Folsom points were first discovered in the twenties at an Early Man kill
site near Folsom, in northeast New Mexico. The points were associated
with the remains of an extinct form of giant Late Pleistocene bison.
These finds were among the first to demonstrate the great antiquity of
man in the New World.
[Illustration: _Folsom_]
Folsom points are symmetrically lanceolate in shape, and are broadest at
mid-section or somewhat nearer to the tip. They are fluted on either one
or both faces; flutes usually extend up almost an entire face. Upper
lateral edges are ordinarily gently rounded, while the lower lateral
edges are usually straight and either parallel-sided or slightly
contracting towards the base. The base is consistently concave, in some
examples, markedly so. Similar to Clovis points, stem edges near the
base may be gently recurved. Average dimensions are: length 3.0 to 8.0
cm., but averaging 3.0 to about 5.0 cm., and width from about 1.5 to
nearly 3.0 cm. Workmanship is usually quite delicate, with initial
shaping by either direct or indirect percussion or pressure. Initial
flake scars on point faces, where preserved are irregular. Delicate
secondary edge thinning was by pressure, during which the basal
concavity was probably produced and a nipple left preparatory to
fluting. Vertical fluting was probably produced by indirect percussion.
The latest research suggests that Folsom points may be dated between
10,000 and 11,000 years ago. Excavated sites producing Folsom points
have in most all cases also produced the remains of giant bison, but not
mammoth, which may have become extinct by the advent of Folsom Man.
Folsom points have been discovered in both excavated and surface sites
in most parts of the Southwest, including the Clovis type site in
eastern New Mexico, numerous sites in most other portions of New Mexico,
at the Lubbock, Lipscomb, Scharbauer, and Kincaid Sites in Texas, the
Lindenmeier, Linger, and Powars Sites in Colorado, the Hell Gap Site in
Wyoming and the MacHaffie Site in Montana.