Folsom (prehistoric site)
Folsom is a prehistoric archaeological site located near Folsom, New Mexico, renowned for its significant contributions to our understanding of early human inhabitants in the Americas. The site gained prominence in 1926 when the discovery of a Folsom fluted point—attached to the remains of an extinct bison—validated the coexistence of Paleo-Indians with Ice Age fauna, marking a pivotal shift in American archaeology. The Folsom culture is characterized by its distinctive stone tools, known as Folsom points, which are smaller and feature a long flute along the sides, created through advanced flaking techniques.
Dating between 9000 and 7500 BCE, the Folsom people primarily relied on hunting bison, as evidenced by various kill sites, including notable excavations in Colorado, where large-scale hunts were documented. Despite the limited preservation of plant and animal remains, evidence suggests that their diet also included various other animal species, indicating a diverse subsistence strategy. As the larger Pleistocene animals became extinct, the Folsom Paleo-Indians adapted by shifting their hunting practices towards smaller animals and gathering plants, transitioning into what archaeologists refer to as the Archaic culture. This adaptive resilience reflects the dynamic interplay between early human communities and their environments in prehistoric North America.
Subject Terms
Folsom (prehistoric site)
Category: Archaeological site and prehistoric tradition
Date: 9000-7500 b.c.e.
Location: Folsom, New Mexico (site); North America (tradition)
Culture affected: Folsom
Folsom is the name of the prehistoric site near Folsom, New Mexico, where the antiquity of people in the Americas was finally accepted by the scientific community in 1926. Folsom also is the name of the Paleo-Indian tradition associated with the distinctive Folsom projectile point. The Folsom discovery marked a significant turning point or “paradigm shift” in American archaeology in 1926: The presence of the Folsom people in the Americas at the same time as Ice-Age or Pleistocene animals that are now extinct was accepted with the discovery of a Folsom “fluted” point embedded in the ribs of an extinct species of bison, Bison antiquus. The site’s investigators, Jess Figgins, director of the Colorado Museum of Natural History, and Harold Cook, a geologist, telegraphed leading scientists in North America asking them to view and validate the find in the ground, which effected immediate acceptance. Since 1926, the occurrence of Folsom fluted points across North and Middle America has been regarded as part of the Folsom Paleo-Indian tradition, dated between 9000 and 7500 b.c.e.
Folsom fluted points are distinctive stone tools manufactured by flaking two sides of a narrow blade struck from a stone tool, normally chert. The point has a channel or flute removed from each side at the base. In contrast to the earlier points from the Clovis culture, the Folsom points are smaller, but the flute extends virtually the entire length of the point.
The subsistence for Folsom Paleo-Indians was based on hunting the now extinct bison, as discovered at the Folsom site. Excavations at the Olsen-Chubbock site in Colorado by Joe Ben Wheat uncovered a kill site where about 157 bison had been stampeded into a dry gulley and trampled to death. Seventy-five percent of the animals were butchered, which Wheat estimates provided meat for a hundred people for one month. Other bison-kill sites are located at Lindenmeier, Colorado, excavated by Frank Roberts in the 1930’s; Casper, Wyoming, excavated by George Frison; and the Jones-Miller site in Colorado, excavated by Dennis Stanford.
Despite poor preservation of plant or animal remains from the times of the Paleo-Indian, remains at other sites indicate that the diet included other animals. At Debert, Nova Scotia, George MacDonald suggested reliance on caribou (Rangifer), which has been substantiated by caribou bones at other sites in northeastern North America, notably at the Udora site by Peter Storck and Arthur Spiess and at the Sandy Ridge site by Lawrence Jackson and Heather McKillop in Ontario, Canada, and at the Holcombe site in Michigan by Charles Cleland. As the large Pleistocene animals became extinct, the Folsom Paleo-Indians adapted their hunting strategies to small animals and began to gather plants during what archaeologists refer to as the Archaic culture in North America.