CALENDAR OF EVENTS

General (lecture) meetings are held in the University of Colorado Museum, Dinosaur Room

Second Thursday of each Month, at 7:00 PM. The public is always welcome.

Feb 4 Executive Board, Boulder Police Community Room, 7:30PM

Feb 11 IPCAS General Meeting, 7 PM. Julie Francis

Topic: Rock Art. See Article on Page 2.

Mar 4 Executive Board, Boulder Police Community Room, 7:30PM

Mar 11 IPCAS General Meeting, 7 PM. Rich Wilshusen

Topic: Southwestern Archaeology or Archaeology and The

Computer Data Base. See Article on Page 2.

Apr 1 Executive Board, Boulder Police Community Room, 7:30PM

Apr 8 IPCAS General Meeting, 7 PM. Larry Todd

Topic: Archaic Bison Hunters of Northern Colorado.

May 5 Executive Board, Boulder Police Community Room, 7:30PM

May 13 IPCAS General Meeting, 7 PM. Kevin Black

Topic: Human Burials.

May 8-16 Colorado Archaeology and Historic Preservation Week

Archaeology and Historic Preservation Week is a celebration of our state's heritage. The week highlights special preservation projects,

Map of Parking at CU Museum

archaeological talks and prehistoric or historical sites cherished by local residents and visitors. This year's poster will focus on Apishipa

structures of southeastern Colorado. Local organizations, museums,

and agencies are invited to participate in the week's celebration for

1999 that will be held May 8 through 16. Our office will be providing

event grants of up to $200.00 that organizations can use for helping

to hold an event. For example, funds can be used for renting space,

purchasing an advertisement, or to obtain materials. Interested

organizations should complete a grant application form that is available

Inside This CALUMET

Calendar of Events 1

February Topic 2

March Topic 2

IPCAS PAAC Course 2

DNA & Peopling of Siberia 3

Monte Verde Article 1 5

Monte Verde Article 2 6

Saving Florida's Stone Circle 8

Membership Renewals 9

Calumet History 9

January BOD Minutes 9

Officers/Board Members 10

Membership Application 10

from the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation or can be

found on our web site at:

http://www.aclin.org/other/historic/chs/index.html.

Applications must be received by the Colorado Historical Society on

or before February 19, 1999. For further information call Todd McMahon, Staff Archaeologist, Colorado Historical Society at (303) 866-4607.

March Calumet

The March Calumet will concentrate on the numerous volunteer opportunities that are available to our membership. We will publish IPCAS projects, PIT Projects, and other

projects that would love to have the assistance of interested hands.

The March Calumet will be delivered a few days later than usual. The editor will attend a two-week PIT Project in Wyoming at the end of February. Composition of the Calumet will be accomplished after the editor returns from the project.

CALUMET - January, 1999

February Topic - Rock Art

Julie Francis

The talk will focus on anthropological and archaeological approaches to the study of rock art and will feature some of the current research on the High Plains and Intermountain West. This will include some discussion of dating techniques and how imagery can now be related to other archaeological sites in the same region. Primarily it will focus on some of our more recent ethnographic research and site documentation efforts in the Bighorn and Wind River Basins of Wyoming. Utilizing chronology, formal analysis, and the ethnography, we are also now able to fairly confidently relate cultural groups and practices to some specific rock art sites. Theoretically, the work that Larry Loendorf and I have been doing follows very closely with the work of David Lewis-Williams in South Africa. This talk should dovetail nicely with the presentations he did in Boulder a couple of years ago.

As far as biographical information for me, I have been the staff archaeologist for the Wyoming Department of Transportation since 1992; before that I worked for the Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist for nearly 15 years. I am also an adjunct associate professor in anthropology at the University of Wyoming. It was during my stint at OWSA that I began developing a serious interest in rock art research through several cultural resource management projects. I earned a B.A. in anthro from the University of Wyoming, M.A. and Ph.D in anthro from Arizona State University. I've published several articles in journals such as American Antiquity and Plains Anthropologist, and most recently co-edited a volume on the Archaic on the High Plains with Mary Lou Larson. Larry Loendorf and I are co-authoring a book on rock art of the Bighorn and Wind River Basins with University of Utah Press.

March Topic - Recent Research in Post-Pueblo Archaeology in the Four Corners

Richard H. Wilshusen

In the last decade there has been a dramatic increase in our understanding of the archaeology of the Gobernador area in northwestern New Mexico. This area is the heartland of Navajo settlement between AD 1500 and 1750. Recent research has changed our archaeological understanding of early Navajo settlement patterns, subsistence, and cultural identity. In the past, many archaeologists have argued that Navajo culture was transformed into something much more Pueblo-like with

influx of Pueblo refugees into Navajo area beginning with the Pueblo Revolt and culminating with the reconquest of New Mexico by the Spaniards in 1690 and 1694. Recent research presents a much more complicated and fascinating picture of the changes--many of which appear to predate the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and Reconquest of 1690.

