The Buttermilk Creek Complex and the Origins of Clovis at the Debra L. Friedkin Site, Texas
Abstract
Compelling archaeological evidence of an occupation older than Clovis (~12.8 to 13.1 thousand years ago) in North America is present at only a few sites, and the stone tool assemblages from these sites are small and varied. The Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas, contains an assemblage of 15,528 artifacts that define the Buttermilk Creek Complex, which stratigraphically underlies a Clovis assemblage and dates between ~13.2 and 15.5 thousand years ago. The Buttermilk Creek Complex confirms the emerging view that people occupied the Americas before Clovis and provides a large artifact assemblage to explore Clovis origins.
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Published In
Science
Volume 331 | Issue 6024
25 March 2011
25 March 2011
Copyright
Copyright © 2011, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Received: 17 December 2010
Accepted: 7 February 2011
Published in print: 25 March 2011
Acknowledgments
We thank the North Star Archaeological Research Program established by J. Cramer and R. Cramer for funding the fieldwork from 2006–2009 and chronological and chemical analyses. Donations from M. Mullins, R. Wilson, R. Shlemon, B. Rotstan, R. Engle, E. Guerri, G. Moore, T. Cloninger, S. Kohntopp, M. Payn, J. Pytkowicz, and the Center for the Study of the First Americans membership and funding from the Chair in First Americans Studies supported the laboratory analyses. L. Pfeiffer and W. Wheless III helped to make the project a reality. D. and D. Friedkin allowed excavations on their property and generously supported our field logistics. M. Thompson, S. Woldhagen, R. Lansford, R. McCulloch, and M. Yalch provided help during the excavation. T. Goebel, K. Graf, S. Fiedel, and T. Stafford, and four anonymous individuals reviewed drafts of this paper.
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RE: buttermilk creek complex
I live about 30 miles from this complex. I'm very interested in this and was wondering if it is available to view yet?