE CENTER
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
NEW MEXICO

    This picture shows the Interpretive Center and the small structure that covers a Clovis well. The Interpretive Center is the largest building on the Blackwater Draw site and open to the public. The steel structure covers a 3,500 foot area. The building was built in 1997 over exposed bones that were weathering out of the excavated hillside. Excavation inside the building is on-going and should eventually display all the different archaeological horizons that are represented on the site.
     One of the most unique archaeological features at Blackwater Draw are the ancient wells. Approximately twenty wells have been discovered. Most of them date to the Archaic period. But at least one or more date to the Clovis period and are estimated to be at least 13,000 years old. These wells were dug down to the water bearing gravels with either tortoise shell, stone, bone or wooden tools. A small building, that can be seen in this picture, covers one of the oldest wells on the site and it's recognized as the oldest well and water control system in North America.
   The Blackwater Draw site is open to the public. Admission to the site is free on the fourth Sunday of each month. Normal admission cost is $1, $2 & $3. according to age and under 5 years are free. The schedule in the summer is, Monday - Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday: noon to 5 p.m. For the remainder of the year Tuesday - Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday: noon to 5 p.m. The museum may be closed on major holidays. The site is located about 8 miles north of Portales, New Mexico on highway 467. Call for more information, 575-562-2202.

     The name Blackwater Draw comes from an ancient river bed that extends from New Mexico into western Texas for well over 85 miles. Sometime in the geologic past the headwaters of this river was captured by the Pecos River and most of its running water was drained away. The area is located on the western edge of a large plateau known as the Llano Estacado and is situated approximately 4,000 feet above sea level. Some locations in this area have a long history of providing some of the most important archaeological finds in North America.

Inside Interpretive Center, Blackwater Draw site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
INSIDE INTERPRETIVE CENTER
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
NEW MEXICO

    This picture shows an interior view of the Interpretive Center on the Blackwater Draw site. The building serves to preserve the fragile bones from erosion and offers a unique display of one of North America's most important archaeological sites. The excavation has exposed several different levels of occupation that span many thousands of years. The animals were killed primarily for food and secondarily for hides, bone and ivory. The excavation is still in progress and the area of displayed bones will expand over time.

    The archaeological significance of Blackwater Draw is centered around an area known as Blackwater Draw Locality #1. The site dates to the Late Pleistocene period when the last Ice Age was beginning to recede. The area was once part of a lake or marsh that was spring fed. This water source was the most important natural resource for the animals and for the people who were hunting them. The archaeological site is actually a combination of at least 13 sites. Some of the excavations are located at the margin of the ancient lake shore and others were dug just outside the margin of the ancient lake shore. These excavations have identified kill sites and camp sites.

Bison and mammoth bones from the Blackwater Draw site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD
DISPLAYED BONES IN VISITOR CENTER
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
NEW MEXICO

    This picture shows some of the extinct animal bones on display in the visitor center on the Blackwater Draw site. The two pictures at top show the upper portion of two different bison antiquus skulls complete with horn cores. The lower picture has one large mammoth leg bone in the center of a group of other bones from the site.

    The Blackwater Draw site has a long history of occupation. The site dates to sometime around 13,500 (calibrated) years ago to recent Historic times. The early period occupation levels are clearly marked between stratified layers of lean years, when the lake was dry, and wet years. Layers of culturally sterile soil was deposited during times of drought. The site is noted for its complete sequence of occupation levels from Clovis (13,500 years ago) through the Archaic period (6,000 years ago).

Bison bones, kill site excavation, Blackwater Draw site.
Bison bones, kill site excavation, Blackwater Draw site.Bison bones, kill site excavation, Blackwater Draw site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD
CLICK ON EACH PICTURE FOR LARGER FULL IMAGES
EXCAVATION OF BONE BEDS
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

    These four pictures were taken of recent excavations at Blackwater Draw. Two of the pictures were taken in 2010 and the other two were taken sometime between 2009 and 2011. They show what appears to be mostly bison bones that may not be from an extinct variety. The excavation level is in the Archaic period / late Paleo-Indian period stratum E just above the Folsom occupation zone.

     Archaeological sites seem to accumulate different names over the years and the Blackwater Draw site is no exception. The site has been referred to as Blackwater Draw, Blackwater Draw locality #1, the Clovis site and the Anderson Basin site. Most authors use either Blackwater Draw or Blackwater Draw locality #1 to refer to the archaeological site area.

