Clovis Hunters and Other Ancient Sites c. 10,000–8,000 years ago

Until recently the Clovis hunters, named for the distinctive fluted flint arrowhead they habitually employed (first discovered in Clovis, New Mexico), were believed to be the first human colonists of the Americas, arriving via the Beringian land bridge c. 15,000 years ago. New findings, apparently anachronous, call this hypothesis into question. Most dramatically, remains discovered in southern Chile and Taima Taima in Venezuela seem to date to around the purported Clovis arrival time. Furthermore, the discovery of more Clovis sites seems to indicate their technology diffused northwards, again undermining the first migrant theory. Whether they were the first or not, the Clovis hunters appear to have been effective, leaving their distinctive traces as far afield as Nova Scotia and the Dutchess Quarry Cave in New York. The Folsom projectile point evolved post-Clovis and was one of the most common finds, unearthed at several sites in the northern great plains.