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The Solutrean-Clovis connection: Reply to Straus, Meltzer and Goebel
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... It is older than Clovis, its technology is amazingly similar to Clovis down to the minute details of typology and Fig. 1. The proposed Paleolithic Atlantic route to the New World (after Bradley and Stanford, 2006). Last Glacial Maximum data for Eurasia projects glaciation margins around 20 ka (Hughes et al., 2016); North America data projects glaciation margins around 17 ka (Isacks, 2016); map projection: Lambert conformal conic. ...
... A further problem is that the pre-Clovis assemblages that are proposed to fill the temporal gap between Solutrean and Clovis do not actually look very much like either (Straus et al., 2005;also O'Brien et al., 2014a). Bradley (2012, also Bradley andStanford, 2006) appeal to overshot flaking to clinch the technological connection among them; however, despite their assertions, systematic overshot flaking does not appear to be present in any of the putative pre-Clovis assemblages (O'Brien et al., 2014a;Eren et al., 2013). An apparent trend in the criticism of the Solutrean hypothesis is that Stanford and Bradley overstate the similarities between Solutrean and Clovis, and understate the dissimilarities between Solutrean and Clovis and between them and the "missing links." ...
The “Solutrean hypothesis” for the origins of the North American Clovis Culture posits that early North American colonizers were direct descendants of European populations that migrated across the North Atlantic during the European Upper Paleolithic. The evidential basis for this model rests largely on proposed technological and behavioral similarities shared by the North American Clovis archaeological culture and the French and Iberian Solutrean archaeological culture. The caching of stone tools by both cultures is one of the specific behavioral correlates put forth by proponents in support of the hypothesis. While more than two dozen Clovis caches have been identified, Volgu is the only Solutrean cache identified at this time. Volgu consists of at least 15 exquisitely manufactured bifacial stone tools interpreted as an artifact cache or ritual deposit, and the artifacts themselves have long been considered exemplary of the most refined Solutrean bifacial technology. This paper reports the results of applying methods developed for the comparative analysis of the relatively more abundant caches of Clovis materials in North America to this apparently singular Solutrean cache. In addition to providing a window into Solutrean technology and perhaps into Upper Paleolithic ritual behavior, this comparison of Clovis and Solutrean assemblages serves to test one of the tangible archaeological implications of the “Solutrean hypothesis” by evaluating the technological and behavioral equivalence of Solutrean and Clovis artifact caching. The hypothesized historical connection is evaluated based on the attributes of the caches themselves, the evidence for geographic and temporal continuity in caching between the two cultures, and the proposed uniqueness of this behavior to Solutrean and Clovis. Results from the comparison of Volgu to Clovis caches indicate that they are divergent with regard to a number of important attributes and appear to represent neither equivalent behaviors nor a historical connection.
... Estas teorías han suscitado, por otro lado, numerosos debates (B. Bradley & Stanford, 2006;Eren et al., 2013Eren et al., , 2018Eren et al., , 2021Kilby, 2019;Lohse et al., 2014;O'Brien et al., 2014;Straus et al., 2005), llegando a ser un tema extremadamente controvertido que, aún hoy en día no llega a estar resuelto, siendo un aspecto de continua tensión entre los investigadores y, especialmente, entre corrientes absolutamente contrapuestas y enfrentadas. ...
... It is apparent the term "overshot flake" has become a dichotomy used to describe a flake type as well as a controlled flaking technique with respect to Clovis biface technology (Bradley 1982:203-207;Frison 1982:152;Bradley and Stanford 2006;Wilke, et al. 1991;Wilke 2002:247). For the purposes of this research, the use of the terms "overshot" or "overshot flake" will be used in this manner but distinctions will be made where appropriate. ...
This research examines the technology behind Clovis biface production from Clovis manufacturing areas at the Gault Site, Texas,(41BL323), with specific focus on flake striking platform preparation traits. Lithic analysts agree that platform bearing flakes retain clues into knapping technologies (Andrefsky 2005:86). Clovis experts agree that Clovis knappers invested effort before removing flakes by preparing platforms (Bradley, et al.2010:66; Morrow 1995) for exerting control during biface manufacture, including mastering control of overshot flaking (Bradley 2010:466). Evidence shows that Clovis knappers were highly skilled in their craft and preferred high quality raw materials to manufacture their tools and frequently produced overshot flakes. While basic manufacturing traits are present, Clovis represents a complex bifacial reduction technology (Bradley, et al. 2010:64). The data here elucidates differences in the application of reduction techniques used by Clovis. These data reveal no set pattern in the application of platform preparation traits used by Clovis knappers, but identified trends in the use of preparing platforms in flake types and phases that highlight Clovis biface reduction sequences, which may have followed a systematic ‘template.’ Therefore, a consistent approach may have been used to produce Clovis bifaces, but individual platform preparation traits were not. In addition to this study, a supplemental study was conducted concerning the intentionality of Clovis overshot flaking. This separate study revealed these flakes regularly exhibit the removal of stacks, hinges, deep flake scars and other error traits. As such, overshot flakes were a technique that served a dual purpose of removing errors while simultaneously thinning the biface. This research has contributed to a greater understanding of Clovis biface technology reduction processes and flake removal techniques used at the Gault Site.
