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14 000 BP 13 000 BP 12 000 BP 11 000 BP 10 000 BP 9 000 BP
11,000 Years Ago

By 11,000 years ago, people were well established across the central and southern United States. Many stone spear points used by early settlers have been found, together with bones of the huge mammoths and bison that they hunted for food and clothing. Archaeologists call these points and the people who used them ‘Clovis’. Clovis points have a distinctive “fluted” end that likely made them easier to attach to a spear shaft. Prehistoric people manufactured and used many tools made from stone and bone.
To learn more, click Prehistoric Stone Tools
Americas at 11000 BP

Unfortunately, other than stone tools, very little has survived in the archaeological record from this early time. Organic materials, such as wood, animal skin and plant material, usually decay and disappear very quickly from the archaeological record. They are only preserved for long periods of time under very unusual conditions.
To learn more, click Preservation

All across the central and southern United States, archaeologists have found traces of the early Clovis people.
Click here to learn more about this Clovis archaeological site:
Blackwater Draw

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