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CLOVIS COMET Maps of the Ocean Floor Show Geologist Scott Harris Landforms­ That Likely House Pre-Clovis and the Cratering Evidence Clovis Sites

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CLOVIS COMET Maps of the Ocean Floor Show Geologist Scott Harris Landforms­ That Likely House Pre-Clovis and the Cratering Evidence Clovis Sites Volume 29, Number 3 Center for the Study of the First Americans Department of Anthropology July, 2014 Texas A&M University, 4352 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4352 ISSN 8755-6898 World Wide Web site http://centerfirstamericans.org and http://anthropology.tamu.edu THE 6 Probing the South Atlantic Bight for undersea sites CLOVIS COMET Maps of the ocean floor show geologist Scott Harris land forms that likely house pre-Clovis and The Cratering Evidence Clovis sites. 10 Hogeye, a Clovis cache worth its weight in gold UST AS THE WORLD was finally warm­ valid, since we haven’t yet been able to Rescued from a sand pit in Texas, ing up at the end of the last Ice Age, establish a solid consensus on it in the First 52 bifaces reveal techniques Jsomething sent most of the Northern Americans archaeology community— toolmakers used in early stages of Hemisphere back to the deep freeze for despite almost seven years of vigorous reduction that aren’t apparent in another thousand years. We still don’t debate, experimentation, challenge, and the final tool or point. know what triggered the Younger Dryas counter­challenge. 14 The Clovis spear point downed (YD) interval 12,900 years ago, but one mammoths—and chopped intriguing idea is that a comet exploded Where’s the smoking gun? greens for a side dish in the upper atmosphere, causing climatic Most of the original evidence for the YDIH Polish on fluted points from the changes that not only devastated some hinges on micro proxies, microscopic clues Paleo Crossing site in Ohio tells human populations—including the that suggest but can’t prove an impact. A microwear analyst Logan Miller Clovis culture—but also killed off most number of follow­up efforts have either they were handy tools used of the surviving megamammals. This has failed to reproduce micro proxy evidence to prepare a generalist’s meal. become known as the Younger Dryas presented by the YDIH camp, or have 18 Reputedly none-too-bright Cody Impact Hypothesis (YDIH), or more pop­ suggested it’s the result of misinterpreted bison hunters had more moxie ularly the “Clovis Comet” theory. data or experimental error. In the near­ than we give them credit for Some scientists have taken enthusiastic decade since the debut of the YDIH, several Anthropologists Knell, Muñiz, positions for or against the YDIH, while categories of micro proxies have become and Hill argue that intelligent use others consider arguing the pros and less convincing, especially as new evidence of the land in all seasons made cons a waste of valuable research time. and theories about their formation have hunters of the Cody Complex Many in the First Americans research come to light. ruthless experts at wholesale slaughter. Part 1 of 2. community remain on the sidelines, We’ll take a closer look at the micro­ interested but waiting for more data. To proxy evidence in the subsequent articles the undecided, the question of whether of this series. In this one, we’ll view the One argument against the YDIH is there really was a Clovis Comet remains evidence from a much larger perspective. that there’s no “smoking gun”—no 2 Volume 29 n Number 3 large impact crater to point to, like the in Santa Fe, New Mexico. However, consideration it deserves, starting with dinosaur killer at Chicxulub, Mexico. new calculations published in a recent the pros and cons of each candidate. But recently, some YDIH advocates have paper by physicist Mark Boslough of suggested three candidates: Corossol Sandia National Laboratories and other Corossol Crater in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Charity YDIH skeptics make this less likely (see Corossol was first identified beneath the Shoal in Lake Ontario, and the Bloody sidebar). waters of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in Creek Structure in Nova Scotia. One The cratering evidence is one aspect Canada in 2002. It was detailed in an strike against all three is that none of the Clovis Comet controversy we intriguing seafloor map produced in 2004, appears especially “fresh.” That may haven’t previously explored in the pages which caught the eye of geologist Michael seem a specious argument, given that of Mammoth Trumpet. Let’s give it the Higgins at the Université du Québec à the Younger Dryas began nearly 13,000 years ago, but consider: Barringer Crater, the famous 49,000­year­old crater in Arizona, still looks quite sharp­edged and recent . and that mile­wide, 570­ft­ deep crater was formed by an impactor with one-millionth the energy theorized for the YD impactor. Bloody Creek, Corossol, and Charity Shoal all seem to have been worn down by glacial advances and retreats; so if they