Hi Karl:

This is Michael Wing, a PolarTREC teacher from last year. Like you, I participated in an archaeology project. You just said in your journal that the people you are studying entered a virgin continent - actually two virgin continents, and you wondered if they realized it. But surely there is evidence that people were here before the Clovis culture - Meadowcroft, Monte Verde sites etc. What does your team think about this issue? Was there really nobody here before Clovis people? Or, were there some but the arrival of Clovis people changed everything because now they could hunt large animals?

You are so lucky to be studying the Clovis people. They may have overdone it a bit on the big game hunting, but you have to admit it was a very exciting period in human history.

yours always, Michael Wing Finland '09

Karl Horeis

Hi Michael - great to hear form you. It sounded like you had a great trip, too. I read several of your journals.It sounds like I have some clarifying to do. First off, this team does not feel that the people who left these tools here in Alaska were Clovis. They do have flutes on their points - a hallmark of Clovis and Folsom points - yet they do not consider them Clovis but instead Paleo Indian. In fact, these artifacts appear to be quite a bit younger (more recent) than Clovis. So one theory is that these people came back north following game after being informed by Clovis fluting technology down south.
What I meant to say was that the people who came across the Bering Land Bridge first were walking into a new, unexplored hemisphere. Those people should have been the ancestors of both Clovis and Paleo Indian (as well as Monte Verde) people, if my understanding is correct.
I hope that clears things up and I hope I haven't misrepresented what my researchers are thinking.
Thanks Michael!
Karl