The Paleoindian Southwest

J. David Kilby, Bruce B. Huckell

• Publisher: University of Utah Press
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781647692605
• eBook ISBN:
  9781647692612
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: Social Sciences

A panoramic view of research on the first peoples of the Southwest

The North American Southwest looms large in American archaeology, well known for the agricultural societies that dominated its austere landscape in later times. However, the traces of its earliest occupants, Native American ancestors who shared the ancient landscape with mammoth and giant bison toward the end of the last Ice Age, remain more obscure.
 
The Paleoindian Southwest provides the first comprehensive overview focused on the earliest human occupants of the Southwest, exploring past investigations, the current state of research, and directions for future discovery. Experts in the field examine individual archaeological sites—some classic and some newly discovered—as well as broader patterns of human behavior across varied regions of both the United States and Mexico. Chapter authors present new and unexpected discoveries, ranging from a gomphothere kill to fossil footprints, pushing the boundaries of the Paleoindian period and investigating nontraditional archaeological data. This collection is a critical resource and landmark volume for those interested in Southwest prehistory, Paleoindian archaeology, and Ice Age human ecology.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Acknowledgments
• Part I
• Introducing the Paleoindian Southwest
• 1. Introduction to the Paleoindian Southwest
• 2. The Hunters Were Here First: A Brief History of Paleoindian Research in the Greater Southwest
• Part II: Regional Perspectives
• 3. Clovis Archaeology Along the Upper San Pedro Valley, Southeastern Arizona
• 4. Current Paleoindian Research in Sonora
• 5. Paleoindian Archaeology of the Northern Tularosa Basin, South-​Central New Mexico
• 6. Paleoindian Settlement and Mobility in the Northern Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico
• Part III: Site-​Based Perspectives
• 7. Questioning Clovis in Southeastern Utah: The Lime Ridge Site
• 8. Clovis in the Petrified Forest of Eastern Arizona
• 9. Folsom Technological Organization at the Martin Site, Central New Mexico
• 10. Reconstructing Clovis Landscape Use at Multiple Spatial Scales from the Mockingbird Gap Site, New Mexico
• 11. Widespread Distribution of Fossil Footprints in the Tularosa Basin: The Human Trace Fossils of White Sands National Park
• Part IV: Conclusion
• 12. Some Future Directions for Southwest Paleoindian Research
• References
• Contributors
• Index