Daisy cave and clovis

Patricia Paramo
Anthropology Term Paper
Spring 2011
Mr. Gross
April 28, 2011

‘For me archaeology is not a source of illustrations for written texts, but an independent source of historical information, with no less value and importance, sometimes more importance, that the written sources.’
* Michael I. Rostovtzeff

Anthropology: ‘Holistic studies in all times and places’ (Neusius andGross). The scientific study of the origin, the behavior of man, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans (Cambridge Dictionary). A well known archeologist William Camden defines anthropology as: the bringing together and intertwining of archaeology, history and anthropology in order to piece together the scattered pieces of our past, hidden in our earth. Those that raise thecuriosity of the people today...
Have you ever wondered where did the first humans appear? Why were boats so important in early generations? What did they transport? What were the first things humanity ate and how were those cooked since obviously there were no kitchens? Since we know early populations used hunting as a method to gather food, what tools did they use in order to do so? From wheredid the raw materials come from to manufacture these tools? All these questions have been posed from you the reader and many other people in general that just wonder this out of simple curiosity. As you read, you will get some of these elements clarified.
The risen curiosity has made humans in our era study the tangible and the intangible
remnants of the past through excavations inparticular sites that raise interest by archeologists. However, although you might think it is easy to just ‘dig’ whatever area you find of interest, there are certain constrains I learned as I read the textbook used in this class written by my professor Timothy Gross and Sarah Neusius that prevent this from happening as easily as you might think it is. This leaves some sites free of excavations. Whilearchaeologists excavate, there are several techniques that should be used depending on the site or the type of excavation the archeologist intends to do. Each ‘dig’ and each site will have a different researching method. Excavations are part of archaeology due to the fact that without excavations, this science would not be as clear. Through excavations archaeologists are able to look, study, andanalyze remnants to record their findings for us to learn about.
While studying anthropology this semester, I read several articles regarding specific excavations of certain sites and I learned that some of these excavations might take weeks, while others may take years! This mostly depends on how clear the remains are or what is the purpose in those remains. Often, further testing and studying mustbe conducted to fully understand cultures and concepts. For the purposes of this paper, I will present what I learned after reading journals about two sites that seemed of most interest to me this semester: Clovis Scenarios and Daisy Cave. A summary of both will be presented to arrive to the joint comparison and contrasting of both towards the end of the paper. Let me explain my findings:According to archeologists Michael R. Waters and Thomas W. Stafford Jr., the Clovis complex is considered to be the oldest unequivocal evidence of humans in the Americas. This pre historic Paleo-Indian culture dates between 11,500 and 10,900 radiocarbon years before the present towards the end of the glacial last period. This time period was cautiously analyzed after revising the Clovisdate records and the excavated Clovis sites. Clovis technology originated and spread throughout North America, which was characterized by the manufacture of ‘Clovis points’ that are thought to have originated in the New World. Waters and Thomas also explain that the Clovis technology has what they called: ‘Old World Antecedents.’ Some Clovis artifacts were found in Mexico and perhaps Venezuela. The...