PALEOINDIAN OCCUPATIONS IN CENTRAL NEW YORK

In 1957 and 1965, NY state archaeologist William A. Ritchie reported on distributions of Paleoindian Native American sites and points recorded for the New York region. Discrete clusters of sites and artifacts were apparent, with the greatest density occurring on the Ontario Lake Plain in central New York. Ongoing recording by NYSM staff of additional Paleoindian points and sites, conducted as part of the New York Paleoindian Database Project, reinforces this distribution for both fluted (circa 13-11,600 Cal BP) and parallel flaked or "Plano" (circa 11,600-10,000 Cal BP) Paleoindian points. This patterning is striking given that human settlementt took place only centuries after draining of proglacial Lake Iroquois exposed this Ontario Plain landscape. We present current data on the distribution and chronology of Paleoindian points and sites for central New York, and offer provisional interpretations of these patterns.