Points of Early Human Mobility: A Preliminary Synthesis of Paleo-Central American Sites

Summary

This poster addresses an understudied area relevant to the initial peopling of the Americas: what are the earliest indications of human activity in Mesoamerica (particular emphasis on Guatemala)? Its geographic location and its relatively narrow expanse make the southern half of Middle America the natural stage to funnel terrestrial and coastal/riverine routes of early human migrations. Despite this consideration, archaeological research targeting Paleoamerican horizons [pre-12,800 BP] in this area has only witnessed intermittent treatment, in part due to a rich tradition intensely focused in Maya archaeology, mainly in Guatemala and Belize. An intriguing aspect of the Paleo-Central American legacy is the coexistence of two great contemporary lithic traditions of the American continent: South American "Fishtail" points and North American Clovis assemblages. This may suggest that Central America was a zone of technological innovation where traditions merged. A preliminary analysis of available fluted points from Central America vs. North American Clovis points to an expansion of this techno-complex at least as far as Venezuela. Moreover, morphological similarities between Central American lanceolate points and Clovis collections from the U.S. South-Eastern/Gulf regions indicate that a set of cultural connections may have existed along a now submerged Late Pleistocene Atlantic coast.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22532