WHAT IS THE CLOVIS POINT ?

CLOVIS POINT: A distinctive, fluted, lanceolate (leaf-shaped) stone projectile point characteristic of the early Paleoindian period, c. 10,000– 9000 bc, and often found in association with mammoth bones. It is named for Clovis, New Mexico, where it was first found. The oncave-based projectile point has a longitudinal groove on each face running from the base to a point not more than halfway along the tool. The base of a Clovis point is concave and the edge of the base is usually blunted through grinding, probably to ensure that the thongs, attaching the point to the projectile, were not cut. It is assumed to have been a spear because of its size; the length of points varies from 7 to 12 cm (2–4 inches), and their widest width is 3–4 cm (1–1.5 inches). Clovis points and the artifacts associated with them (grouped together as the Llano complex) are among the earliest tools known from the New World and have been found over most of North America, with a few outliers as far south as Mexico and Panama. It is the earliest projectile point of the Big Game Hunting tradition of North America. From these points came the later, more sophisticated points, such as the Folsom. [Clovis projectile point, Clovis spear point]