Oldest projectile points yet found in North America

The Friedkin site in Texas is giving up more clues as to the ancient people of the the Americas.

Oldest projectile point predates Clovis culture

The team found the numerous weapons -- about 3-4 inches long -- while digging at what has been termed the Debra L. Friedkin site, named for the family who owns the land about 40 miles northwest of Austin in Central Texas. The site has undergone extensive archaeological work for the past 12 years.

Spear points made of chert and other tools were discovered under several feet of sediment that dating revealed to be 15,500 years old, and pre-date Clovis, who for decades were believed to be the first people to enter the Americas.

"There is no doubt these weapons were used for hunting game in the area at that time," Waters said. "The discovery is significant because almost all pre-Clovis sites have stone tools, but spear points have yet to be found. These points were found under a layer with Clovis and Folsom projectile points. Clovis is dated to 13,000 to 12,700 years ago and Folsom after that. The dream has always been to find diagnostic artifacts -- such as projectile points -- that can be recognized as older than Clovis and this is what we have at the Friedkin site."

Clovis is the name given to the distinctive tools made by people starting around 13,000 years ago. The Clovis people invented the "Clovis point," a spear-shaped weapon made of stone that is found in Texas and parts of the United States and northern Mexico and the weapons were made to hunt animals, including mammoths and mastodons, from 13,000 to 12,700 years ago.

BTW, that is no "stemmed" point as is asserted in the article.


these are stemmed points.

The point in the article, to me clearly looks like an El Jobo/Taima Tiama derived point.
El Jobo points from SA



This is a Mesa point from Alaska


These early people who moved back into NA after settling in SA brought with them their points as the moved north and mixed with the people in NA, they are why the "Clovis" Anzick child has a link to SA gentics.

Mesa To Monte Verde

Fabulous man...
Texas....love that

a reply to: punkinworks10

Amazing topic. It is great to see the evidence that the pre-clovis people were also hunting the big game in North America, something which makes perfect sense, just could not be really proven until now.

Bravo!

That age makes my 10000 year old locally - found arrowheads look puny and young in comparison hah

originally posted by: Fowlerstoad
a reply to: punkinworks10

That age makes my 10000 year old locally - found arrowheads look puny and young in comparison hah

Technically, "projectile points." Consider that the "puny" ones may have been for a different purpose. You don't hunt squirrels with a .45. You'd probably use a .22, otherwise you blow the squirrel apart with nothing left to eat.

a reply to: schuyler

They are not all projectile points either, some of the larger forms are butchering knives and razors.