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Fluting is a technological and morphological hallmark of some of the most iconic North American Paleoindian stone points. Through decades of detailed artifact analyses and replication experiments, archaeologists have spent considerable effort reconstructing how flute removals were achieved, and they have explored possible explanations of why fluting was such an important aspect of early point technologies. However, the end of fluting has been less thoroughly researched. In southern North America, fluting is recognized as a diagnostic characteristic of Clovis points dating to approximately 13,000 cal yr BP, the earliest widespread use of fluting. One thousand years later, fluting occurs more variably in Dalton and is no longer useful as a diagnostic indicator. How did fluting change, and why did point makers eventually abandon fluting? In this article, we use traditional 2D measurements, geometric morphometric (GM) analysis of 3D models, and 2D GM of flute cross sections to compare Clovis and Dalton point flute and basal morphologies. The significant differences observed show that fluting in Clovis was highly standardized, suggesting that fluting may have functioned to improve projectile durability. Because Dalton points were used increasingly as knives and other types of tools, maximizing projectile functionality became less important. We propose that fluting in Dalton is a vestigial technological trait retained beyond its original functional usefulness.

The Tennessee Division of Archaeology documented an extensive Paleoindian lithic quarry and workshop at the Sinclair site in Tennessee in 2008. We present the first detailed description of the lithic assemblage here, which focuses on aspects of its prismatic blade technology. Quantitative and qualitative attributes of 117 blades are assessed to characterize the assemblage and investigate human behaviors related to its formation. We then compare the blades from Sinclair to other blade assemblages. Blades at Clovis workshop sites are large and generally unstandardized. Mobile Clovis bands selected long, highly standardized blades from workshop sites, cached them as resource insurance, and crafted and used them as tools at campsites. The prismatic blade assemblage at Sinclair and other sites throughout the Midsouth suggests that this region played an important role in the development of prismatic blade technology at the end of the Pleistocene.

Humans first left Siberia and colonized the Americas perhaps around 16,000 years ago, and the Clovis archaeological com plex in North America has traditionally been linked to this migratory pulse. Archaeologists searching for evidence of Clo vis technological antecedents have focused their attention on the Beringian and Siberian archaeological records. Growing evidence for the pre-Clovis occupation of North America provides a possible alternative source for the origins of Clovis. In this paper, we present new data on the pre-Clovis lithic assemblage from the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas, and compare Clovis and pre-Clovis lithic technological signatures. We show that while Clovis and pre-Clovis share some important tech nological traits, they also differ in important ways. We conclude that the pre-Clovis assemblage from Debra L. Friedkin cannot be called “Clovis,” but it could represent a technological antecedent of Clovis. Los seres humanos primero dejaron de Siberia y colonizaron America quizas alrededor de 16,000 anos, y el complejo arque ologico de Clovis en America del norte, tradicionalmente se ha relacionado con este pulso migratoria. Arqueologos buscando evidencia de Clovis antecedentes tecnologicos han centrado su atencion en los registros arqueologicos Beringian y Siberia nos. Creciente evidencia de la ocupacion de pre-Clovis de America del norte proporciona una fuente alternativa posible para los origenes de Clovis. En este trabajo presentamos nuevos datos sobre el conjunto litico de pre-Clovis del sitio de Debra L. Friedkin, Texas y compara Clovis y firmas tecnologicas liticas de pre-Clovis. Nos muestran que mientras que Clovis y preClovis comparten algunas caracteristicas tecnologicas importantes, tambien difieren en aspectos importantes. Concluimos que el conjunto de pre-Clovis de Debra L. Friedkin no puede llamarse “Clovis,” pero podria representar un antecedente tec nologico de Clovis.

Coincident with the climatic changes occurring during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, a number of regionally distinct Paleoindian projectile-point styles emerged throughout North America. This paper examines one understudied and poorly understood Late Paleoindian style, the San Patrice point. Although traditionally considered woodland-adapted hunter-gatherers, projectile-point distributions indicate that San Patrice groups, utilizing the same hafting and resharpening technologies, also made significant use of plains resources. Raw material sourcing reveals that while all San Patrice populations focused on local toolstone sources, plains bands were more mobile than those in the woodlands. These findings have implications for our greater understanding of Paleoindian adaptations. While some hunter-gatherers developed specialized, environmentally specific strategies, San Patrice groups adopted more generalized strategies enabling them to succeed in diverse settings.