Excavation of bison leg bone, Blackwater Draw site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD
EXCAVATING BISON LEG BONE
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

    This picture shows a bison leg bone as it's being uncovered in a kill site area at Blackwater Draw. This is a recent excavation that was done sometime between 2009 & 2011. The level of excavation is in stratum E and the Archaic period occupation. This bison may not be an extinct variety but a modern animal of a type still living today.

    Ridgely Whiteman, of Clovis, New Mexico, was the first person to recognize the importance of the Blackwater Draw site and is considered the discoverer of the site. His hobby was looking in dry gullies and stream beds for any fossils and artifacts he could find. On one of his trips in 1929 he found a large mammoth bone and a point type that was new to science. This point would later be recognized as a Clovis point. He sent both pieces to the Smithsonian Institution hoping to generate some interest among the scientists.

Bison antiquus skull & mammoth tusk & bone, Blackwater.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD & COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
BISON ANTIQUUS SKULL, MAMMOTH BONE
& AN IVORY MAMMOTH TUSK
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

     These three large fossil specimens are on display in the visitors center on the Blackwater Draw site. They all represent animals that were present during the Clovis occupation on the Blackwater Draw site. The upper portion of a bison antiquus skull with horn cores is an excellent example. The large bone in the center is a leg (femur) bone from a mammoth and the lower specimen is a fairly complete tusk from a mammoth.

    Serious archaeological investigation of the Blackwater Draw site began in 1932 after gravel mining operations revealed a rich concentration of extinct animal bones and artifacts. Unfortunately, the fossil rich Clovis related strata was located just above the commercially desirable gravel. The open pit mine supplied gravel for area road construction as it was sporadically needed from 1932 to 1978. The mine was initially opened to produce gravel for a connecting road between Clovis and Portales. Hester reports that by the mid 1950's, as much as, 400 cubic yards of gravel and overburden were being removed every day.

Clovis points from Blackwater Draw kill site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD & COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE

CLOVIS POINTS
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

     These Clovis points were found on the Blackwater Draw site. They're all complete or nearly complete projectile points. The large point in the center has damage to both ears and the point at top right has tip damage caused from impact. The three largest points were found during the excavation of a mammoth by George Agogino at the north end of the site in about 1964. The widest point on the left was found in the mammoth's body cavity. A total of 9 Clovis points were found in the mammoth. Clovis points from Blackwater Draw exhibit a wide range of sizes. The longest point in this picture measures approximately 5 1/8 inches (13 cm) long and would measure longer with restored ears. The smallest Clovis point in this picture measures about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. The three longest points are made of Edwards chert.

    The gravel mining operation on the Blackwater Draw site revealed a distinctive geological layer that's been referred to in different ways: as the bluish-gray deposit, the blue layer, blue sands and, gray sand.  They all represent the same ancient lake bed that once supported a lush environment for a wide range of now extinct animals and for the Clovis people who once hunted them. Lundelius wrote in 1972 that the gray sand at the Blackwater Draw site "---is the oldest Late-Pleistocene unit with abundant vertebrate fossils."

Clovis points from the Blackwater Draw site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD & COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
CLOVIS POINTS
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

    These Clovis points were found on the Blackwater Draw site. Most of them are broken from impact damage rather than broken during the manufacturing process. The majority of them were found in the kill site areas and associated with extinct animal bones such as mammoth and bison antiquus. The are made from several different types of stone. The more common types are Edwards and Alabates chert. One of the least common would be Obsidian, like the example at bottom center.

    Archaeological investigations in the 1930's provided the first and basic scientific description of the Blackwater Draw site. Stewart Northrup, Clyde Kluckhohn and Paul Reiter of the University of New Mexico, the School of American Research, and the State Museum were some of the earliest researchers on the site. But the one who organized and provided the best research during those years before WWII was Edgar B. Howard of the University of Pennsylvania, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. In fact he is credited with being one of the first archaeologists to employ an interdisciplinary approach with a team of scientists from different fields. The research done in the 1930's was able to identify the site as an extensive Clovis kill site that predated the Folsom culture.

Obsidian Clovis point from the Blackwater Draw site.
COLLECTION OF THE DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
CLOVIS POINT
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

      This Clovis point was originally part of the collection of George C. Roberts of Clovis, New Mexico. It was donated to the Denver Museum of Natural History in the 1940's. It's believed to have been found on the Blackwater Draw site. Roberts was collecting at the site during the early gravel mining operations. According to archaeologist George Agogino, Roberts collected at Clovis and nowhere else. Obsidian sourcing was done on the point in 1988 and was found to be from the Wild Horse Canyon Mineral area in southwestern Utah. The tip of the point seem to have been damaged from impact. The longest flute measures 2 inches (5.1 cm) long This point is made of Obsidian and it measures 4 inches (10.2 cm) long.

