Tag: Paleoindian archaeology

A CLOVIS CAMP AT THE MARTENS SITE

Julie Morrow, Ph.D.Arkansas Archaeological Survey, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas

Clovis stone tools, projectile points, blades, and flint manufacturing flakes from the Martens Site in Chesterfield, Missouri, representing a Paleoindian encampment dating to approximately 13,500 years ago.
Artifacts from the Martens Site in Chesterfield, Missouri. These artifacts represent a Clovis encampment dating to approximately 13,500 years before present. They were surface collected by Richard Martens in a plowed field. Today this site is a housing development. Photos provided through the courtesy of Richard Martens.

I first learned of the Martens site in the early 1990s while researching Clovis sites in the Midwest. Rumor had it that the site had yielded fluted point manufacturing rejects and other tools suggestive of a substantial Clovis occupation. Thanks to Alan Banks, I was able to make contact with Richard Martens, who had surface collected the site since the 1960s. Toby Morrow and I spent several enjoyable weekends at Dick’s house, illustrating and measuring fluted points, end scrapers, and other tools from the Martens site.

The information recorded from the surface-collected Martens artifacts, along with those from other collections, provided many insights into Clovis stone technology (Morrow and Morrow 1999). We can learn a lot about the peopling of the New World by studying Clovis and other Early Paleoindian artifact assemblages on a continent-wide basis.

In May 1996, I attempted to contact the owner of the Martens site to get permission to conduct a test excavation. Surrounded by housing developments, the site was situated within one of the few remaining cultivated fields in suburban Chesterfield, Missouri. Unfortunately, the landowner, Mary Plant Faust, had recently passed away, and the land within which the Martens site lay was soon to be developed.

I wrote a proposal to the land development company explaining why, where, when, and how we wanted to excavate at the Martens site. The Nooning Tree Partnership graciously allowed us to excavate the site for five weeks. To prepare for the excavation, I put a call out for volunteers in the Missouri Archaeological Society Newsletter. We received an overwhelming number of phone calls and letters from people wanting to help out.

We were fortunate that Richard Martens had made a map of where he had found various Clovis and other artifacts at the Martens site. This information allowed us to focus on a two-acre area within a field of more than 80 acres. Farmer Buddy Burkhardt set aside this area for us and even came out and mowed the corn stubble when we were ready to excavate.

Within this area we excavated numerous one-by-one-meter squares. In one area of the site, corresponding to where Dick had found a number of Clovis artifacts, we recovered many artifacts far below the plow zone and at much greater depths than expected. We concentrated our efforts on this location by excavating 96 contiguous one-by-one-meter squares that we called “The Big Block.”

Although several artifacts from later time periods were found, many Clovis tools, flaking debris, and preforms were recovered. I believe the “Big Block” represented what was once a Clovis campsite. A total of 139 square meters was excavated by a crew of more than 100 volunteers. The crew included members of the Central States Archaeological Societies, Inc., the Missouri Archaeological Society, the St. Louis Singles Club, Girl Scouts, students from East Central College, and many local residents who stopped by to see what we were uncovering in the corn stubble.

Funding for the Martens site project came from many different sources. At first, it was entirely out of our own pockets. We designed a poster to help…

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A Folsom Site in Eastern Colorado

by Tom C. Westfall, Sterling, Colorado

April 2015 Central States Archaeological Journal

Folsom site artifact assemblage from Kiowa County Colorado showing Folsom point fragments preforms Clovis Goshen and Midland projectile points on display
Entire lithic assemblage from the Kiowa County Folsom site in eastern Colorado, including Folsom point fragments, preforms, and tools made from multiple Plains lithic materials.

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).

Reworked Folsom point bases showing straight edge retouch from broken Folsom projectile points eastern Colorado Paleoindian tools
Two images showing the distinctive straight-edge reworking along the distal break of several Folsom point bases, suggesting reuse of broken points for specialized tools.

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.

Alibates chert channel flake modified into a bi pointed graver Paleoindian lithic tool from Colorado Folsom site
Channel flake of Alibates chert worked into a bi-pointed graver tool.

It is highly likely that additional Folsom material exists on the Kiowa County Folsom site.

References

Chubbuck, Jerry
2000–2014 Personal correspondence.

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