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Presented by: Dr. Reid Ferring

Discovered near Lake Ray Roberts in 1988, the Aubrey Clovis site preserves an exceptional record of Clovis occupation patterns and activities that bear on the structure of Clovis populations, their subsistence economy and mobility patterns. Dated to 13,500 years ago, the site is buried 7-9 meters below the Elm Fork Trinity River floodplain, with occupations exposed by excavation in two camps and at the edge of a spring-fed pond. Bison kills near the pond were processed in the camp near the pond, along with a wide range of other fauna. A possible mammoth kill is near a second camp located next to the river. Almost 10,000 lithic artifacts provide evidence of long-distance raw material acquisition and multiple lithic reduction strategies showing patterns of tool importation, repair, use and discard. Spatial patterning reveals distinct areas of tool use near multiple hearths, including tools that were not discarded in the excavated areas. Overall the lithic assemblages show a high degree of stone curation associated with the highly mobile groups. Excavation of a well near the pond, similar to those at Blackwater Draw, suggest adaptation to seasonal or periodic drought. Rather than “big game hunters”, subsistence evidence indicates the Aubrey Clovis folk exploited a wide range of fauna, probably for immediate consumption as well as to provision travel.