Santa Julia

Volume 23, Number 3

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July, 2008

Center for the Study of the First Americans Department of Anthropology Texas A&M University 4352 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-4352 www.centerfirstamericans.com

A Bull’s-eye in Chile
Quebrada Santa Julia wasn’t a lucky find. Archaeologists Donald Jackson and César Méndez of the University of Chile–Santiago studied paleo landforms and chose an ancientravine that drains into the nearby Pacific Ocean as a likely site to find evidence of terminal-Pleistocene human occupation. After a dig more than 30 ft deep (the photo shows Dr. Jackson beside the impressive stratigraphic profile) they found an occupation floor that dates to the end of the Clovis culture in North America. Here Paleoamericans also chipped fluted points—but of quartz, notchert—and despite their proximity to the ocean chose a subsistence based largely on the horse instead of marine life. There are more surprises, too, in our story that starts on page 10.

he Center for the Study of the First Americans fosters research and public interest in the Peopling of the Americas. The Center, an integral part of the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University, promotesinterdisciplinary scholarly dialogue among physical, geological, biological and social scientists. The Mammoth Trumpet, news magazine of the Center, seeks to involve you in the peopling of the Americas by reporting on developments in all pertinent areas of knowledge.

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CLAUDIA CONTRERAS AND GLORIA ROMÁN

Volume 23, Number 3 July, 2008

Center for the Study of the First Americans Texas A&MUniversity, 4352 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4352

Department of Anthropology ISSN 8755-6898

World Wide Web site

http://centerfirstamericans.org and http://anthropology.tamu.edu

4 Calibrating the genetic clock
DNA from the remains of an early American found in a cave on an island off the Alaska coast is a godsend to geneticist Brian Kemp, for it proves that our estimate of the rate ofmutation was much too slow.

10 Chilean Clovis contemporaries
ALL PHOTOS: ASHLEY SMALLWOOD

Their points aren’t Clovis or fishtails. One thing is certain about Quebrada Santa Julia, investigators Jackson and Méndez assure us: It isn’t anything like Monte Verde.

14 Cashing in on obsidian’s
special property
by Ashley Smallwood
Dan Joyce of Kenosha Museum describes disarticulated mammothbones and associated lithic tools from the Schaefer site, evidence of pre-Clovis human presence in Wisconsin. Unlike chert, obsidian absorbs water over time. Using hydration dating, three Western scientists are revising the dating of Great Basin points.

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HE TIMING AND NATURE of the peopling of the Americas remain contentious issues. With more and more evidence of potential pre-Clovisoccupations in North America, archaeologists recognize the critical need to establish evidentiary and methodological criteria that will ensure a higher level of confidence in early sites. This was the primary goal of the Paleoamerican Origins Workshop, held last February 14–16 in Austin, Texas. Researchers from around the world, convened bearing a wide spectrum of views, open minds ready to evaluate thebody of evidence, and a scholarly discourse to constructively address broad issues. Hosted by the Center

18 An unholy heavenly visitor
for Clovis people and Ice Age megafauna?
North America may already have suffered the nightmare of nuclear winter. Evidence collected by geophysicist Allen West’s team points to a continent-shaking cometary impact.

for the Study of the First Americans, TexasArcheological Research Laboratory (TARL), Southeastern Paleo American Survey, and the Smithsonian Institution, the workshop reviewed specific early-occupation sites, models for the peopling of the Americas, and rules of evidence necessary to confidently verify human presence. The workshop was organized by Tom Pertierra, a co-organizer of the Southeastern Paleo American Survey (SEPAS) and...