264:
suggesting that the objects are natural and not human-made. Some archaeologists also have challenged the radiocarbon dating of the carbonized remains at Topper, arguing that 1) the stain represented the result of a natural fire, and 2) 50,000 years is the theoretical upper limit of effective radiocarbon dating, meaning that the stratum is radiocarbon dead, rather than dating to that time period. Goodyear discovered the objects by digging 4 meters deeper than the Clovis artifacts readily found at the site. Before discovering the oldest
164:, was scheduled to work on the Smiths Lake Creek site on the Savannah River. Flooding at that site forced the project to move to the Topper site. The previous excavations had not found any artifacts below the top 100 centimetres (39 in) from the ground surface, with evidence of fluted points (possibly
201:
The hillside is a sloping sheet of sand overlain by loamy sand covering part of the alluvial terrace. A total of 210 square metres (2,300 sq ft) have been excavated on the hillside. One 40 square metres (430 sq ft) area on the slope of the hill above the terrace was excavated from
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points) at the 90 to 100 centimetres (35 to 39 in) level. In hopes of finding pre-Clovis artifacts, the 1998 excavation was extended below the 100 centimetres (39 in) level. Chert fragments, some of which were interpreted as artifacts (resulting from human action) and lumps of charcoal were
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The
Allendale Paleoindian Expedition was a program that allowed members of the public to participate in archaeological excavations conducted by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. The program operated from 1996 until 2004. It was renamed the Southeastern Paleoindian Survey
271:
According to Dean Snow, this assertion of 3,000 years is a much more likely and plausible number than the upper limit of radiocarbon dating. Evidence predating Clovis culture by a few thousand years is popularly termed as the "pioneer" stage of Clovis culture. This would be the birth of the culture
143:
company. In 2006, a pavilion was built over the
Pleistocene terrace, which protects excavators from sun and rain. The Clariant company, which had also contributed to the funding for the pavilion, built a viewing deck overlooking the excavation site on the terrace. Two areas at the site have yielded
263:
dated to approximately 50,000 years ago, or approximately 37,000 years before the Clovis people. Goodyear, who began excavating the Topper site in the 1980s, believes that lithic objects at that level are rudimentary stone tools (and thus "artifacts"). Other archaeologists dispute this conclusion,
103:
have been uncovered in excavations on the terrace. The lowest is a sand and sandy clay layer believed to have been laid down by a meandering river prior to 55,000 years ago. Above that is a 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) thick layer of gravel, sand and sandy silty clay, thought to have been deposited by
176:
Excavations were conducted at Topper each year after 1998, and have concentrated on two areas, an area on the terrace referred to as the "Pleistocene terrace", and an area on the slope above the terrace, called "Hillside". In 2006, a pavilion was built over the
Pleistocene terrace, which protects
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artifacts were found in distinct layers, Woodland artifacts in the upper level, Archaic artifacts in the middle, and Clovis artifacts in the lowest excavated level. Analysis of the distribution of artifacts, combined with assessment of patination, evidence of heat treatment, and other aspects of
68:
Artifacts at this site may predate Clovis by 3,000 years or more, but these conclusions are disputed. The primary excavation has gone down to a level that dates to at least 50,000 B.C.E., searching for evidence of cultural artifacts. Until increasing challenges in the first decade of the 21st
85:
runs through the site to the river. The site measures approximately 0.1 miles (0.16 km) east-west and slightly more than half of that distance north–south, although the full extent of the archaeological deposits has not yet been determined. The site is a
94:
is exposed on the slope above the
Savannah River, at the northernmost point of the formation. Stone suitable for forming into tools is scarce north and east of Topper, making the site attractive for hunter-gatherers from that area. Part of the site is on a
173:
found from 130 to 210 centimetres (51 to 83 in) below the surface, well below the layer identified as
Paleoindian or Clovis. A cluster of about 20 rocks found at the 180 centimetres (71 in) level was interpreted as a possible cultural feature.
