Monday, April 29, 2013

Clovis Culture at Gault Archaeological Site

Saturday we went on a field trip to the Gault Archaeological site which is located about 20 miles from here. The site has been known by archaeologists since 1929 and the more dedicated excavating began to take place around 1999.

Since that time well over a million artifacts have been found, most of which are of the Clovis (Paleo Indian) culture. The link takes you to their website with tons more information.

Gault Archaeological Site


One of the side notes that fascinated me on the field trip was to learn about a weapon system called the Atlatl and Dart, which is what the Paleo Indians used when hunting and not the spears so often depicted in the textbooks we read when growing up.

The link takes you to a page with a video that does an excellent job of describing how the weapon worked and what it looks like. There are even groups today that use the Atlatl for distance competitions.

Atlatl Video



2 comments:

  1. I hadn't heard of that other bat bridge. It's so sad that most people think bats are something to be hated and feared, but we need them. They are all part of the total picture.

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  2. The Blackwater Draw Museum, between Clovis and Portales, New Mexico, is a fascinating place to visit.

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