 Map of Folsom tradition (modern shoreline shown) | |
| Geographical range | Great Plains |
|---|---|
| Period | Lithic or Paleo-Indian stage |
| Dates | c. 10800 – 10200 BCE[1] |
| Type site | Folsom site |
| Preceded by | Clovis culture |
The Folsom tradition is a Paleo-Indian archaeological culture that occupied much of central North America from c. 10800 BCE to c. 10200 BCE. The term was first used in 1927 by Jesse Dade Figgins, director of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.[2] The discovery by archaeologists of projectile points in association with the bones of extinct Bison antiquus, especially at the Folsom site near Folsom, New Mexico, established much greater antiquity for human residence in the Americas than the previous scholarly opinion that humans in the Americas dated back only 3,000 years. The findings at the Folsom site have been called the "discovery that changed American archaeology."[3]
- ^ Surovell, Todd; Hodgins, Gregory; Boyd, Joshua; Haynes, C. Vance Jr. (April 2016). "On the Dating of the Folsom Complex and its Correlation with the Younger Dryas, the End of Clovis, and Megafaunal Extinction". PaleoAmerica. 2 (2): 7. doi:10.1080/20555563.2016.1174559. S2CID 45884830. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ Hillerman, Anthony G. (1973). "The Hunt for the Lost American". The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other Indian Country Affairs. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-0306-4. republished in The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other Indian Country Affairs. New York: Harper Paperbacks. May 1997. ISBN 0-06-101173-8.
- ^ Peeples, Matt. "George McJunkin and the Discovery that Changed American Archaeology". Archaeology Southwest. Retrieved 28 March 2023.