In their recent article in PaleoAmerica, one of Far Western’s Principal Investigators, Ryan Byerly, and one of our Senior Archaeologists, Joanna Roberson, examine a Clovis biface and explore dating terminal Pleistocene geological deposits in Twentynine Palms, California. The type of fluted biface, made of local jasper, implies that it may have been deposited before the Younger Dryas period, and it may coincide with Clovis points dated in other locations (ca. 13,200–12,700 calibrated years before present).
“More than 30 years of cultural resources management in the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, California, has produced a growing body of mostly unpublished data (cf. Sutton et al. 2007) concerning the late Pleistocene–middle Holocene archaeology of the Mojave Desert. This article highlights recent work demonstrating the presence of hunter-gatherers in the MCAGCC before the Younger Dryas, and the potential preservation of significantly ancient buried deposits in some areas.”
Read their article HERE.
“Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene Archaeology in the Mojave Desert: Recent Discoveries in Twentynine Palms, California,” PaleoAmerica 1(2):197-201
The authors thank the Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs staff aboard MCAGCC, particularly Marie Cottrell, Leslie Glover, John Hale, and Nick Chamberlain, for their dedication to the management of cultural resources and providing data gleaned from those efforts for this piece. We would also like to acknowledge Mike Rondeau for taking time to analyze and identify the fluted projectile point, which was found by Devin Garvey, a Far Western archaeological technician. Geomorphological work was conducted by D. Craig Young, Andras Nagy produced the map, and Kathleen Montgomery created the other figure. Amy Gilreath manages Far Western’s work aboard MCAGCC, and Bill Hildebrandt serves as Principal Investigator for these projects. Mark Allen and three anonymous reviewers helped improve an earlier draft of the article.