... These features indicate that more care was taken in maintaining the sharpness and straightness (in a side view) of the working edge's profile, than of forming a symmetrical shape and exposed tip. In the described case, tools bear no sequences aimed at thinning the tools, which is one of the most significant feature of the symmetrical bifacial tools manufacturing process (Skinner and Ainsworth, 1991;Bradley and Stanford, 2006;Callahan, 2006;Darmark, 2010;Kot, 2014). Some artefacts (Fig. 2e316/93, 62/93) were made of bent flakes, and in the course of preparation or subsequent rejuvenation stages no signs of bend-removing attempts can be observed. ...
Discussion of differences and possible links between bifacially and unifacially shaped tools has quite a long tradition. Certain techno-complexes are distinguished due to the presence or absence of bifacial technology (e.g. Keilmesser group, MP/UP transition leafpoint industries). The paper draws attention to a problem of defining bifacial and unifacial technology. The Ehringsdorf (Germany) tools show traces of multiple, subsequent resharpening. The knapper started from unifacial retouch on one or both edges of a flake's dorsal side. In the course of further resharpening, the ventral side of the flake required certain adjustments. After several rejuvenation phases tools show all the features of bifacially shaped tools in a type of leafpoints or knives. From a technological point of view, the question arises if such a reduction sequence can be called bifacial, unifacial, or should be defined in a different way.
... For a long time maritime relations of Palaeolithic Europeans with North American cultures, known as the Solutrean-Clovis connection at c. 19-13,5 ka BP, has been debated intensely (Bradley and Stanford 2004;Bradley and Stanford, 2006;Westley and Dix 2008). New research now attests to Palaeolithic seafaring between Western Europe and North America (Stanford and Bradley 2012): stone tools, found in the USA (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia) and dated to 26-19 ka BP, had been made in the European Solutrean style (22-17 ka BP). ...
Substantial archaeological and genetic data suggest that the initial occupation of the Americas is more complex and diverse than previously thought. As evidence for multiple patterns and/or adaptive strategies in distinct areas of the western hemisphere emerge, the terminology remains incoherent. Most terms are applied arbitrarily, incorporate “Clovis,” or refer only to single populations and not the chronological period. We argue for inclusion of “Upper Paleolithic” to any reference terminology concerning the Last Glacial Maximum occupations of the Americas. Using archaeological and genetic data as a benchmark, we assess the current chronology of this period and discuss the parallels between Old and New World technologies. We argue that the patterns in the Americas are rooted in the Old World and this term provides a connection to global archaeological patterns. The term “Upper Paleolithic” should be adopted as a terminological and chronological marker for the earliest human occupation of the Americas.
This paper presents new data on the initial settlement of the southeastern region of South America, based on recent research conducted at the Tigre archaeological site (K87), located in the middle Uruguay River basin, near the Uruguayan border with Brazil and Argentina. The current archaeological excavations carried out in this open-air site confirmed that it is a multicomponent site. A new series of 20 radio-carbon dates refined the chronology of recurrent human occupations at this site during the late Pleis-tocene (13,260 cal BP), the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (12,920e11,750 cal BP), the early Holocene (11,300e9300 cal BP), and the late Holocene (1180 cal BP), demonstrating the strategic importance of this site during the prehistory of the region. In this paper, we describe the archaeological and stratigraphic contexts of the site, and analyze the artifact assemblage of the early components. Tigre points recovered from the archaeological excavations confirm that this is a Paleoamerican point design that circulated in the region between 12,000e11,100 cal BP. In addition, associated with these points, bifaces, fractured preforms and a type of asymmetric biface with a crescent/half moon shape were recovered. These " crescent artifacts " show a high standardization in form, size and knapping technique, which is described in this paper. Finally, we discuss the geographic distribution of the Tigre points, the blade technology present in the Uruguay River basin, the presence of prestige artifacts during the settlement, and the chronology of the " Umbu tradition " of southern Brazil in relation to the previous and recent data obtained in the Tigre site.