The introduction of Gobernador Polychrome, the dependence on corn agriculture, and the construction of pueblitos all will be discussed in this presentation. Historical, archaeological, and traditional accounts offer a very dynamic view of the changes in the Four Corners between AD 1500 and 1750. Key points will be illustrated with slides and overheads.

Richard H. Wilshusen works as a contract archaeologist in the Southwest and is also an instructor in Anthropology at the University of Colorado. His primary research interests have been village formation, the cultural history of late Basketmaker and early Pueblo periods, and the migrations in the late ninth and thirteenth centuries in the Four Corners region. He has worked in the American Southwest and Southern Plains, as well as in Guatemala, Colombia, and Belize. He obtained his

Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.

IPCAS PAAC Course - Lithic Description and Analysis

Morey Stinson

The next PAAC class starts Feb 24th. Classes on Lithics Description and Analysis will be given at the Foothills Nature Center at 4201 N. Broadway, Boulder. Classes will be held on Feb 24th, March 3rd, 10th, 18th, 31st, and April 7th and 14th. Class runs from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM each evening. Cost is $20.00 payable to Morey Stinson. Kevin Blank will

be the instructor. Sign-up and further information is available from Morey or Janet Stinson at 303-530-7727.

CALUMET - January, 1999

DNA and The Peopling of Siberia

Michael Hammer and Tatiana Karafet

Laboratory of Molecular Systematics and Evolution - University of Arizona

Did they journey inexorably eastward across the Russian plains, or venture north out of China? From where and by what routes did they traverse the great land area of Siberia? When did the first humans cross the Bering Strait from Siberia into the Americas, and how many times did such a crossing occur? When did people first colonize the vast expanses of northern and eastern Asia? Michael Hammer and Tatiana Karafet are leading a team of Russian and American scientists who are studying the DNA of Siberian and North American natives to unravel these complex prehistoric movements around the globe.

U.S. Russia Joint Collaborative Research: Y Chromosome Variation in Native Human Populations of Siberia

Although the current archeological, anatomical, linguistic and genetic data do not provide a consistent story, there are some common themes in the main stages of the history of the peopling of Siberia. The precise antiquity of anatomically modern humans in the Old World Arctic is still not known. It has been proposed that the first people lived in Siberia during the Upper Paleolithic as early as 45,000-40,000 BC. Archaeological evidence indicates that the settlement of Siberia was a complex and lengthy process with migrations possibly originating from southern Russia and eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Mongolia. In addition, there is evidence that cultural ties were established between the populations of western Siberia and eastern Europe as early as the Neolithic period, and archeological findings of later periods testify to bonds between the populations of Siberia and the ancient civilizations to the West and South. Events in the history of the southern part of Siberia- the movements of the Huns, the formation of the Turkic kaganate, and the campaigns of Genghis Khan- also affected the ethnographic map of the Far North.

Contemporary Populations of Siberia

At present, 31 indigenous ethnic groups live in the territories of Siberia and the Altai. Although most populations differ in their origin, language, and culture, they are characterized by common types of economic activities: hunting, fishing, reindeer-breeding and herding. Their traditional occupations are linked to their nomadic or semi-nomadic way of life and low population densities. At present, 31 indigenous ethnic groups live in the territories of Siberia and the Altai.

The most important economic activity of the Eskimos is sea hunting, chiefly seal and walrus. Whale hunting had declined very sharply by the beginning of the 20th century and now the annual catch consists of no more than a few whales. Meat and fat are used as food for people, dogs and at the present time for arctic foxes, since there are arctic fox breeding-farms in Eskimo settlements.

The Siberian Tundra Nentsi, Forest Nentsi, Selkups, and Siberian Komi occupy the northern portion of western Siberia between the Ural Mountains and the Yenisey River. South of this region, the Altais live in the area designated as the Altai Republic. The territory of the Kets lies on the banks of the tributaries of the Yenisey River. The Yakuts mostly live in the basins of the Lena, Aldan, and Vilyuy Rivers. The Buryats have settled the region to the east and west of Lake Baikal. The Evenks and Evens are distributed over a broad geographic expanse from the Yenisey River to the Okhotsk Sea north of Lake Baikal. The Yukagirs, once spread over a large part of northeastern Siberia, are now restricted to the Basin of the Kolima River. They have been gradually and almost totally assimilated by expanding Even, Yakut, and Chukchi populations. The Chukchi are concentrated in the Chukchi Autonomous District of Magadan Province. The Asiatic Eskimos, the easternmost Siberian population, occupy the Arctic coast on the Chukotka Peninsula. Several of these aboriginal Siberian groups have very small population sizes and are expected to go extinct in the near future because of high mortality and assimilation.