     Excavation at the gravel pit was sporadic over the years. Some of the most dramatic discoveries were reported in the early 60's between 1962 and 1964. Salvage excavations were non-stop, by many different groups. The mining company owned the lease to the property and controlled who could dig there. Hester reports that,"---no one institution remained in favor with the gravel pit operator for any length of time." Some of the most interesting finds during this period were the discovery and excavation of five mammoths that were found in association with over 100 artifacts.

Alabates Clovis point or knife from the Blackwater Draw site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD & COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
CLOVIS KNIFE OR POINT
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

    This point or knife was found in the Clovis occupation stratum on the Blackwater Draw site. It's made of Alabates chert and it measures 4 3/4 inches (12 cm) long.

     The most important artifacts that were recovered from the Blackwater Draw locality #1 site are the oldest tools that make up the previously unknown Clovis tool kit. In 1972 Hester described 223 Clovis artifacts from Blackwater Draw. At that time they were the largest collection of Clovis artifacts from any kill site or camp site. Ninety-five of the artifacts were flakes, of which 53.5% had been used for either cutting or scraping. Seventeen of the tools were represented by side-scrapers. The third largest number of artifacts were Clovis projectile points. He described the rest of the stone tools as end-scrapers 4, gravers 5, unifacial knives 11, bifacial knives 11, flake scrapers 12, flake knives 7, hollow edge scrapers 4, scraper-gravers 1, indeterminate scrapers 2, end and side-scrapers 6, choppers 1, cores 1, hammerstones 5, pebbles 5, channel flakes 1, burin and scraper 1, flake scraper knives 1, flake knife-gravers 2, chips 4, pebble scrapers 1, grinding stones 1, and bone artifacts 14. 45.7% of the tools were made from Edwards chert. It was determined that the Clovis stone tool industry was producing their flakes by striking them from prepared cores to manufacture stone implements.

Largest Clovis biface from the Blackwater Draw site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD & COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
LARGE CLOVIS BIFACE
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

    This is the largest Clovis biface that's been found on the Blackwater Draw site. It was found by Frank Broilo on the surface at the northwestern corner of the site. The large percussion flake removal scars are a signature of Clovis stone tool manufacturing. The reduction flakes would have been further utilized to make several different types of tool forms for cutting, scraping and piercing processes. This biface is made of Edwards chert and it measures approximately 9 9/16 inches (24.3 cm) long and 6 5/8 inches (16.8 cm) wide

      Blackwater Draw has produced more Paleo-Indian bone tools than any other site. In 1972 Hester described a Clovis bone artifact assemblage that represented 6.2% of the total Clovis material. Some of the artifact types he described are bone fleshers, bone awl, bone points, bone scraper or knife, and a bone bead. Most of the artifacts a were listed as a bone tool because they show some type of modification, such as grinding but cannot be identified as a tool type. One or more of the bone points are similar to the bone rods found on the East Wenatchee site in Washington.

Clovis spurred end-scrapers from the Blackwater Draw site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD & COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
SPURRED END-SCRAPERS
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

      These three "spurred" end-scrapers were found within the Clovis occupation stratum on the Blackwater Draw site. Scrapers are one of the most common tool forms that have been found on Stone Age sites around the world. End scraper is the most commonly used term to describe these simple tools. They have also been referred to as transverse and distal edge tools or even as grattoir terminal in European terminology. End scrapers might also be described as a multipurpose tool as these examples clearly have scraping edges at their widest ends and spurs at their corners that could be used as gravers. Next to common un-modified flakes, unifacial tools represent the largest group of tool forms that were made by Stone Age cultures during the Upper Paleolithic period. Most end scrapers are either triangular or tear drop in shape. The working edge is usually the thickest area of the tool and located opposite the bulb-of-percussion. End scrapers are unifacial tools that were made from blades and flakes by removing small flakes around the edges from one side with pressure. It's generally believed that end scrapers were hafted onto short handles. In fact, a good percentage of stone artifact tool forms were once hafted onto handles or spear and arrow shafts. On the Hell Gap Cody Complex site in Wyoming, evidence of hafting abrasive wear was observed on some of the end scrapers. A handle offers the tool user better leverage to press against the material being scraped. End scrapers are mainly a product of core and blade technology. So it's not surprising that they first appear during the Late Paleolithic period with the introduction of blade technology. End scrapers were used to process and shape softer organic materials such as animal hides, antler, bone, and wood. But their most common use may have been for scraping animal hides. Eskimo cultures were using hafted end scrapers to process skins for clothing, boats, tents, dog harnesses, etc. Primitive cultures around the world have used end scrapers to process all types and sizes of animal hides.

