SUAIMARY AND DISCUSSION

The

₁₉₃₅ investigations at the Lindenmeier site consisted of the digging of

two

largetrenchesthroughthearea

where

objectsattribu- table to

Folsom man

arefound, of further excavationsinthedeeppit in theravinebank

where

mostof the specimens obtained duringthe preliminary investigations were dug,

and

of uncovering the remains of agroupof bisonat the location

where

Judge C. C. Cofifin, A. L.

Coffin,and Maj.

Roy

G. Coffin

made

^{theiroriginal} discoveries.

The

collectionobtained

from

the

work

contains

some

₇₅₀specimens, large quantities of chipper's debris,

and numerous

bones

from

animals killedbythe former occupants ofthe region.

The

artifacts comprise a series of tools and implements of which 11.3 percent are points, 32.8 scrapers,5.6gravers, i.ochisel-gravers,0.5choppers, 3.0 knives, 6.3 large blades, 0.8 hammerstones, 1.6 pieces of hematite which have been rubbedorshaped, 13.6channelflakes

from

the longitudinal groovesinthe facesof thetypically fluted points,4.0 sandstonerub- bers, 0.5 pieces of bone showing evidences of workmanship, and 19 percentflakesshowingsignsof

work

but too nondescriptincharacter to permit classification as types of implements.

The

artifacts as a group

show

thatthe^lithic

component

inthelocal cultural pattern

was

primarily aflake industry, slightly lessthan _1.5 percent of the imple- mentsbeing of the coretype.

The

sizerangeinthe pointsinthecollection raisesa pertinent ques- tion, namely.

On what

type of

weapon

weretheyused?

The

general conception, based onknowledge of the Southwest

and

the

Mexican

area,hasbeen thatthe

bow

and

arrow was

a late developmentinthe

New World and

that older cultures employed a spear and spear thrower. Archeologists occupied with the

Folsom

problem have as-

sumed

thattheflutedpoints,becauseoftheirsize,were usedin a shaft hurled

from

a spear thrower.

Many

of the smaller examples in the present groupcould easily have functioned as arrowheads and sug- gest thatthe earlybisonhunters

may

on occasion have usedthebow.

Definite conclusions should not be attempted solely on the evidence of stone points, but attention shouldbe called tothe fact that all of

them

arenot necessarily of asizerequiring a spearshaft.

Interestingevidenceon one of the^"burningissues " inthearche- ology of the western plains area, the

Folsom-Yuma

problem,

was

obtained

from

theinvestigations. Stratigraphicmaterialdemonstrated that as far astheLindenmeiersite isconcernedthere

was

only avery late contemporaneity between

Folsom

and

Yuma

points, the

Yuma

appearing toward the end of the

Folsom

occupation

and

surviving

NO. lO

SECOND

REPORT

OX FOLSOM COMPLEX

ROBERTS ₃₅ longer. Furthermore,

Yuma

points constitute so small a factor thatit isquestionablewhetherthey should be consideredasbelonging to the complex.

Fivespecies ofanimals are representedinthebones

from

the site.

Only

one, the bison, is an extinct form.

Nine

species of

moUusks

were foundand whilenone of these is extinct,

two

are considerably north oftheirpresent range. Theirpresenceatthe Lindenmeiersite is considered an indication that the climate

was somewhat warmer

andmoister

when Folsom man was

therethanitisnow.

The

large trenches revealed in cross-section the deposits overlying the oldlevelof occupationand demonstratedthatwhat

now

constitutes a terrace

was

at onetime an old valley bottom.

The

ridge that bor- dered its southern side has been eroded

away

since the area

was

abandoned by its aboriginaloccupants.

The

nature of the valley fill, as exposed in the trench^walls, suggests that the changes whichcul- minatedinthe presentstateof the sitecould nothave been extremely rapid ones. Considerable time

must

haveelapsed sincethe layer con- tainingthe

man-made

objects

was

laiddown. Evidenceinthe trenches also indicated that the

makers

of the tools and the

Folsom

points stopped for atime along the slope above the old valley bottom. If the trenches did not cross a portion of therealcampsite,theyat least bordered on it. This

was shown

by the finding of cut and burned bones,charcoal and

wood

^ashes, hammerstones

and

chipper'sdebris, and implements brokeninthemaking. Allwereso situated thattheir locations could not be attributedto drift or tothe washing

down

of material

from

higherlevels.