Genetic Studies

Genetic approaches have been used to help decipher the origins of human populations and the history of their movements across the world. In the 1960's, genetic studies focused on differences in proteins and blood groups to reconstruct relationships among human populations. With the advent of new genetic technology (recombinant DNA) in the 1970's and 1980's, the focus shifted to the abundant variation found in the hereditary material, DNA.

CALUMET - January, 1999

The small, circular DNA found in the mitochondria (mtDNA) of the cytoplasm of our cells has been particularly useful for tracing maternal lineages of contemporary populations to their ancestral roots. These kinds of studies have begun to produce a preliminary picture of how contemporary Siberian populations are related to each other and to other Asian groups. For example, a pattern has emerged indicating a considerable degree of genetic differentiation among Siberian populations, especially among those populations living in the extreme North. These differences may be due in part to random fluctuations (genetic drift) caused by low population densities and small tribal numbers in this region. On the other hand, genetic data have demonstrated a close resemblance between the aboriginal Siberian tribes living east of the Yenisey River and northern Mongoloid populations, and similarities among populations dwelling to the west of the Yenisey River and European populations.

Our goal is to use genetic data from the paternally-inherited portion of the Y chromosome to test some of these hypotheses. The Y chromosome is the male counterpart to mtDNA in that it is inherited from father to son without recombination with the X chromosome. In other words, the male-specific part of the Y chromosome contains a record of the mutational events that occurred on all previous ancestral Y chromosomes and tracks a single lineage consisting of the father, the paternal grandfather, one paternal great-grandfather, etc. We have begun to study differences on the Y chromosomes present in Siberian population samples collected by scientists at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk. Analyses of these data should lead to better estimates of the evolutionary relationships among Siberian ethnic groups, more accurate dating of important ethnogenetic events in Asia, and more detailed evidence for historical migrations within Asia, and from the Asian to the American continents.

A marker is a mutation (or a change/difference) in the DNA at a specific position on the Y chromosome; in this case the mutation is a change from one base to another (specifically a "C" changed to a "T"), the "C" is present on some Y chromosomes and the "T" is present on other Y chromosomes, the frequencies of C's and T's vary in different populations.

>From Siberia to the Americas

Although there is general agreement among scholars that the first human inhabitants of the Americas came from Asia, the exact geographic source, number of migrations, and timing of these population movements remain controversial. The evidence in support of an Asian origin of New World populations is based on anatomical resemblance in contemporary populations, craniometric affinities, cultural similarities, and genetic similarities. In 1986 an apparent multidisciplinary consensus was reached on the chronology and the number of Siberian migrations entering the New World. In an article by Joseph Greenberg, Christy Turner, and Stephen Zegura it appeared that the genetic, dental and linguistic evidence were reconciled in favor of three separate migrations and the initial Paleoindian occupation was posited to have occurred at least 12,000 years ago. Subsequent synthetic work relying on traditional genetic data have supported either the three-migration model or a four-migration pattern. In contrast, studies of maternally-inherited mtDNA have presented a variety of competing scenarios ranging from one to six separate waves of Asian migrants starting as long ago as 30,000 BP. Furthermore, there are different proposals for which "source" populations in Asia gave rise to New World populations: Viral distribution data implicate Mongolia/Manchuria and/or extreme southeastern Siberia as the ancestral homeland of the Amerinds; whereas, mtDNA data point to Mongolia, North China, Tibet, and/or Korea as the candidate source regions in Asia. One of our research goals is to compare Y chromosome data from New World populations with those from Siberian and Asian populations to test these varied hypotheses.

We have been studying the geographic distribution of a Y chromosome marker that has turned out to be particularly interesting for questions about the peopling of the Americas. This marker was initally found to occur in Native American populations from North, Central and South America. We have recently extended the geographic search for this marker to include the major candidate source regions in Asia for the early peopling of the Americas. Initially, we proposed that the discovery of this marker West of the Bering Strait would implicate such a population(s) as possible paternal sources of the Native American gene pool. Although this marker was absent in nearly 1000 Asians from 17 populations, we found it in three Native Siberian populations: Eskimos, Chukchi, and Evens. However, the combination of the genetic evidence with ethnohistorical data on these populations led us to a different conclusion. We suggested that the occurrence of this marker in Siberia is better explained by back-migration of males from North America to Siberia with subsequent gene flow in Asia. Future studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis and to help us better understand the relationships of Native American and Siberian populations (especially Eskimo populations living on both sides of the Bering Strait). Tundra Nentsi, reindeer-breeders pasture reindeer all year round in tundra above the Arctic Circle. They live in small camps herding the reindeer during long-distance seasonal migrations and most of them only go to a village several times a year to pick up supplies and visit their friends or relatives.