272:
and the start of the tool set. Researchers agree that the lack of evidence would stem from the lack of materials at hand. New techniques would take time to spread. The pioneer hypothesis allows for tools to predate by centuries rather than millennia.
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Clovis material: on the terrace next to the chute, and an area on the hillside slope above the chert-bearing outcrop. As of 2013, 840 square metres (9,000 sq ft) had been excavated down to Clovis bearing material, or deeper.
69:
century to the Clovis theory based on this site and others, it was unusual for archaeologists to dig deeper than the layer of the Clovis culture, as they then believed that no human artifacts would be found older than Clovis.
81:. The site is somewhat hilly: the lowest section lies along the river at an elevation between 80 feet (24 m) and 90 feet (27 m), while the highest is the site's eastern edge, which rises above 130 feet (40 m). A
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Waters, et al. state that the proposed artifacts found below the Clovis horizon at the Topper site may be natural rather than man-made. They note that the posited tools remained unchanged over the period from 50,000 years
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Two areas at the Topper site, the "Pleistocene terrace" and the "hillside", have yielded a substantial number of Clovis artifacts from intact buried deposits. As of 2005, only one other Clovis site (
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838:
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The Topper site was excavated in 1985 and 1986 by the South
Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA). Those excavations found artifacts ranging from 15th-century
833:
132:
686:"Reworked Clovis Biface Distal Fragments from the Topper Site, 38AL23: Implications for Clovis Technological Organization in the Central Savannah River Region"
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2005 through 2008, down to 50 to 85 centimetres (20 to 33 in) below the modern surface. The soil in the excavated area was not stratified, but Clovis,
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231:
in
Central America. Since the early 21st century, this standard theory has been challenged based on the discovery and dating of pre-Clovis sites such as
629:
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from hillside above the terrace. In the late
Pleistocene the Topper site was near the juncture of two ecosystems. To the north was a cool, mesic,
820:, Quote: The University of South Carolina announces radiocarbon tests that dated the first human settlement in North America to 50,000 years ago.
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announced that carbonized plant remains, found as a dark stain in the light soil at the lowest excavated level at the Topper Site, had been
136:
779:
Goodyear, Albert C. III (2016). "The Search for the
Earliest Humans in the Land Recently Called South Carolina". In King, Adam (ed.).
655:
Smallwood, Ashley (February 2015). "Context and spatial organization of the Clovis assemblage from the Topper site, South
Carolina".
223:, who are thought to have appeared approximately 13,500 years ago. Artifacts of the Clovis people are found throughout most of the
280:(B.P.) until 15,000 years B.P., unlike the changing assemblages of tools in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene strata at the site.
268:, he had discovered other objects which he claimed were tools dating around 16,000 years old, or about 3,000 years before Clovis.
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prior to 15,000 years ago. Starting about 13,000 years an ago a 1 metre (3.3 ft) thick layer of silty sand was deposited by
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Since the 1930s, the prevailing theory concerning the peopling of the New World is that the first human inhabitants were the
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612:
511:
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630:"Clovis Biface Technology at the Topper Site, South Carolina: Evidence for Variation and Technological Flexibility"
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767:
512:"The Return of the 1998 Allendale Paleoindian Expedition: The Search for Some Even Earlier South Carolinians"
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552:. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 103–112 – via University of South Carolina Scholar Commons.
703:"Geoarchaeological investigations at the Topper and Big Pine Tree sites, Allendale County, South Carolina"
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appearance, indicates that there had been minimal disturbance of the stratification of artifacts.
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548:. In Bonnichsen, Robson; Lepper, Bradley T.; Stanford, Dennis; Waters, Michael R. (eds.).
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Waters, Michael R.; Forman, Steven L.; Stafford, Thomas W.; Foss, John (July 1, 2009).
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Archaeology in South Carolina: Exploring the Hidden Heritage of the Palmetto State
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provenance. In 1998, the Allendale Paleoindian Expedition, under the direction of
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768:"The Search for the Earliest Humans in the Land Recently Called South Carolina"
613:"Update on the Activities of the Southeastern Paleoamerican Survey (2014-2020)"
65:. The latter were previously believed to be the first people in North America.