      More Folsom artifacts were described by Hester in 1972 than Clovis. They were recovered from kill sites within the ancient lake margin and from campsites that were located just outside the ancient lake margin. In 1972 he lists 534 Folsom artifacts. The most common are 234 flakes, most of which were struck from prepared cores. 61.7% were used for either cutting or scraping. The second most common Folsom artifact type he described are Folsom projectile points which are represented by 79 examples and 14.8% of the collection. He identifies 23 different tool types, of which 9 occur in frequencies greater than 1%. The 1% plus tools are identified as flakes, points, side-scrapers, end-scrapers, unifacial knives, bifacial knives, flake scrapers, flake knives, and channel flakes.  The Folsom bone tools represent only .7% of the 1972 collection. They include 4 bone tool fragments and one piece of a bone disk ornament that was decorated with straight lines.

Bone rods from East Wenatchee and Blackwater Draw.
BONE RODS
EAST WENATCHEE & BLACKWATER DRAW SITES
WASHINGTON & NEW MEXICO

    Both of these bone tools date to the Clovis cultural complex. The example at top is referred to as a bi-beveled bone rod. It was found in a cache along with 12 other examples, during the excavation of the East Wenatchee Clovis site in Washington. It seems to compare in size to the broken example pictured just below that was found on the Blackwater Draw site. They were probably made from the long bones of mammoths. Although their purpose has yet to be proven, several theories have been suggested. Everything from sled runners, foreshafts and flintknapping tools have been discussed as possible uses. The example at top measures 9 7/8 inches (25.1 cm) long.

      The stone tool industries that appear above the Folsom horizon at Blackwater Draw include late Paleo-Indian types, Cody Complex and Archaic type projectile points and tools. A few examples include Plainview, Agate Basin, Eden and Scottsbluff. Agate Basin appears directly above Folsom on the Agate Basin site, the Hell Gap site and at Blackwater Draw. The Agate Basin complex dates to between 10,500 and 10,250 years ago.

Ivory Clovis billet from the Blackwater Draw site.
MAMMOTH IVORY BILLET-BURNISHER
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

     This Clovis period ivory artifact was discovered in 1962 by J. D. Murray. He was an employee of the Sam Sanders' Gravel Pit located in Roosevelt County, New Mexico. It's been described as a multi-functional tool that was used as both a flintknapping tool and a hide processing tool. This short and cylindrical artifact was cut from a section of mammoth ivory. Both ends are slightly convex and it's been compared in shape to the head of a two pound hammer. This ivory tool measures 3 inches (7.35 cm) long, 1 13/16 inches (4.6 cm) wide and 1 5/16 inches (3.48 cm) thick (the ivory may have shrunk slightly since these measurements were first made).
    Both of the ends of the Blackwater Draw Billet-Burnisher are slightly convex. Agogino and Haynes concluded at the time of its discovery that the smoothness of one end indicated that it was used as a polisher possibly for leather. The other end was not nearly as smooth.
     Flintknapper Mike Dothager has experimented with a replica of this ivory tool. His copy is similar in size and shape but differs in material which is moose antler. He has demonstrated that a tool of this design can be used to duplicate Clovis style flake removals, when it's used as a hammer to strike a punch.

      Many different types of vertebrate animals have been identified from bones found in the gray sand in the gravel pit. These animals were alive during the end of the most recent Ice Age, known as the late Pleistocene. Some of these animals include, turtles, dire wolf, gray wolf, coyote, fox, sabertooth cat, muskrat, peccary, 2 different types of camel, antelope, bison, 3 species of horses, and mammoth.

Folsom points from the Blackwater Draw site.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD & COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
FOLSOM POINTS
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

    All of these Folsom points were found on the Blackwater Draw site. They were found during the excavation of the northcentral bank at the edge of the ancient lake. They were laying in and around the bones of extinct animals. Most of them are damaged from impact. The complete examples show extensive resharpening. Very good unresharpened Folsom points are very rare.

     J. D. Murry was a local man who worked at the Blackwater Draw gravel pit and operated the mining dredge. He was able to acquire one of the largest private collections of fossil bones and artifacts from the site, probably because he was there most of the time. It's estimated that he collected "buckets of artifacts." One story goes, that his boss had a hard time keeping him on the equipment and not jumping off every time something turned up. Hester writes that in 1963 Murry, "located a hot spot of artifacts near the area that had just been excavated and recovered about 50 artifacts in two hours of digging." After this discovery, a group of students from Eastern New Mexico University came out and recovered another 200 artifacts in two days.