CALUMET - January, 1999

Conclusion

In sum, we believe that our Y chromosome research has significance for the following reasons. First, relative to the large area of the region they occupy, Native Siberian populations represent one of the least studied groups in the world. These populations may preserve evidence in their genomes of the history of population bifurcations, movements and mergers (i.e., the separation of the European and Asian gene pools and the formation of the Native American gene pool). Second, these paternally-derived data will complement the growing wealth of linguistic, anatomical, and archaeological data, as well as data derived from autosomal and mitochondrial DNA studies. The evolutionary relationships deduced from a comparative analysis of these systems will give a more complete view of the history of the peopling of Siberia. Finally, a factor of urgency surrounds such investigations because of the threat of lost ethnic identity due to migration and assimilation.

Native Siberian populations represent one of the least studied groups in the world. These populations may preserve evidence in their genomes of the history of population bifurcations, movements and mergers (i.e., the separation of the European and Asian gene pools and the formation of the Native American gene pool).

For more information please contact:

Michael Hammer, Ph.D., Laboratory of Molecular Systematics and Evolution, Dept. EEB, Biosciences West, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721

Monte Verde and the antiquity of humankind in the Americas

J.M. Adovasio & D.R. Pedler

The Smithsonian Institution Press (with a patience one no longer expects of a scholarly publisher) early this year issued the second volume of Tom Dillehay's monograph on Monte Verde, in far southern Chile 8 years after the first volume (Dillehay 1989; 1997). What is the standing of the site? Is it the long-sought-after proof of a 'pre-Clovis' human presence in the Americas? And if it is, why is it by the southern tip of the Western Hemisphere, rather than close to its northern portal from Siberia?

Monte Verde and the peopling of the New World

The problem of the timing and mechanism(s) by which the New World was initially peopled has remained intractable despite at least 70 years of intensive archaeological research and several apparent resolutions of the problem in this century. Since the validation of the Folsom discovery in 1926­7, which conclusively demonstrated the coexistence of humans and late Pleistocene megafauna, and the subsequent extension of the baseline to Clovis, the preponderant view has held that no unequivocal evidence for the peopling of the New World exists before the Clovis horizon, most recently described by Taylor et al. (1996: 517) as ranging between 11,200 b.p. and 10,900 b.p. Given this seemingly late date for the arrival of the so-called 'First Americans', conventional wisdom has also maintained that the initial migration through Beringia to the Americas could not possibly have occurred before c. 12,000 b.p. (e.g. Haynes 1966; Martin 1973; Willey 1966). The open site of Monte Verde in south-central Chile (Figure 1), on the basis of its exceptionally well preserved organic materials and artefacts from an occupation with 14C determinations averaging 12,500­13,000 b.p. (Dillehay 1989; 1997), may prove to be the seminal archaeological site that will finally prevail over the Clovis-first model. It has yet to be seen, however, whether the findings from Monte Verde will achieve a broad consensus and, ultimately, transform the New World archaeological community's collective conception of pre-Clovis and Clovis.

Until relatively recent times, the Clovis phenomenon has been seen as a continent-wide, west-to-east-moving colonizing wave of highly mobile, specialized big-game hunters (e.g. Haynes 1966; Martin 1973; Mason 1962; West 1983). This perspective owes much to Haynes' (1964; 1966; 1967; 1982; 1987) characterization of Clovis and to Martin's (1973) 'overkill' or 'Blitzkrieg' model, which times the arrival of human populations at 11,500 b.p. and their spread throughout the entire hemisphere within an exiguous 1000 years. Within the perspective of this model, the verification of putative pre-Clovis localities has involved satisfying not only the archaeological principles of context, stratigraphy and 14C consistency (see below), but also the somewhat more slippery criteria of high visibility and replicability. Accordingly, as pre-Clovis peoples failed to leave a highly visible trail of evidence (e.g. 'standardized' and hence readily recognizable lithic artifacts) with extensive regional or continental analogue, they were deemed not to exist until further notice.

