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WHERE DID CLOVIS LITHIC TECHNOLOGY COME FROM?
NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE OR SIBERIA?
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Excavation at the Ust-Kova site in eastern Siberia.
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION IN SIBERIA
UST-KOVA SITE
EASTERN SIBERIA
PICTURE CREDIT KEN TANKERSLEY

   This Russian archaeologist is pointing to an Upper Paleolithic stratum on the Ust-Kova site in the Yakutia of eastern Siberia.

   To prove that Clovis technology originates in Siberia, and for that fact to be conclusively accepted, there must be a site that would date before Clovis. It would need to have a lithic technology based on both core blade and biface technology. The Aurignacian is basically a culture that used uniface stone tools made from blades. Clovis people were making very large bifacial knives, spears and bifacial cores over 12 inches (30.5cm) long. They had achieved a skill level of bifacial percussion flaking that had not been matched anywhere in the world at that time except for the Solutrean stone tool industry in Europe 3,000 years earlier.

Solutrean Laurel Leaf point.
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SOLUTREAN LAUREL-LEAF POINT
Le RUTH SITE
SOUTHWESTERN FRANCE
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTION

   This bifacial point was found several years ago in a rock shelter called Le Ruth on the Vezere River in southwestern France. It dates to somewhere between 22,000 to 18,000 years ago. The Solutrean stone tool assemblage is most famous for the first truly thin bifaces that were made by highly skilled flintknappers. Their flintknapping tool kit would have been fully developed by this time. It would have been equipped with hard and soft percussion flaking tools to drive off larger reduction flakes and smaller pressure flaking tools for removing the smaller last stage finishing flakes and resharpening flakes. This Laurel Leaf point was probably used as a knife. It measures 5 13/16 inches (14.8cm) long.

    So far, it seems that the stone tool industry that comes nearest to Clovis is Europe's Solutrean. Paleo archaeologist Dennis Stanford says that "this technology is very, very close to the Clovis technology". One interesting trait that is similar is that both were burying caches of stone artifacts and covering them in red ochre. Another similarity is the edge-to-edge or "outre passe" bifacial percussion flaking both cultures were using to manufacture their points and knives. There are also some interesting projectile points in Spain's Solutrean that are in some ways similar to Paleo spear points in North America.

Clovis blade tool, end scraper/spoke shave.
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END SCRAPER WITH A SPOKE SHAVE
EZELL SITE
CHRISTIAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY
CARL YAHNIG COLLECTION

   This Clovis blade tool was found on a Clovis site along the Little River in Christian Co., Kentucky by Carl Yahnig. It illustrates how similar some Clovis blade tools are to Upper Paleolithic Aurignacian blade tools from Europe. This example is made of Hopkinsville chert and it measures 2 3/8 inches (6cm) long.

    A new theory has emerged to explain how Clovis people may have arrived in North America. Smithsonian archaeologist Dennis Stanford states that "it's clear to me, at least, that we are looking at multiple migrations through a very long time period-----that came in at different times". He believes there may be a good chance that Clovis people came from Europe from the east in boats. He says that not very many Paleo archaeologists are considering a connection with Paleo Indians having a maritime tradition. People were arriving in Australia in boats around 60,000 years ago so why not in North America?

Five Clovis points from the Fenn cache.
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CLOVIS POINTS
FENN CACHE
UTAH
PRIVATE COLLECTION

   These Clovis points were found together in the Fenn cache. They are good examples of diagonal edge-to-edge "outre passe" percussion flaking. This technique is very difficult to replicate by flintknappers today. Diagonal edge-to-edge percussion flaking is unique to the Clovis culture in North America.

   One thing is for certain, there have been no other stone tool industries anywhere else in the world that exactly duplicates Clovis. Dennis Stanford says "Clovis technology of North America is relatively unique in the world". He says he is also convinced that Clovis is a New World invention and that this particular style of lithic technology was developed by people already living in North America.

"REFERENCES"

1988, "Encyclopedia of Human Evolution & Prehistory," by Ian Tattersall, Eric Delson & John Van Couvering.
2002, Personal communications with Dr. Ken Tankersley and Dr. Dennis Stanford.

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