Testing the Atlantic ice hypothesis : the blade manufacturing of Clovis, Solutrean and the broader technological aspects of production in the Upper Palaeolithic
The origins of Clovis technology and the nature and timing of the first populations to reach the Western Hemisphere is one of the most contentious issues in American archaeology. With the rejection of âClovis-firstâ, many scholars consider that all colonising migrations followed a route out of Asia and across Beringia into North America. However, none of the technologies present in the far northeast of Asia or Beringia exhibit the manufacturing processes that were used in Clovis. To address this enigma, Stanford and Bradley proposed a radical alternative for the origins of Clovis. They argue that a small pioneering group of Solutreans crossed the Atlantic ice sheets of the LGM and reached the shores of North America. The basis for this argument stems from technological similarities between Clovis and the Solutrean, as well as from climatic, oceanographic, and ethnographic data. Biface manufacture is at the centre of their technological analysis, specifically comparing the reduction sequences of the distinctive Solutrean laurel leaf points and comparing them to Clovis points. This thesis tests the assumption of Stanford and Bradley that the blade manufacturing technologies of Clovis and Solutrean were âvirtually
Williams, Thomas Joseph
Blade technology ; Atlantic Ice Hypothesis ; Clovis blade manufacturing ; Solutrean blade manufacturing ; Clovis ; Solutrean ; Clovis-Solutrean hypothesis ; LGM
Testing the Atlantic ice hypothesis : the blade manufacturing of Clovis, Solutrean and the broader technological aspects of production in the Upper Palaeolithic. The origins of Clovis technology and the nature and timing of the first populations to reach the Western Hemisphere is one of the most contentious issues in American archaeology. With the rejection of âClovis-firstâ, many scholars consider that all colonising migrations followed a route out of Asia and across Beringia into North America. However, none of the technologies present in the far northeast of Asia or Beringia exhibit the manufacturing processes that were used in Clovis. To address this enigma, Stanford and Bradley proposed a radical alternative for the origins of Clovis. They argue that a small pioneering group of Solutreans crossed the Atlantic ice sheets of the LGM and reached the shores of North America. The basis for this argument stems from technological similarities between Clovis and the Solutrean, as well as from climatic, oceanographic, and ethnographic data. Biface manufacture is at the centre of their technological analysis, specifically comparing the reduction sequences of the distinctive Solutrean laurel leaf points and comparing them to Clovis points. This thesis tests the assumption of Stanford and Bradley that the blade manufacturing technologies of Clovis and Solutrean were âvirtually
testing atlantic ice hypothesis blade manufacturing broad technological aspect production upper_palaeolithic origins technology nature time first population reach western hemisphere contentious_issue american archaeology rejection first many_scholar consider colonise migration follow route asia across north_america however none technology present far northeast asia exhibit manufacturing_process use address propose radical alternative origin argue small pioneer group cross atlantic ice sheet lgm reach shore north_america basis argument stem technological similarity well climatic ethnographic_data manufacture centre technological_analysis specifically compare reduction sequence distinctive leaf point compare point test assumption blade manufacture_technology virtually