Clovis Hunters

Between 13,000 and 11,000 rcya spear points which would eventually be associated with a culture called Clovis began to appear in the archaeological record

http://lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/drakecloviscolorfulalibateslarge.htm

These spear points are often associated with the kill sites of megafauna.

http://www.adp.fsu.edu/saa98.html

 

As you can see from the above map, Clovis points were found in an arc from Southern California up to Maine. This correlates with the fact that the places that they weren't found are the places that became grassland and semi-desert which couldn't support the large herds of megafauna.

It wasn't just the specialized weapons that made the Clovis culture good hunters they also had a specialized technique called the Jump Kill. The hunters would use the natural instinct of herd animals to stampede when frightened to drive large numbers of these animals off of a cliff. This technique not only gave the hunters a lot of meat but also saved them the hassle of getting up close, where they could be hurt, to kill the animals.

Another interesting thing about Clovis points is that around 7,000 years ago they began to disappear from the archaeological record replaced by thinner more brittle points that would not be able to be used on giant mammals. With the megafauna gone there would be no reason to have weapons that could take them down.

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