Folsom : archaeological investigations at the Paleoindian type site / David J. Meltzer ; with contributions by Meena Balakrishnan ... [et al.].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Meltzer, David J.

Contributor:

Balakrishnan, Meena.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Folsom culture--New Mexico--Colfax County.

Folsom culture.

Folsom points--New Mexico--Colfax County.

Folsom points.

Excavations (Archaeology)--New Mexico--Colfax County.

Excavations (Archaeology).

Animal remains (Archaeology)--New Mexico--Colfax County.

Animal remains (Archaeology).

Folsom Site (N.M.).

Colfax County (N.M.)--Antiquities.

Colfax County (N.M.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (389 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the late 1920's outside a sleepy remote New Mexico village, prehistory was made. Spear points, found embedded between the ribs of an extinct Ice Age bison at the site of Folsom, finally resolved decades of bitter scientific controversy over whether the first Americans had arrived in the New World in Ice Age times. Although Folsom is justly famous in the history of archaeology for resolving that dispute, for decades little was known of the site except that it was very old. This book for the first time tells the full story of Folsom. David J. Meltzer deftly combines the results of extensive new excavations and laboratory analyses from the late 1990's, with the results of a complete examination and analysis of all the original artifacts and bison remains recovered in the 1920's - now scattered in museums and small towns across the country. Using the latest in archaeological method and technique, and bringing in data from geology and paleoecology, this interdisciplinary study provides a comprehensive look at the adaptations and environments of the late Ice Age Paleoindian hunters who killed a large herd of bison at this spot, as well as a measure of Folsom's pivotal role in American archaeology.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Contributors list

Preface

1. Introduction: The Folsom Paleoindian Site

2. Folsom and the Human Antiquity Controversy in America

3. Situating the Site and Setting the Ecological Stage

4. Archaeological Research Designs, Methods, and Results

5. Geology, Paleotopography, Stratigraphy, and Geochronology

6. Late Glacial Climate and Ecology

7. The Faunal Assemblage and Bison Bonebed Taphonomy

8. Artifacts, Technological Organization, and Mobility

9. Folsom: From Prehistory to History

Appendix A: Field Procedures And Protocols

Appendix B: The Folsom Diary Of Carl Schwachheim

Appendix C: Historical Archaeology Of The Folsom Site

Appendix D: Sediment Mineralogy And Bone Preservation

Appendix E: Defining Folsom: Theme And Variations

References Cited

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612358944

9781282358942

1282358944

9780520932449

0520932447

9781601290267

1601290268

OCLC:

475972788