SEARCHING FOR EARLY PALEOINDIANS IN THE TEXAS BIG BEND

With the exception of the well-known Chispa Folsom Site discovery near Van Horn, Texas, the hard evidence for presence of Early Paleoindians (ca. 9500-8000 BC)in the southern Trans-Pecos region is surprisingly scanty. This is particularly true for the Big Bend area, where an abundance of mammoth finds and a contrasting lack of Clovis remains has proven frustrating to archaeologists in the past. While evidence of Clovis culture remains elusive, several recent finds of Folsom artifacts in the Big Bend are proving helpful in the development of a predictive capability for locating Early Paleoindian camps and kill-sites. Figuring importantly into this predictive model is the presence/absence of high-quality and/or unique toolstone sources that would have attracted Clovis and Folsom hunters.