Paleo-Indian
Time
Period
9200
BC
- 6000 BC
Most of North America was probably void of any human life
until the last ice age. During this time (called the Pleistocene)
South Texas had many ice age mammal species that later
became extinct. Among these species were Jefferson mammoths,
mastodons, Dire wolves, saber-toothed cats, camels, giant
groundsloths, an extinct long-horned bison, and very large
vultures. At this time, South Texas must have looked like
a present-day African savanna.
During the Pleistocene, evaporated sea water froze and
formed massive glaciers over much of North America; It is
estimated that during this period, sea level dropped
approximately 300 feet, forming a landbridge between what
are now Alaska, and Asia.
North America, 20,000 BC
Adapted by permission. From Ancient Texans
copyright © 1992,
Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas,
800-231-6275.
All rights reserved.
Anthropologists believe that at the ending of the Pleistocene
(approximately 10,000 BC) the glaciers began to melt and
recede, forming a corridor of land through what is now west
central Canada. Early man could now cross from Asia to what is
now the United States, where they could hunt ice age giants,
using spears tipped with fluted Clovis points.
North America, 10,000 BC
Adapted by permission. From Ancient Texans
copyright © 1992,
Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas,
800-231-6275.
All rights reserved.
Clovis hunters spread across North America in less than
1,000 years, and arrived in Texas around 9200 BC. As the
ice age giants began to die out, the hunters began to
modify their weapons for smaller game. They fashoned
smaller and thinner Folsom points (9050 BC - 8150 BC)
for hunting ancient bison, and other game. Other Paleo-
Indian point and tool types were developed to accommodate
the changing times.
Often the bison hunters would group up and surround the
herds of bison and start a stampede, and force them to
run off cliffs. The bison were butchered in large quantities.
The atlatl, or spear thrower may have been introduced at this
time. The atlatl acted as an extension of the arm while
throwing a spear, giving early hunters the ability to throw
spears (known as darts) approximately 300 feet.
Throwing a dart with an atlatl
Over time, accuracy could also be developed. A person can
learn to
hit
a 2 foot target from 200 feet away, though the early hunters
usually
threw at a much closer target. The atlatl quickly became an
important
part of the early American's hunting equipment.
Early hunter-gatherers began to co-exist with the bison hunters,
and with them came their own projectile point and tool designs.
Chronological list of artifacts introduced in
the Paleo-Indian period:
Clovis
spearpoints
Bone
awls
Incised
pebble
Hammerstones
Abrading
stones
Quarry
blanks
Core
& flake knives
Scrapers
Spokeshaves
Denticulate
tool (saw)
Chopper
Gravers
Atlatls
& darts
Folsom
dart points
Beads
Plainview
dart points
Clear
Fork gouges
Barber
spearpoints
Wilson
spearpoints
Meserve
spearpoints
Scottsbluff
spearpoints
Golondrina
spearpoints
Victoria
spearpoints
Angostura
spearpoints
Drills
Lerma
dart points
Painted
pebbles style 1