A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE SEARCH FOR PALEOINDIANS IN THE BIG BEND

Thousands of prehistoric sites have been documented in the Big Bend through the years, but sites having intact Paleoindian-age components have until recently eluded the best efforts of archaeologists. While Albritton and Bryan’s (1939) pioneering geoarchaeological study has largely served to guide archaeological efforts, a seeming paucity of very ancient sites has for years perplexed researchers and led to a range of informal and speculative explanations. Recent discovery of the Genevieve Lykes Duncan Paleoindian site in Green Valley is, however, casting a new light on Paleoindian archaeology of the Big Bend, and demonstrates the need for perseverance on the part of researchers working in this region.