CALUMET - January, 1999

That view of Clovis has been challenged by recent research concerning Palaeoindian migration and colonization processes, a refined understanding of late Pleistocene environments and the fresh questioning of human adaptation in light of this revised palaeoenvironmental picture, among myriad other approaches. Revising considerably the understanding of the environment through which Palaeoindian populations travelled, for example, Meltzer (1988: 1, 7­8; 1993: 301­2) and Custer (1996: 97­100) have noted that the late Pleistocene of eastern North America was characterized by successions of both periglacial tundra or open spruce parkland and extensive, complex boreal deciduous forest, with this mosaic of environmental conditions playing a role in far more diverse Palaeoindian adaptations than had been previously thought. Meltzer (1993: 303), in fact, considers

"it is most unlikely that [eastern North American] Clovis groups were all specialized big game hunters or even that all Clovis groups utilized the same adaptive strategy"

and instead suspects that these groups were probably generalized foragers. The primacy of Clovis as the earliest human manifestation in the New World has also been convincingly challenged by the Goshen cultural complex, first recognized stratigraphically below the Folsom horizon at the Hell Gap site in southeastern Wyoming (Irwin-Williams et al. 1973) and currently thought to have been present as early as 11,400 years ago (Donohue 1996; Frison 1996).

That the Clovis versus pre-Clovis debate has occasionally strayed from a dispassionate rendering of the facts to outright acrimony comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with the literature on the subject. To cite one example close to the authors, the antiquity of the pre-12,000 b.p. component at Meadowcroft Rockshelter recognized as the leading pre-Clovis candidate in North America by several authorities (e.g. Custer 1996; Fagan 1987; 1990; 1995; Frison & Walker 1990) has been consistently and vehemently denied by others (e.g. Dincauze 1981; Haynes 1977; 1980; 1991; Tankersley & Munson 1992; West 1991). The debate over the oldest (i.e. pre-12,000 b.p.) dates at Meadowcroft has become so acrimonious and technically arcane (cf. Adovasio et al. 1990; 1992; in press; Haynes 1980; Tankersley & Munson 1992) that, as Meltzer (1993) recently observed, the issue may never be resolved. Given this and the fact that Monte Verde has also been vigorously (and sometimes virulently) questioned in terms of the reliability of its dates as well as the anthropogenic 'reality' of its artefacts and cultural features (Dincauze 1991; Grayson 1988; Haynes 1992; Lynch 1990; 1991; Meltzer 1991; 1993; Morlan 1988; West 1993; 1996), it was proposed that a group of professional archaeologists should visit the site to establish beyond reasonable doubt whether a pre-Clovis presence exists at this remote South American locality.

The Americas After Monte Verde

Don Alan Hall

Mammoth Trumpet Vol. 13, No. 3 (1998)

SEATTLE--"Paleo" held center-stage for much of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology here in late March. At this first "post-Monte Verde" meeting, hundreds of archaeologists attended each of the half-day sessions devoted to studies relating to the Americas of the late Pleistocene. Most of these sessions were in the largest ballroom in the downtown Washington State Convention and Trade Center--testimony to professional interest in the myriad academic problems associated with research on ancient human presence in the Americas. Paleo-American sessions convened in more modestly sized meeting rooms often were crowded to capacity.

Many archaeologists whose work has been featured on these pages participated in four days of sessions. In all, almost one hundred presentations were made on the era frequently reported on in the Mammoth Trumpet, and though we can't begin to report on the details or scope of all of these in this issue, we hope to characterize the direction of Paleo-American archaeology at the beginning of what many at Seattle were calling the post-Monte Verde era. We are reporting on some of the subjects, themes, ideas and academic arguments in this issue, and hope we can cover others later.

Although Monte Verde itself, the celebrated Chilean site dating back at least 12,500 radiocarbon years, ("Life in Ice Age Chile," Mammoth Trumpet 1:1, "Pre-Clovis Evidence Accepted," MT 12:2) was not subject of a formal presentation, it was on the minds of many participants. Most voiced acceptance, or at least recognition, of its pre-Clovis timing. However, the controversy over pre-Clovis Americans, and the Monte Verde site in particular, obviously has not ended.

Arguments Aren't Over

In their continuing analysis of the ages and origins of Clovis and other Paleo-era sites in the Americas, Anna C. Roosevelt and colleagues ("Clovis Clarification: A Follow-up," Mammoth Trumpet 13:1) rejected the Clovis-first hypothesis in favor of initial entry by a coastal-wetland culture that made and used triangular, stemmed points. They base their argument on analyses of lithic assemblages in Asia and the Americas, and they suggest entry of the Americas occurred only 12,000 radiocarbon years ago. Thus their paper--by Roosevelt of the Field Museum, John Douglas and Linda Brown of the

CALUMET - January, 1999

University of Montana, Ellen Quinn and Judy Kemp of the University of Illinois, and Susan Weld of Harvard--challenges the antiquity of the Monte Verde site. "The most parsimonious interpretation," said Brown, who presented their paper at a symposium on pre-Clovis occupation, "is that the Monte Verde samples are contaminated by old carbon sources."

