Alan, there are several date ranges going around for Clovis. A recent book published on Louisiana archaeology uses 11,500 - 10,800 BP, and pre-Clovis prior to 11,500. I'm not sure I agree with that, considering some of the other date ranges cited across the U.S. However, even though there are tens of thousands of Clovis points that have been found across the U.S., it does appear that what we call the Clovis culture was only dominant for about a thousand years. One question that should be asked, though, is whether a pre-Clovis society that we have only a small amount of evidence for to date (recent C-14 near Monte Verde in southern Chile yielded 18,500-14,500 BP) became Clovis through diffusion of technology.

I have seen 13,500 cal to 12,800 cal bp as one alternative.  Another a bit longer.  A thousand years does not seem to me to be enough time to have produced so much material over such a large area.  Do people agree with that interpretation?

Mike Waters and Thomas Stafford

Redefining the Age of Clovis: Implications for the Peopling of the Americas

Science 23 February 2007:

Vol. 315 no. 5815 pp. 1122-1126

Thomas,

Thanks for the reference.

In general, current radiocarbon age range estimates for Clovis span the era of 11,500-10,800. However taking either the long or short possible age ranges (depending on which dates/sites are used or not) this indicates a maximum age range of 13,250-12,800 CALYBP (450 years duration)  to a minimum of  13,125-12,925 CALYBP (200 calendar year duration).  I recommend Praciunas and Surovell 2015 "Reevaluating the Duration of Clovis" in  Clovis: on the Edge of a New Understanding eds. Smallwood and Jennings.

Just read that re-evaluation.  It appears the minimum duration is at least 1000 years by their new estimations.  Do you agree or did I miss something?

There is a paper (in German) on the Clovis chronology by Stephan Heidenreich:

http://www.uni-koeln.de/fast/people/heidenreich/pdf/Heidenreich_2013_ArchKorr_Alaska.pdf

It has graphs of calibrated 14C-ages, arranged by site, in context with Greenland oxygen-isotope records (properly age-scaled), the best study on this topic (I know of).

Sincerely

Bernhard Weninger

****************

For a wider consensus see this article. 

Article Comment on "Redefining the Age of Clovis: Implications for t...

Brian, 

Thanks for alerting me to this citation.  One of my colleagues is a co-author.  It looks like there is still much disagreement and controversy on the duration and exact age and character of the dispersal for Clovis.