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572:(2): 16–19 – via University of South Carolina Scholar Commons.
696:: 118–120 – via University of South Carolina Scholar Commons.
606:(1): 8–13 – via University of South Carolina Scholar Commons.
518:(2): 8–10 – via University of South Carolina Scholar Commons.
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623:: 17–22 – via University of South Carolina Scholar Commons.
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above the river and below the chert-bearing outcrop. Three major
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National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory
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546:"Evidence of Pre-Clovis Sites in the Eastern United States"
736:"New Evidence Puts Man in North America 50,000 Years Ago"
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53:. It is noted as a location of artifacts which some
77:The Topper site lies along the eastern side of the
734:University of South Carolina (November 18, 2004).
684:Smallwood, Ashley; Goodyear, Albert (2009-01-01).
489:"Allendale Chert Quarries Archeological District"
433:
844:Pre-Clovis archaeological sites in the Americas
133:Allendale Chert Quarries Archeological District
839:Geography of Allendale County, South Carolina
297:in 2005, and continued at least through 2020.
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57:believe to indicate human habitation of the
818:CNN: "Man In Americas Earlier Than Thought"
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27:Archaeological site in South Carolina, US
766:Goodyear, III, Albert C. (Spring 2005).
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596:"Update on Research at the Topper Site"
559:"The Southeastern Paleoamerican Survey"
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834:Archaeological sites in South Carolina
611:Goodyear, Albert C. (September 2020).
579:"The Topper Site Pavilion Celebration"
557:Goodyear, Albert C. (September 2006).
532:
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450:. Boston: Prentice Hall. p. 44.
139:. It is located on land owned by the
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550:Paleoamerican Origins: Beyond Clovis
137:National Register of Historic Places
690:Current Research in the Pleistocene
487:Goodyear, Albert C. (August 1984).
448:Archaeology of Native North America
746:from the original on April 6, 2023
594:Goodyear, Alfred C. (March 2009).
577:Goodyear, Albert (April 1, 2007).
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707:Journal of Archaeological Science
637:Journal of Archaeological Science
510:Goodyear, Albert C. (July 1998).
338:University of South Carolina 2004
114:surface water flow and soil creep
669:10.1179/0093469014Z.000000000106
127:The Topper site, identified by
177:excavators from sun and rain.
1:
628:Smallwood, Ashley M. (2010).
434:Smallwood & Goodyear 2009
657:Journal of Field Archaeology
257:University of South Carolina
120:. To the south was a warmer
18:Topper (archaeological site)
643:: 2413–2425. Archived from
131:38AL23, is included in the
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90:quarry. The chert-bearing
772:Coastal Heritage Magazine
719:10.1016/j.jas.2008.12.020
544:Goodyear, Albert (2005).
37:site located along the
531:Cite journal requires
446:Snow, Dean R. (2010).
191:Atlantic Coastal Plain
320:, p. 2414–2415;
154:Mississippian culture
92:Flint River Formation
227:and as far south as
193:had been excavated.
789:10.2307/j.ctv6sj9fz
235:in Southern Chile,
471:Waters et al. 2009
247:Pre Clovis dispute
135:, which is on the
101:depositional units
798:978-1-61117-609-4
783:. pp. 1–13.
650:on March 4, 2016.
457:978-0-13-615686-4
424:, pp. 72–75.
324:, pp. 70–72.
239:in Virginia, and
61:earlier than the
16:(Redirected from
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261:radiocarbon
237:Cactus Hill
233:Monte Verde
187:Cactus Hill
158:Paleoindian
828:Categories
305:References
243:in Texas.
750:April 11,
727:0305-4403
501:April 11,
251:In 2004,
189:) on the
129:site code
73:Geography
59:New World
744:Archived
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208:Woodland
197:Hillside
141:Clariant
481:Sources
266:lithics
255:of the
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229:Panama
206:, and
170:Folsom
166:Clovis
33:is an
31:Topper
673:JSTOR
648:(PDF)
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284:Notes
88:chert
793:ISBN
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