The

broken implements,

when

the frag- mentsarefittedtogether andthe originalflakeisrestored, givegood evidence of the techniqueusedinthe manufactureoftools.

The

trenches didnotproducedata that are of aidindeterminingthe age of thesite. Despitetheirestablishingthe factthat thesoil layer inwhichthe objects arefound

was

produced bythe naturaldecay and break-up of the top of the Oligocene bed underlyingthe area, they gavenoclue either totheagencythatoriginallyeroded

away

the over- burden, thus laying bare the Tertiary stratum and forming the old valley,or to the time

when

the actiontook place. Conditions atthe Clovis lakebeds are

somewhat

better

from

the standpoint of dating, and Dr. Ernst Antevs has reached the conclusion,

from

extensive studiesof the area,that the

Folsom

artifacts found there represent anantiquityof

from

12,000to 13,000years."" Since the Clovis mate-

rial indicates that it comprises the relics of a people

whose

material Antevs, 1935,p.311.

36 SMITHSONIA^-

MISCELLANEOUS

COLLECTIONS VOL. 95 culture

was

similar to that of the group occupyingthe Lindenmeier

site, it

may

be suggested that the latter

was

approximately the

same

age. This shouldnot be regarded asanestablished fact; it is merely a postulationbasedonanalogy. Subsequent

work may show

the

two

sites to have been as widely separated in time as they arein space.

There

isstill anopportunitytoobtaina geologic date for the Linden- meiersite througha study of the terrace systemof the South Platte River and therelation of its terracestothe glaciation inthe

Rocky

]\Iountains to the west.

The

Lindenmeier terracecan be correlated withthose of theSouthPlatte,but as yet there hasbeenno determina- tion of the ages of the ^latter.

An

attempt to solve this particular problemwillconstitutea part of the

program

for future

work

inthe region.

No human

remains have been found, and so far as his physical characteristicsareconcerned,

Folsom man

isstillapersonaincognita.

There

is no evidence as to

what

type of shelter he

may

have used.

On

the other

hand

it seems obviousthathe

was

a typicalhunter de- pendingentirely

upon

the bison for hismaintenance andsustenance.

He no

doubt supplementedhispreponderantmeatdietwithwild seeds

and

^"greens^" but did notcultivate his

own

vegetal food.

He

prob- ably didnotsettlelong inone placebut traveled whereverthe bison moved,in ordertosupport himself.

For

thatreason itisnot likely that his dwelling consisted of anything

more

substantialthan a tent

made from

the skinsof that animal. Traces of the places

where

he pitched his shelter will be extremely hard to find at this late date.

A

hardpackedfloor andhearth,perhaps

some

post molds,isthemost that canbe expected.

He

probablytarriedas longattheLindenmeier

camp

ashedidatanyofhissettlements, possibly longerthanatmost of

them when

itsadvantagesarerecalled.

Hence

thechancesoflocat- ing a lodge siteor even of uncovering his

own

remains are notal- together

beyond

thebounds oflikelihood.

The

old valley bottom with its

numerous meadows,

marshes, and bogs undoubtedly attracted bison because of the reeds and sedge grasses forfeed

and

themireinwhichtowallow. Itisnotlikelythat largeherds frequentedthe district

—

rather that small groups drifted in

from

the plains to the east.

The

presence of the animals

would

draw Folsom man

intothe area,butinaddition therewerethe assets of

raw

material for usein

making

implements,a

good

supply of water, firewood,anda pleasant

camping

spot.

Here

hecouldstalkhisgame, cut

and

drythemeatnot

wanted

forimmediate consumption,tan the skins,

make

his tentsand suchclothing ashisneeds required,fashion

XO. lO

SECOND

REPORT

ON FOLSOM COMPLEX

ROBERTS 37 histools

from

theavailable stone,andpreparehisequipment for the inevitabletrek

when

the bison shiftedto other pastures.

Presentindicationsare that the Lindenmeiersite

was

notoccupied continuously bya largegroup of people. Itprobably

was

an annual

summer

and fall camping grounds visitedregularly over a period of yearsbysmallerparties.

That

theintervalsbetweenoccupationswere not protracted is

shown

bythe

homogeneous

nature of the layer in whichtheartifactsarefound.