In recent years, several new volumes on the earliest inhabitants of eastern North America have been published. These volumes, and this new book, have dramatically expanded our knowledge of Paleoindian-Archaic populations in the eastern United States. This 15-chapter volume focuses on some of the important questions surrounding early colonization and the spread of populations in the American South. If you are interested in the first ~7,000 years of North American prehistory, you need this book.
In Chapter 2, Goodyear and Sain provide a much-awaited description of some of the reported pre-Clovis artifacts at Topper. Their chapter provides little doubt that artifacts made by humans are present in levels predating Clovis materials at the site. I think that the artifacts, context, and integrity are better demonstrated within the layers immediately beneath the well-defined Clovis layer closer to the hilltop, but readers may refer to Sain's dissertation (2015) for details about the entire pre-Clovis assemblage.
In Chapter 3, Ensor discusses Levallois-like technology at sites in Alabama. While researchers have reported a few cores that demonstrate Levallois-like techniques (mostly for descriptive purposes) at some Paleoindian sites, no site is known to have a large number of Levallois-like artifacts. The figures show several cores with classic Levallois removals/preparation, but I agree with Schuldenrein (p. 321) that a more comprehensive technological discussion would be helpful. Ensor's chapter provides a baseline for future comparison of similar artifacts.
Chapter 4 by Hemmings and colleagues does an excellent job of describing the excavation methodology at Vero Beach in Florida. Although the stratigraphy is now better understood, they have yet to find artifacts in a secure datable context that provide better resolution to the broad date range that currently represents the deposits.
Chapter 5 summarizes shoreline reconstructions for the coastal Southeast. Harris's models and those of other researchers show us the importance of such reconstructions, which highlight areas where future archaeological surveys should be focused. Shoreline reconstructions, coupled with Paleoindian site location data from the Digital Index of North American Archaeology, will provide insights about which shorelines/sites will be lost to sea level rise in the next decade(s).
Chapter 6 identifies geologic locations of chert sources in coastal Florida. Along with descriptions of fluted point distributions and geochemical data, this discussion sheds light on the use and availability of these chert sources in the past.
In Chapter 7, Smallwood and colleagues consider fluted point distributions and the directionality of raw material transport. Changes in Late Paleoindian settlement patterns are a gap in knowledge that merits further study.
Chapters 8 and 9 consider the impact of the Younger Dryas climatic episode in the Paleoindian Southeast. In the examination of studies focusing on the extraterrestrial impact hypothesis, it is surprising that the authors did not include a review of the only blind study that has been conducted between researchers of competing camps (Haynes et al. 2016, PLoS ONE 11[7]). While there are claims that incorrect laboratory methods were used in some studies, and may explain some discrepancies, it is concerning that researchers from opposing camps cannot replicate results. This seems to be the finding of several studies. While lack of evidence for some aspects of the extraterrestrial impact hypothesis in select studies does not necessary falsify the hypothesis, further work is needed before it can be widely accepted.
In Chapter 10, Moore does an excellent job in linking widespread similarities in sedimentation and landscape development throughout the early Holocene. As so many early sites suffer from less-than-ideal contexts with shallow stratigraphy, understanding these processes is key to finding more early sites in the region and refining early Holocene chronology and compressed stratigraphy.
Chapters 11, 12, and 13 hold together quite well by showing multiple approaches to understanding population movements and the diffusion of Early Archaic projectile point styles in the Southeast. These studies have major implications for how we think about the transfer of technologies, the development of regional territories, and the movement of people or ideas across the landscape. A novel use of social network theory (Bridgman-Sweeny) and detailed geometric morphometric analysis (Thulman) provide excellent case studies in how the important, but still not well understood, topics of artifact variation, cultural transmission, and group interaction may become better understood in the future. Wilkinson (Chapter 13) shows how the simple comparison of raw material use across space can also help with some of these issues.
Anderson and Schuldenrein critically assess the contributions of the volume in Chapters 14 and 15. Here and elsewhere, Anderson continues to eloquently and succinctly describe the key avenues for future research, and his chapter alone should convince readers to buy this book. Schuldenrein, a geoarchaeologist, argues that the Southeast may offer one of the best areas of North America for discovering early sites and advancing new models to understand Paleoindian settlement. While his argument is focused on geomorphological and paleoenvironmental datasets, the density of sites and availability of detailed state databases bolster his viewpoint. I agree that the Southeast along with the other parts of the east will remain at the forefront of late Pleistocene and early Holocene research.
