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Bayesian Modeling of the Clovis and Folsom Radiocarbon Records Indicates a 200-Year Multigenerational Transition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022

Briggs Buchanan ,
J. David Kilby ,
Jason M. LaBelle ,
Todd A. Surovell ,
Jacob Holland-Lulewicz  and
Marcus J. Hamilton
Briggs Buchanan*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Tulsa, OK, USA
J. David Kilby
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA
Jason M. LaBelle
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Geography, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Todd A. Surovell
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
Jacob Holland-Lulewicz
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
Marcus J. Hamilton
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, TX, USA (marcus.hamilton@utsa.edu).
*
(briggs-buchanan@utulsa.edu, corresponding author)
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Abstract

An enduring problem in North American archaeology concerns the nature of the transition between the Clovis and Folsom Paleoindian complexes in the West. Traditional models indicate a temporal hiatus between the two complexes implying that Folsom was a population replacement for Clovis. Alternatively, if Folsom was an innovation that occurred within Clovis populations and subsequently spread, we would expect to see a temporal overlap. Here, we test these hypotheses using high-quality radiocarbon dates and Bayesian statistics to infer the temporal boundaries of the complexes. We show that the Folsom complex initially appears between 12,900 and 12,740 cal BP, whereas Clovis disappears between 12,720 and12,490 cal BP. Therefore, Folsom may have appeared about 200 years before Clovis disappeared, and so the two complexes likely co-occurred in the West for nearly eight generations. This finding suggests that Folsom was a successful adaptive innovation that diffused through the western Clovis population, eventually going to fixation over multiple generations.

Un problema persistente en la arqueología norteamericana se refiere a la naturaleza de la transición entre los complejos paleoindios Clovis y Folsom en el oeste. Los modelos tradicionales indican una pausa temporal entre los dos complejos, lo que implica que Folsom fue un reemplazo de población de Clovis. Alternativamente, si Folsom fue una innovación que ocurrió dentro de las poblaciones de Clovis y posteriormente se extendió, esperaríamos ver una superposición temporal. Aquí, probamos estas hipótesis utilizando fechas de radiocarbono de alta calidad y estadísticas bayesianas para inferir los límites temporales de los complejos. Mostramos que el complejo de Folsom aparece inicialmente entre 12,900 y12,740 cal AP mientras que Clovis desaparece entre 12,720 y12,490 cal AP. Por lo tanto, Folsom pudo haber aparecido unos 200 años antes de que Clovis desapareciera, por lo que los dos complejos probablemente coexistieron en el oeste durante casi ocho generaciones. Este resultado sugiere que Folsom fue una innovación adaptativa exitosa que se difundió a través de la población occidental de Clovis y finalmente se fijó en varias generaciones.

Keywords

PaleoindianClovisFolsomBayesiancultural diffusionPaleoindioClovisFolsomBayesiandifusión cultural
Type
Report
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 87 , Issue 3 , July 2022 , pp. 567 - 580
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Archaeology

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