Symposium discussant E. James Dixon of the Denver Museum of Natural History agreed that Monte Verde "throws a ringer" in interpretive models, but he took issue with the dismissal of Monte Verde dates. "I personally believe the work there was done very well and the dating is probably correct, but additional dating wouldn't hurt."

Dillehay Cautions Critics

Monte Verde's principal investigator, Tom Dillehay, who first surveyed the site in 1976, was a discussant in a later symposium on the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in North America. Referring to the criticism, the University of Kentucky archaeologist said that his critics had "never been to the site, never read the book, and never seen the artifacts." He expressed his wish that colleagues would be more cautious in the way they treat archaeological evidence.

Jonathan C. Driver of Simon Fraser University, a discussant in still another SAA session, criticized the way in which the Monte Verde site finally gained acceptance of the archaeological community. "I think that any discipline that relies upon the opinions of six people as a panel of blue-ribbon experts has got some serious methodological problems, if that's the basis for decision-making about when humans entered the New World," he said. Driver cited the extreme example of leading scientists accepting the authenticity of Piltdown man, a hoax perpetrated early this century when a human skull was combined with an ape's mandible. "That's casting absolutely no aspersions on Monte Verde," he assured the assembled archaeologists, "I just wanted to use it as an example." He said he had not yet been able to read Dillehay's much-heralded book on Monte Verde because his library did not yet have it.

Though presentations in Seattle offered diverging views on timing of the earliest entry to the Americas, a consensus for conservatism was evident. Theories that were offered tended to focus on the quickest-possible way for people to get to Chile 12,500 years ago. Few, if any, archaeologists were advocating the much earlier dates--perhaps 20,000 to 40,000 years ago--that have been proposed by some genetic and linguistic research.

Late Entry Remains Popular

"I've noticed that just about everybody at this symposium assumes a post-15,000 B.P. entry," said Driver in his summation of a session on early population movements in the Americas. The same could be said about the other Paleo-American sessions. "It seems that some people got into America several centuries before Clovis," said Stuart J. Fiedel, "perhaps at the beginning of the Bolling warming period around 14,700 calendar [12,600 radiocarbon] years ago." Paleoecologist Carole Mandryk put the most likely time between 14,000 and 12,000 radiocarbon years ago. Others, including archaeologists who have come to accept the coastal-entry route, are being even more conservative, rejecting Monte Verde dates and sticking with dates similar to those long accepted for Clovis.

There were exceptions. In a poster session on North American Prehistory, Richard MacNeish, Donald Chrisman, and Geoffrey Cunnar reported dates that included 19,000, 32,000, 36,000 and 51,000 years ago in their analyses of human modification of animal bones in the pre-Clovis layers of Pendejo Cave, New Mexico. Their poster depicted some of Pendejo's bone tools and evidence of marrow recovery from animal bones.

The "radiocarbon-years" scale remains archaeologists' preferred method to express ages of early sites and possible dates for human arrival in the Americas. At last year's SAA meeting, Fiedel urged colleagues to use recalibrations of radiocarbon chronologies when considering late Pleistocene and early Holocene peoples because the corrected (or calendar) dating actually lengthens the critical Pleistocene-Holocene boundary period because of plateaus and reversals in the radiocarbon dates during Clovis and Folsom times ("Corrected Radiocarbon Calendar Can Clarify Peopling of the Americas," MT 12:4). Time references at SAA for settlement of the Americas, however, were almost universally uncalibrated dates.

Comparisons Difficult

Calibrated dates potentially could illuminate theoretical interpretations of the routes people used to get from Beringia to the earliest-known sites across the Americas, but the difficulties in comparing and interpreting calibrated and non- calibrated dates thus far seems to have persuaded scholars to stick with conventional radiocarbon years. South American specialist Thomas F. Lynch noted that only radiocarbon years appear in the archaeological literature.

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Although he expressed support of some form of coastal entry, Lynch, a vocal critic of Monte Verde dates, told a symposium on Pacific maritime adaptations that Monte Verde's bola stones look Archaic, not Paleoindian. Lynch said he supports Clovis dates no older than 11,100 to 9,800 years B.P.

While many presentations expressed preference for the coastal-route theory, the ice-free corridor theory is far from dead, and is favored by some as a route for Clovis-culture people. Like uncalibrated radiocarbon years, the ice-free corridor remains much a part of the archaeological theories of early Americans. Even some presentations expressing a preference for coastal entry included the obligatory slide of a map of North America with arrows indicating the theoretical migration route from Beringia southeastward along the eastern side of the Mackenzie and Rocky mountains. Other presentations at SAA's American prehistory sessions presented the ice-free corridor more or less as a straw man to vanquish in favor of what they consider a more realistic theory.

