Clovis Culture
9500 B.C. to 8000 B.C.
The Clovis culture is one of the oldest widely recognized cultures of prehistoric native peoples in North America. The hallmark of the Clovis culture is the Clovis spear point. It is named for Clovis, New Mexico, where it was first recognized as a tool of Ice Age people. Archaeologists have found Clovis points from Alaska to northern Mexico and from California to Maine. They are especially common in Ohio and other eastern states. Radiocarbon dates on Clovis sites across North America indicate these people lived between 9500 to 8000 B.C.
In the southwestern United States, Clovis points have been found stuck in the ribs of mammoths. In eastern North America, they have been found with mastodon skeletons. It is likely that these hunting and gathering people ate a variety of plants and animals.
Video Files
References and Suggested Reading
- Adovasio, James, M and Page, Jake. The First Americans: In Pursuit of Archaeology's Greatest Mystery. New York: Random House, Inc., 2002. - Available from Amazon.com
- Dancey, William S., Editor. The First Discovery of America: Archaeological Evidence of the Early Inhabitants of the Ohio Area. Columbus: The Ohio Archaeological Council, 1994.
- Lepper, Bradley T. Ohio Archaeology: An Illustrated Chronicle of Ohio's Ancient American Indian Cultures. Wilmington, Ohio, Orange Frazer Press, 2005. - Available from Amazon.com
- Meltzer, David. Search for the First Americans. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 1993.
- Storck, Peter. Journey to the Ice Age: Discovering an Ancient World. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2004. - Available from Amazon.com
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Citation
"Clovis Culture", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2044
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