A Folsom point from the Blackwater Draw site.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGES
FOLSOM POINT
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

      This Folsom point was found sometime in the 1930's at the Clovis Gravel Pit in Roosevelt County, New Mexico before it was named the Blackwater Draw site by archaeologists. It was originally in the Charles Rhoton collection. This point is made of a semi-translucent tan chert of good quality and measures 2 1/8 inches (5.3cm) long.

      Some of the most unique archaeological features at Blackwater Draw are the ancient wells. Approximately twenty wells have been discovered. Most of them date to the Archaic period. But at least one or more date to the Clovis period and are estimated to be at least 13,000 years old. These wells were dug down to the water bearing gravels with either tortoise shell, stone, bone or wooden tools. A small building covers one of the oldest wells on the site and it's recognized as the oldest well and water control system in North America.

Agate Basin points from the Blackwater Draw site.
AGATE BASIN POINTS
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

     Both of these Agate Basin points were found on the Blackwater Draw site. The point at top may have been picked up in the gravel mining operation. It shows extensive resharpening on the point. The lower point is made of Alabates chert. It was found in stratum D within the jaw of a bison antiquus. The animal was evidently shot in the mouth with this point.
    Agate Basin appears directly above Folsom on the Agate Basin site, the Hell Gap site and at Blackwater Draw. The Agate Basin complex dates to between 10,500 and 10,250 years ago.

      The Blackwater Draw locality #1 site currently represents thirteen different localities or different excavation areas that are situated on the edge of an ancient lake bed. Eastern New Mexico University purchased 157 acres of the site in 1978. The site has been estimated to be 600 or mores acres in size. The university operates an off-site museum and an on-site visitor center and an interpretive center.

Blackwater Draw excavation near Interpretive Center.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
EXCAVATION IN PROGRESS
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

    This picture shows several members of an archaeological team excavating on the Blackwater Draw site. This recent excavation is located about 10 yards from the Interpretive Center. They are excavating in stratum E where projectile points, like Agate Basin and Scottsbluff, might be found and in stratum D where earlier Folsom related artifacts might be found.

     Archaeologists have been Describing Blackwater Draw as one of the most important early Paleo-Indian sites in North America for many years. Wormington wrote in 1957, "One of the most important areas investigated by students of Early Man is (Blackwater Draw) a section between Clovis and Portales in New Mexico which contains the remains of ancient lake beds." and Lundelius wrote in 1972 "The early man site in Blackwater Draw near Portales, New Mexico is one of the most interesting and important sites in North America." The site was officially been recognized in 1961 as a National Historic Landmark and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

Excavating & sifting 100 yards south of Interpretive Center.
PHOTO CREDIT GEORGE CRAWFORD
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
EXCAVATION IN PROGRESS
BLACKWATER DRAW SITE
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

    This picture shows some members of an archaeological team who are in the process of digging and sifting on the Blackwater Draw site. This excavation site is located approximately 100 yards south of the interpretive Center. This excavation produced Archaic period and later more recent artifacts.

      The Blackwater Draw locality #1 site has had its share of drama over the years. It's amazing that so many of the excavations seem to have been just one shovel away from the mining dredge. "Salvage archaeology" seems to have been the battle cry as the quick digging technique evidently played a major role. A very large number of people representing many different institutions and amateurs, are to be commended for their efforts. Although the destruction from mining was great, the information gained from the site is without measure.

"REFERENCES"

1944, Roberts, Frank H. H., "The New World Paleo-Indian," Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, p. 405.
1957
, Wormington, H. M., "Ancient Man In North America" p. 47.
1972
, Hester, James J., "Blackwater Locality No. 1", p. 4.
1972
, Lundelius, Earnest L., "Vertebrate Remains From The Gray Sand," Blackwater Locality No. 1, A Stratified, Early Man Site In Eastern New Mexico,  p. 148.
1999
, Collins, Michael B. "Clovis Blade Technology, A Comparative Study of the Keven Davis Cache, Texas," p. 150.
2005
, Stanford, Dennis, "Paleoindian Archaeology And Late Pleistocene Environments In The Plains And Southwestern United States," Ice Age Peoples Of North America, Environments, Origins, And Adaptations, pp. 312 & 313.
2006
, Huckell, Bruce B., and Judge, W. James, "Paleo-Indian: Plains and Southwest," Handbook Of North American Indians, Environment, Origins, And Population, Vol. 3, p. 152.
2012
, Stanford, Dennis J., and Bradley, Bruce A., "Across Atlantic Ice, The Origin Of America's Clovis Culture," p. 5.
Personal Communication, George Crawford

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