Scenarios Focus on Migration

Arguments at SAA about Paleo-American movements tended to involve the actual migration of populations and not simply the spread of technology through existing populations. In that sense, spread of archaeological evidence was viewed more as people on the move, perhaps in some cases as suggested by the Mammoth Trumpet masthead. Presentations tended to avoid more complex interpretations that tend to be offered by geneticists and linguists.

There was considerable focus, including a half-day symposium, on the causes and impacts of late-Pleistocene extinctions. This subject that we shall have to save for a later issue. Studies and models indicate great environmental change, but the appearance of humans, whether as hunters or scavengers, remains an issue to be considered and debated. Scientists voiced little support for the theory that hunters were primarily to blame for the disappearance of Pleistocene megafauna. Perhaps the biggest source of agreement at SAA was that this is a fascinating time to be involved with research on the peopling of the Americas.

Bids to Save Stone Circle Underway

Martin Merzer

Miami Herald Senior Writer

Local students, teachers and parents are spontaneously launching grassroots campaigns to preserve The Miami Circle -- the ancient stone formation discovered by archaeologists in downtown Miami. Hundreds or thousands of years old, the mysterious 38-foot-diameter carving sits on the site of a $100 million commercial development soon to be built just east of the Brickell Avenue bridge.

``It's in danger,'' said Julie Brady, a kindergarten teacher at Miami Shores Elementary. ``This is part of our past that could be wiped out. If it's gone, it will be lost forever.'' Brady's students and many others at the school heard a presentation Tuesday by B.J. Smith, a mother of three who is leading one letter-writing campaign. She wants to persuade city officials and the developer to reach an accommodation that will preserve the site.

Most experts believe the formation was carved into the bedrock, for unknown reasons, by Tequesta Indians, a group that disappeared hundreds of years ago. Some believe it could be the work of Central America's Maya civilization, though evidence of that is slim. "It has a phenomenal educational value, not only for its archaeological aspects, but for its geological, mathematical, social and historical aspects'', Smith said. "These kids have a right to know as much as they can about the history of Florida''.

Miami-Dade County archaeologists are working quickly to examine the site and unearth other relics before the end of February, when developer Michael Baumann is expected to receive complete city approval for the twin towered residential and commercial project. They say Baumann has been cooperative thus far, but has no plans to preserve the formation when construction begins. Neither Baumann nor his attorney, Vicki Garcia-Toledo, returned numerous phone calls placed last week and Tuesday by The Herald.

Other groups also are working to spread news about the formation and its possible fate. Some plan to speak at future city commission meetings; others are organizing public interest campaigns. A delegation from Joella C. Good Elementary in Hialeah visited the site Monday and videotaped a discussion with John Ricisak, a county archaeologist and the site's field director. "It means a lot'', Ricisak said of the growing interest. "It's an indication of the power this thing has over the community. A lot of people are concerned about its future, if it has a future''.

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Membership Renewals

The following members have renewals due in February:

Tracey and Bruce Derheim, Carolyn C. Hansen, and Elaine Hill.

The following members have renewals due in March:

Jim Chase, Paula M. Edwards, Jeannie Hamilton, Frank Hauke, Kris Holien, Hal Ravesloot, Dock Teegarden

The Calumet - 15 Years Ago

The February, 1984 regular meeting featured Steve Cassells on the information in his book, "Early Man Settlements in Colorado". Club Member, Robin Farrington, did original illustrations for book. The PAAC course being offered was Colorado Archaeology. Mr. O. D. Hand was scheduled to present the course at Leni Clubb's log house near Niwot. The Denver Chapter had a field trip to Aztec Ruins, Chaco Canyon, the Zuni Reservation, and Crow Canyon - five Lyons Chapter members participated. The attendance at the January, 1984 regular meeting was 17 members and 8 visitors. The chapter financial balance was $187.75 with $40.00 still owed to the state organization.

The Calumet - 10 Years Ago

T-shirts, note cards, and lithograph prints designed or composed by chapter artists (Ann Hayes, Janet Lever, and Jean Kindig) were sold at regular meetings. Chapter member Larry Riggs was elected to be CAS Chairman for the Advisory Board. Leni Clubb wrote an article on the "Archaeological and Ethnological Evidence of the Atlatl". Dr. Payson Sheets was the speaker at the February, 1989 regular meeting, speaking on the topic, "Household Archaeology at the Ceren Site, El Salvador".

