Folsom: New Archaeological Investigations of a Classic Paleoindian Bison Kill

by David J. Meltzer

In the late 1920s outside a sleepy remote New Mexico village, prehistory was made. Spear points, found embedded between the ribs of an extinct Ice Age bison at the site of Folsom, finally resolved decades of bitter scientific controversy over whether the first Americans had arrived in the New World in Ice Age times. Although Folsom is justly famous in the history of archaeology for resolving that dispute, for decades little was known of the site except that it was very old. This book for the first time tells the full story of Folsom. David J. Meltzer deftly combines the results of extensive new excavations and laboratory analyses from the late 1990s, with the results of a complete examination and analysis of all the original artifacts and bison remains recovered in the 1920s - now scattered in museums and small towns across the country. Using the latest in archaeological method and technique, and bringing in data from geology and paleoecology, this interdisciplinary study provides a comprehensive look at the adaptations and environments of the late Ice Age Paleoindian hunters who killed a large herd of bison at this spot, as well as a measure of Folsom's pivotal role in American archaeology.

388 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Jennifer Bohnhoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I understand not everyone wants to read about the discoveries of an archaeological dig, but I found this fascinating reading. Meltzer gives all the scientific data - lots of charts that I didn't understand - but he also explained what that meant and how the people who created this site probably lived. And there were two stories in one: the story of the first people who created the site, and the story of how the site was discovered in the modern age and why it became significant. This was fascinating, well written information.