Clovis Point

In the late twenties a gravel mining operation uncovered animal fossils and projectile points at Blackwater Draw. Eleven thousand five hundred years ago early humans created large, distinctively fluted spear points to hunt very dangerous large mammals like the bison, Short Face Bear and Colombian Mammoth. The ancient bison was 25% larger than todays bison and stood 9 feet at the shoulder. These unique points were uncovered by a gravel mining operation in 1929. They were named for the nearby town of Clovis, NM. The Clovis Point is the signature artifact of the Clovis Culture.

The archeological dig and gravel mining continued side by side until 1974 when New Mexico University was able to purchase and protect the site.

The site no longer contains water because the surrounding farms have drawn down the water table. 

The white ledge is the ancient lake bed.

Linda checking is out thousands of years of fossils
and human artifacts.

Clovis points were later found in eastern North America and the Clovis people were considered to be the first humans to create a widespread culture in the New World. Recently this hypothesis has been challenged by the discovery of much older archaeological sites like Monte Verde in Chile and Pedra Furada in Brazil that predate the Clovis culture by 19,000 to 30,000 years. 

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