The Calumet - 5 Years Ago

The February, 1994 regular meeting featured Michael Burney, who provided an update about consultations with Native American groups involved in the permit process for Dowe Flats. The chapter began the preparation process for hosting the 1994 CAS Annual Meeting in Boulder. Anne Mutaw volunteered to chair the committee, which will host the meeting in October, 1994. Past President Bill Maxson and his wife Mary Lou left Boulder and moved to Montana. The Calumet Editor stated, "Bill exerted considerable energy and expertise in recording the unique and quickly fading graffiti rock art panels at White Rocks. Mary Lou was truly a good will ambassador for the chapter as she welcomed new members and made certain that they had a copy of the latest newsletter".

January Board of Directors' Meeting

Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM at the Boulder Police Department. Present: Cree, Damon, Holien, Miller, Morrell, Owens, Prillaman, Shay, Smith, Stinson.

Secretary's report: (Damon) none - December meeting, Christmas Party at Janet and Morey Stinson's house. Lots of fun!

Treasurer's report: (Owens) Ending Balance for 1998: $1428.55 . Dick also presented a history of income and expenses from 1992 through 1998 and expressed increased concern that outflow of cash again exceeded income for 1998. Board agreed to discuss issues during time slot for new business.

Vice President's report: (Morrell) Lecture schedule is in place through May and is soliciting ideas for remainder of year. There is an opportunity to include information about IPCAS activities in fliers advertising the CU Museum. Reviewed current officer and board membership.

President's report: (Morrell - acting President) None available

Unfinished Business: Office of President and two positions on the board are still open. Board agreed that Jim Morrell, as VP, will continue to fulfill duties of the President for balance of 1999 (THANK YOU, JIM!) but we need to focus on filling the board positions from the general membership and to increase overall membership in the chapter. Cindy Miller will assume leadership in organizing activities for the CAS quarterly meeting which our chapter will host in July.

New Business: Tom Cree will provide a preview list of field opportunities for 1999 in the March Calumet. Need to find a new location for Board meetings: February is the last month that the Police Department will be available for us. Discussion of negative cash flow generated much discussion: will focus March Board meeting on resolution. Will provide nametags at future monthly meetings as well as convenient location for paying annual dues. Cost of future PAAC classes will be $20, with $8 of this remaining with the chapter to cover expenses. Morey Stinson will prepare a flier regarding the next PAAC class (Lithics) for the January general meeting.

1999 Officers and Board Members

President Unfilled

Vice-President Jim Morrell (303) 652-2874 jmorrell@gateway.net

Treasurer Dick Owens (303) 650-4784 yankee_clipper@email.msn.com

Secretary Cheryl Damon (303) 678-8076 cherdam@compuserve.com

CAS Representative Cindy Miller (303) 415-9564 cindy@sni.net

Professional Advisor Dr. Robert Brunswig (970) 351-2138 rhbruns@bentley.univnorthco.edu

Project Information Piper Prillaman (303) 988-0814 dyggum@aol.com

PAAC Coordinator Morey/Janet Stinson (303) 530-7727 mstinson@cris.com

Internet Manager Doak Heyser (303) 678-5728 doak@indra.com

Calumet Editor Tom Cree (303) 776-7004 tlc@lanminds.net

Membership Director Mac Avery (303) 499-3455 averycompany@sprintmail.com

Board Member Michael Braitberg (303) 443-7190 mbrait@ix.netcom.com

Board Member Leni Clubb (760) 358-7835 leniwaa@inreach.com

Board Member Kristine Holien (970) 586-8982 kris_holien@nps.gov

Board Member Ken Larson (303) 469-2228 kglarson@ix.netcom.com

Board Member Hilary Reynolds-Burton (303) 530-1229 hilary@landbridge.com

Board Member Donna Shay (303) 443-3273

Board Member Russell Smith (303) 776-5503 rdsmith@lanminds.net

Please check the club web-site at: http//www.coloradoarchaeology.org

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION - INDIAN PEAKS CHAPTER

____ Individual $25 / Year ____ New __________ Date

____ Family $28 / Year ____ Renewal

NAME ___________________________ TELEPHONE (____)__________

ADDRESS ________________________ E-MAIL ____________________

CITY _____________________________ STATE ______ ZIP___________

Please make check payable to: Indian Peaks Chapter, CAS

Mail to: PO Box 18301

Boulder, CO 80308-1301

When you join or renew you will receive the Calumet, our monthly newsletter, and

Southwestern Lore, the quarterly publication of the Colorado Archaeological Society.

And you will have opened the door to Colorado Archaeology.

CALUMET

Newsletter of the Indian Peaks Chapter

of the Colorado Archaeological Society

P.O. Box 18301

Boulder, CO 80308-1301