Clovis and the First North Americans

At some time around the end of the last ice age, about 11,500 years before present (“BP” is defined as 1950 AD), the first human hunter-gatherer groups entered North America, where they encountered diverse environments and climates.

 

According to this paper, human occupation of North America occurred earlier than previously thought. The Clovis mammoth hunters, previously thought to have been North America’s oldest culture, were preceded by an earlier people. These early Native Americans spread relatively quickly along the coast, using technology such as boats, and skills learned in the Arctic.

 

As can be seen by the spear heads they left behind, both of these early cultures hunted the great animals of North America. This accelerated their extinction.

 

NOTE: this paper was originally published to academia.edu. It was written by Alan M. Slade.

“Clovis was not the first stone-tool technology in North America.”