don’t occupy areas The Mammoth Trumpet (ISSN 8755-6898) is published quarterly by the Center for the Study of the First Americans, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4352. Phone (979) 845-4046; fax (979) 845-4070; e-mail [email protected]. Periodical postage paid at College Station, TX 77843-4352 and at ad- ditional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Mammoth Trumpet Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University 4352 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-4352 Copyright © 2014 Center for the Study of the First Americans. Permission is hereby given to any non-profit or educational organization or institution toreproduce without cost any materials from the Mammoth Trumpet so long as they are then distributed at no more than actual cost. The Center further requests that notification of reproduction of materials under these conditions be sent to the Center. Address correspondence to the editor of Mammoth Trumpet, 2122 Scout Road, Lenoir, NC 28645. Michael R. Waters Director and General Editor e-mail: [email protected] CANADIAN HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICE HYDROGRAPHIC CANADIAN Ted Goebel Associate Director Bathymetric imagery of Corossol Crater in e-mail: [email protected] the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. James M. Chandler Editor, Mammoth Trumpet e-mail: [email protected] that were still glaciated by 12,900 BP, Christel Cooper Office Manager e-mail: [email protected] then they were almost certainly there C & C Wordsmiths Layout and Design well before the Last Glacial Maximum. AlphaGraphics Printing and mailing Each also seems too small for an Web site: www.alphagraphics.com impact that is claimed to have had World Wide Web site http://centerfirstamericans.com hemisphere­wide effects. Admittedly, The Center for the Study of the First Americans is a non-profit organization. Subscrip- the hot jet of gases and debris from the tion to the Mammoth Trumpet is by membership in the Center. airburst may have hit glacial ice that dissipated some of its force. The YDIH Mammoth Trumpet, Statement of Our Policy camp also claim that it’s possible the Many years may pass between the time an important discovery is made and the acceptance of research results by the scientific community. To facilitate communication among all parties interested in staying impactor broke into many smaller bodies abreast of breaking news in First Americans studies, the Mammoth Trumpet, a science news magazine, in the atmosphere, leaving a less­obvious provides a forum for reporting and discussing new and potentially controversial information important to impact footprint than expected. That’s understanding the peopling of the Americas. We encourage submission of articles to the Managing Editor the argument favored by geologist James and letters to the Editor. Views published in the Mammoth Trumpet are the views of contributors, and do not reflect the views of the editor orCenter personnel. Kennett, which he presented at the 2013 –Michael R. Waters, Director Paleoamerican Odyssey Conference July n 2014 3 Chicoutimi. Along with colleagues from Laval University (Quebec his Quebec City and Rimouski colleagues, was published in the City) and the Université du Québec à Rimouski, Dr. Higgins made journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science in December 2013. a 9­day investigative cruise in 2010 aboard the research vessel Coriolis II. Based on their preliminary results, the 4­km crater Charity Shoal seemed almost too good to be The Charity Shoal feature beneath Lake Ontario true. Not only was Corossol big, has also been cited as a possible Clovis Comet its infill sediments appeared to crater—but even at first glance, it’s a poor date to precisely the right time candidate. First, it’s just 1.6 km across. Second, it’s period. “Based on the available shallow. The rim lies just below the lake surface, at radiocarbon dates obtained on a minimum depth of 0.3 m, and appears to be have a sediment core sampled in the been repeatedly scoured by glacial ice. crater, and by extrapolating Closer examination reveals a total depth this age to the base of the (including an infill of pulverized rock) greater than sedimentary sequence at the 150 m. The crater extends into pre­Ordovician coring site, we estimated a bedrock and may date from the Ordovician Period minimum age of about 12,900 A (443–485 MYA). This bowl­shaped depression, BP—which coincides with the with a rim 5–10 m high and a low, tapering trough start of the Younger Dryas,” extending toward the southwest, resembles an notes Higgins. enormous letter Q. This may be an instance of the But 12,900 BP is only the “crag and tail” feature common in drumlin fields, minimum age for Corossol. which would suggest the crater has been glaciated Furthermore, the date was in the past. on marine shell, not the Troy Holcombe of Texas A&M University is the best organic material to go­to expert on Charity Shoal, having led teams WILLIAM T.
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