Paper on Clovis Lithic Networks

[tomclark]

http://www.academia.edu/38164864/The_Small-World_Topology_of_Clovis_Lithic_Networks

[Lindenmeier-Man]

I like fig 1. I’m a connect the dots kind of guy...Looks like they sent scouts ahead, then went back for other members after they got over the mountainous areas. I could be completely wrong on my thinking here but the materials at sites show me pathways ... Great read & info.... JJ

[11KBP]

Interesting paper Tom.

It would be interesting to know how the separate individual Clovis bands managed to find each other on such a huge landscape. The only way that seems logical would be to have predetermined meeting locales at predetermined times of the seasons? Anyone have thoughts on this?

[Tam]

I agree with both of you . When I think of the travel on the West think of the landscape now . Very rich in resources from food and water to numerous lithics . Think of the vast paries and open ranges and I almost wonder other then following animals why they went . I did read in Paleo after a group of 50 was established they ventured East .
I feel human element should be considered 11KBP I believe that ancestors and old legends must of been held high with no written language it was the word of experience that was followed . Proven prosperity linked them .
The lithics being one example .

[clovisoid]

I increasingly lean towards Clovis/Fluted points simply being a technology or a tool that was diffused/spread among groups of existing people. The technology might not have been purely the fluted point, but included hafting system (foreshaft, shaft, atlatl, bladelets, etc.) Maybe it was purely technology or maybe there was a mix of something cultural as well. If there were existing populations, albeit sparse populations, that were here before Clovis, you can explain the very rapid spread of fluted points from essentially Alaska to South America within a couple of hundred years. The existing groups knew the basic resources, knew where water was during droughts, migrations, where to find potential mates that were not in your immediate family, etc.

I don't doubt that predetermined meeting points in a particular season happened as 11KBP mentioned. Massive flocks of migrating birds, arrival of monarch butterflies, leaves changing colors will often be consist to within a few weeks.

To put it into modern terms: Archaeologically speaking if the only material things that survived were vinyl records, 8 tracks, cassettes and CDs, think about how we would describe people around the world. We might talk about the rise of Cassette tapes as starting in the US and Japan that quickly spread towards Europe, across Asia into Africa & South America. Eventually it was replaced by CDs, while some Cassette stragglers held on in isolated areas. Under this model a goat herder in Africa might be the same "culture" as my uncle who still uses cassettes in his pickup truck. I might be the same as someone in Japan because I apparently don't show up in the record since I use digital music on the cloud connected through my phone or computer. The world shifted from vinyl to CDs in 30 years or so, and has now moved beyond that.

[11KBP]

Interesting thoughts Joshua.
That has been a popular supposition for some time now and it may well have happened in that manner. I like your idea of multiple weaponry advancements possibly being included with the fluted point technology.

[Tam]

Very nice