Folsom: New Archaeological Investigations of a Classic Paleoindian Bison Kill [Hardcover]

David J. Meltzer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520246446 | ISBN-13: 978-0520246447 | Publication Date: June 5, 2006 | Edition: 1

In the late 1920s outside a sleepy remote New Mexico village, prehistory was made. Spear points, found embedded between the ribs of an extinct Ice Age bison at the site of Folsom, finally resolved decades of bitter scientific controversy over whether the first Americans had arrived in the New World in Ice Age times. Although Folsom is justly famous in the history of archaeology for resolving that dispute, for decades little was known of the site except that it was very old. This book for the first time tells the full story of Folsom. David J. Meltzer deftly combines the results of extensive new excavations and laboratory analyses from the late 1990s, with the results of a complete examination and analysis of all the original artifacts and bison remains recovered in the 1920s - now scattered in museums and small towns across the country. Using the latest in archaeological method and technique, and bringing in data from geology and paleoecology, this interdisciplinary study provides a comprehensive look at the adaptations and environments of the late Ice Age Paleoindian hunters who killed a large herd of bison at this spot, as well as a measure of Folsom's pivotal role in American archaeology.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book has been nearly 100 years in the making. Since its discovery in 1908, the full story of the Folsom site has been waiting to be told. Finally, it's all here between two covers - the site itself, and the story of its discovery." - Robert Kelly, author of The Foraging Spectrum, and former president of the Society for American Archaeology "This book is the culmination of a monumental research effort. It documents and evaluates the data collected and personalities involved in the initial investigations over seven decades ago. It includes the results of a well-planned and executed research effort taking advantage of all resources presently available. Meltzer blends all this into a readable, understandable, and long overdue final report on the Folsom site." - George C. Frison, author of Survival by Hunting "Discoveries at the Folsom site in 1926-27 brought remarkable changes to our perceptions of American prehistory. Meltzer returned and brought 70 years of advancement in the discipline to bear on lingering questions and then wrote this eloquent account that mirrors the history of American archaeology." - Michael B. Collins, The University of Texas at Austin"

From the Inside Flap

"This book has been nearly 100 years in the making. Since its discovery in 1908, the full story of the Folsom site has been waiting to be told. Finally, it's all here between two covers--the site itself, and the story of its discovery."--Robert Kelly, author of The Foraging Spectrum, and former president of the Society for American Archaeology

"This book is the culmination of a monumental research effort. It documents and evaluates the data collected and personalities involved in the initial investigations over seven decades ago. It includes the results of a well-planned and executed research effort taking advantage of all resources presently available. Meltzer blends all this into a readable, understandable, and long overdue final report on the Folsom site."--George C. Frison, author of Survival by Hunting

"Discoveries at the Folsom site in 1926-27 brought remarkable changes to our perceptions of American prehistory. Meltzer returned and brought 70 years of advancement in the discipline to bear on lingering questions and then wrote this eloquent account that mirrors the history of American archaeology."--Michael B. Collins, The University of Texas at Austin

"This is an instant classic. Meltzer draws his readers in like Bison antiquus coming to water. When he springs his trap--baited with unassailable evidence from documentary and archaeological research--he scores big time. Folsom may have just established a new standard of archaeological reportage."--David Hurst Thomas, American Museum of Natural History

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 387 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (June 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520246446
• ISBN-13: 978-0520246447
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most likely best book on Folsom for avocational archys, December 7, 2007

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Rough Customer (on your six) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Folsom: New Archaeological Investigations of a Classic Paleoindian Bison Kill (Hardcover)

Well David J. Meltzer is a Phd, and I am just an average joe who loves archaeology, especially north American archaeology. The two "five-hundred pound" gorillas in north American prehistory are Clovis and Folsom "cultures". Most folks focus more on Clovis as it is deemed earlier. However, comparing Clovis and Folsom dart points, which about all the physical remains of their culture, Folsom to me at least is more delicate, more difficult to knap/produce, and the Folsom people have always fascinated me. Dr. Meltzer produced a long needed volume on Folsom, trying to bridge the gap and appeal to the average Joe on the street who is interested in this stuff, and the professionals who understand the archaeological lexicon. Meltzer interjects some light hearted humor into his writing, and makes at least part of the book easy enough to understand, that I did enjoy it and come away with a better understanding of not only the Folsom culture,but the archaeologists who excavated it in the mid 1920s, up to the most recent excavations in the 1990s. There are a lot of graphs and charts and listings of various detailed information that will only appeal to professionals, but all in all, I felt the book was worth my time and money. Dr. Meltzer does on occasion tend to drift into the complex wording that only trained professional archaeolgists and geologists will understand, and occasionally state things in ways that could have been much more simple. To quote Mr. Forrest Fenn, an artifact collector and amateur/vocational archaeolgist of NM:

"1. I am born of you and am nourished by your lectures, your reports, and your beautiful museum displays. Thank you for giving me life.

2. Leave the jargon at home. Your future depends on increased public interest, and that's where your future funding will originate. If 14-year-old students don't understand your report, you're doing it wrong. And incidentally, color in books is OK.

3. Stop whining about what amateurs are doing. You have bigger problems at home, like unreported field work, for starters.

4. Collectors are not going away, and you're heavily outnumbered. Get used to it and learn from them.

5. Don't get carried away with your importance. Private property rights come first, now and always.

6. If it's a Canis Latrans bone, give us a break; say it's part of a coyote.

7. Your peers already know you're smart, so write for the rest of us sometime. We'll buy your book and read it; they probably won't "

The above quote of Mr. Fenn, are words all professional archaeolgists should read, and hopefully heed. We surface collectors and armchair archys, really love this stuff, so keep writing and don't forget point number 6! Thanks for a great book!