More than forty years ago the Debert site excavations signaled a new standard for interdisciplinary approaches to the investigation of late Pleistocene archaeological sites. The resulting excavations produced a record that continues to anchor northeastern Paleoindian sites (MacDonald 1968). The Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq (the Confederacy) has been increasingly involved with the protection and management of the site complex since the discovery of the Belmont I and II sites in the late 1980s (Bernard et al. 2011; Julien et al. 2008). The data reported here are the result of archaeological testing associated with these protection efforts, the development of the Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre (MDCC), and the passage of new provincial regulations solely dedicated to protecting archaeological sites in the Debert and Belmont area. These surveys have expanded the extent of the Hunter Road site, identifying eight new locales within 500 m of the original Debert and Belmont sites and two additional locales approximately one kilometer south of the complex (Buchanan 2007, 2008). The site complex is now more than 100 ha. Equally important, geological and pedological research are enhancing our understanding of the sites' relationship to regional stratigraphy and correlating climatic chronozones (Brewster 2006; Stea 2006, 2009a, 2009b). This chapter presents a model for the depositional history of the site area, including two divergent scenarios for the origins of the cultural materials at the sites. We believe the expanded areal extent of the complex, the nature of past excavations, and the degree of site preservation place the Debert- Belmont complex among the largest, best- documented, and most intact Paleoindian sites in North America. The new finds and recent research have resolved some long- standing issues, but they have also created new debates. Understanding the relative chronologies of the numerous site areas and the consequent relationship among the sites requires not only understanding depositional contexts for single occupations but tying together varied contexts (redeposited, disturbed, glaciofluvial, glaciolacustrine, Holocene fluvial) into an integrated depositional model. MacDonald's (1968) site monograph has enjoyed widespread acceptance and use across the discipline for several decades. Since the discovery of the Belmont sites, however, questions concerning the depositional origins of late glacial sediments and the relationships among the cultural materials, organics, and stratigraphic contexts at the Debert site have intensified (Bonnichsen and Will 1999:405-407; Bonnichsen et al. 1991:17; Brewster et al. 1996:86; Davis 1991:51-53, 2011; Stea 2011). One of the most important of these issues is the dep- ositional origin of the unstructured and laminated sands, what we call the cover sands. The unit we identify as the cover sands includes poorly sorted massive sand, (finely) laminated sands, (thickly) stratified sands, cryptically bedded sand, and pedogenically altered (including bioturbation) sand facies. Sites are encountered regularly within this full range of depositional contexts of the cover sands. Artifacts have now been found within the strata identified by MacDonald (1968:6) as the structured / laminated sands. Additionally significant are the spatial integrity of cultural materials, organics, and their stratigraphic contexts and the conflicts between the radiocarbon dates from the Debert site and regional paleoenvironmental and chronological data. In this chapter we present a new depositional model for the cover sands and develop two scenarios that account for the points of agreement and disagreement among us on the spatial integrity of the sites and conflicts in dating.
Human infants and primates use similar strategies to organize utterances and motor actions. These strategies, called "grammars of action," are initially similar followed by an ontogenetic divergence in children that leads to a separation of complex linguistic and action grammars. Thus, more complex grammars arose after the emergence of the hominin lineage. Stone tools are by-products of action grammars that track the evolutionary history of hominin cognition, and this study develops a model of the essential motor actions of stoneworking interpretable in action grammar terms. The model shows that controlled flaking is achieved through integral sets of geometrical identifications and motor actions collectively referred to as the "flake unit." The internal structure of the flake unit was elaborated early in technological evolution and later trends involved combining flake units in more complex ways. Application of the model to the archaeological record suggests that the most complex action grammars arose after 270 kya, although significant epistemological issues in stone artifact studies prevent a more nuanced interpretation.
http://charlie-gibbs.org/charlie/NEA_Website/Publication/Submissions/OSPAR2001/WWF_BDC00_MPAs_Annex.pdf
OR
http://assets.wwf.ca/downloads/planning_for_representative_mpas.pdf
Where did the first Americans come from and when did they get here? That basic question of American archaeology, long thought to have been solved, is re-emerging as a critical issue as the number of well-excavated sites dating to pre-Clovis times increases. It now seems possible that small populations of human foragers entered the Americas prior to the creation of the continental glacial barrier. While the archaeological and paleoecological aspects of a post-glacial entry have been well studied, there is little work available on the possibility of a pre-glacial entry. Entering America seeks to fill that void by providing the most up-to-date information on the nature of environmental and cultural conditions in northeast Asia and Beringia (the Bering land bridge) immediately prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. Because the peopling of the New World is a question of international archaeological interest, this volume will be important to specialists and nonspecialists alike.
Re-examination of the El Aliya assemblages illustrates their typological homogeneity and technical refinement, often poorly understood in Europe. Recent dating of the Aterian in northern Morocco requires a revision of currently accepted ideas regarding its influences on the European continent, for example on the origins of the Middle Solutrean.
Re-examination of the El Aliya assemblages illustrates their typological homogeneity and technical refinement, often poorly understood in Europe. Recent dating of the Aterian in northern Morocco requires a revision of currently accepted ideas regarding its influences on the European continent, for example on the origins of the Middle Solutrean.
Le Solutre´en en France
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Origine du Solutreé: le roî de l
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Otte, M. and Noiret, P. 2002. Origine du Solutreé: le roî de l'Espagne. Zephyrus (Salamanca), 55: 77–83.
The last pleniglacial in the South of France (24000 to 14000 yrs bp)
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