by Tom C. Westfall, Sterling, Colorado
April 2015 Central States Archaeological Journal
The 1950’s were a time of mild winters, little precipitation, and hard winds in eastern Colorado. During that time, literally hundreds of thousands of prehistoric artifacts were recovered by a number of collectors. Many of these collectors have since passed on, and much of the information that accompanied the stones they assembled has been lost as well. This report is written to provide as much information as possible about a Folsom site in Kiowa County, Colorado, near the town of Brandon on the south side of the Big Sandy River. This assemblage was collected by Jerry Chubbuck, a well-known artifact enthusiast over a period of several years in the early 1950’s. The eroded field was put back into the soil conservation bank and no additional artifacts were recovered on the site.
A total of 60 point fragments and preforms were found on this small site. A multi-component site, several cultures are represented, including: Clovis (n=8); Goshen (n=6); Midland (n=3); and Folsom (n=43). In the Folsom component there are 11 pieces which appear to be preforms which were broken in manufacturing, a channel flake that was utilized as a bi-pointed graver, a scraper and 30 Folsom point fragments.
Lithic materials would suggest that the people who inhabited this campsite came from the south (or had well-developed trade) as Alibates dolomite (n=16) and Edwards Plateau chert (n=28) dominate the assemblage. Additional materials include quartz crystal (n=2), Narbona Pass chert (n=2), Tecovas jasper (n=1), Trout Creek jasper (n=3), Black Forest wood (n=5), Flattop chalcedony (n=1) and Smoky Hills jasper (n=2).
According to Jerry Chubbuck, this site was on the south side of the Big Sandy River and was a discrete campsite that contained only the material shown here. Other sites nearby included later components, but the “Folsom site” as Jerry called it, was a relatively small area, not much more than three acres. (Chubbuck, personal correspondence, 2000-2014).
One of the most interesting features of this assemblage is the Folsom fragments (proximal portions/bases). Each of these pieces has been reworked along the distal break in a straight line, suggesting that these pieces were used subsequent to their initial break for some specialized purpose. Although Folsom “scrapers” made from salvaged points have been found in Folsom campsites, these pieces really don’t appear to be used in that manner. A number of “Plains archaeologists” have been consulted and as of this writing, no one has been able to identify this particular tool nor have similar tools shown up in other assemblages.
Another interesting piece in this assemblage is a salvaged channel flake. This channel flake is 27.1 mm in length, 3.5 mm in width and .051 mm thick. It has been flaked into a bi-pointed tool of some type, most likely a graver.
It is highly likely that additional Folsom material exists on the Kiowa County Folsom site.
References
Chubbuck, Jerry
2000–2014 Personal correspondence.