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A team of researchers led by a professor at Texas A & M University estimates that the spearheads found in central Texas may be the oldest discovered in North America, according to a report published this week in the newspaper. Progress of science.
The spearheads were discovered in 2015, about 40 miles northwest of Austin on the Debra L. Friedkin site, which owes its name to the owner. Michael Waters, professor of anthropology at Texas A & M and director of the Early American Studies Center, said that this discovery could change the understanding of when and how early peoples first explored and to establish in North America.
Based on the dating of the sediments in which they were found, the researchers estimated that the spear points were between 13,500 and 15,500 years old. This would be prior to the Clovis culture, which, according to Waters, had long been considered the first inhabitant of the Americas. The Clovis calendar was about 12,700 to 13,000 years old. Waters said that the discovery of the points was important because, while stone tools had been found in almost all sites prior to Clovis, there were still spearheads.
At the Friedkin site, the new spear points were discovered under a layer containing Clovis artifacts. Finding such artifacts in deposits directly beneath Clovis artefacts is what Waters describes as "the gold standard". The projectile points, which were probably used for hunting, had two previously unknown styles, prior to Clovis. Waters thinks this discovery means that the previous point style was earlier than the Clovis style, which has implications for migration and how people reached the Americas at the end of the last ice age.
Other project researchers came from Baylor University and the University of Texas. Their findings were published on October 24 in the journal Progress of science.
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