The Clovis Culture: The History and Legacy of the Prehistoric Paleoamericans

In popular media and culture, the Paleolithic era is often depicted as a time when humans were completely savage, spoke with little more than grunts, hit women over their heads with clubs and kidnapped them, and of course, everyone lived in caves. The reality is that the Paleolithic era was a time of great change when humans coalesced into groups and developed different technologies that helped them survive and ultimately thrive in harsh environments. Among the most important technologies developed by Paleolithic humans were those helping them hunt because, after all, the Paleolithic era was when humans lived as hunters and gatherers, so human survival and advancement were contingent upon developing better tools and weapons.

The discovery of distinct arrow tips throughout the United States, Canada, and parts of northern Mexico in the early 20th century, often referred to by archaeologists as projectile points, is a testament to the success of the Paleolithic culture, now known as Clovis. Modern scholars point to the extensive nature of Clovis archaeological sites as proof of its importance, yet these same scholars have only begun to uncover this culture, and as they do, more questions are raised than there are answers. Although most of the questions are not controversial, some of the answers scholars have forwarded are.

Any examination of the Clovis culture begins with what is known. Archaeologists know the approximate chronological and geographic range of the Clovis culture, and they can identify what made the Clovis people unique. These were the projectile points the Clovis people made, setting them apart from most people that came before and after them, and it was those same tools that made them a successful people for such an extended period in the harsh climate of the Upper Paleolithic era (50,000 to 12,000 years ago). Scholars have also determined that the Clovis people were big game hunters, chasing and killing mammoths and other now-extinct animals across North America. The picture that has emerged of the Clovis people is one of an industrious, resourceful, and prolific people who became masters of the environment and North America for approximately 2,000 years. That being said, there is also much that is not known about the Clovis culture.

Academically speaking, there is probably more that is not known about the Clovis people than what is known. For example, the Clovis people's religious ideas, particularly about their views on an afterlife, remain a mystery. The lack of art at Clovis sites has also raised more questions, including if it was the result of a dearth of materials or societal norms and taboos, but perhaps the most hotly debated question surrounding the Clovis culture is its origins. It was once believed the Clovis people were the first to inhabit the Americas, but new evidence appears to suggest they were not. Studies have also questioned how the Clovis people arrived in North America, with the standard crossing of the Ice Age land bridge in Beringia being questioned in favor of other migration theories. An examination of the Clovis culture reveals just how important these Paleolithic people were to the history of North America, and although many questions remain, perhaps steps can be made toward answering a few of them.