The Clovis were successful Paleo-Indian peoples who lived in the Americas around 12,000-9,000 BC. Their culture lasted about 1,000 years, and they were skilled hunters and plant breeders. Their defining feature was a specialized spearhead known as a Clovis point. The reason for their disappearance is unknown, but theories include climate change, disease, and animal population declines.
The Clovis were the first settlers in the Americas who lived somewhere between 12,000 BC and 9,000 BC, with estimates varying by region. The Clovis culture is estimated to have lasted about 1,000 years, and the presence of many artifacts throughout the Americas suggests that these Paleo-Indian peoples were once widespread, indicating that their culture was very successful.
Also called the Llano culture, the term “Clovis” comes from the site where these people’s artifacts were first discovered in the state of New Mexico. Although artifacts have been found around Clovis for generations, serious work began in the 1950s as people acquired their names and various techniques were used to try to date their culture.
For some time it was believed that the Clovis were the first Americans. However, substantial evidence has emerged to disprove this claim, including finds that are much older and obviously unrelated to this culture. It is more likely that they were simply one among many natives and managed to develop an enduring culture and technology that spread before abruptly vanishing, for unknown reasons.
The culture’s defining feature is a specialized spearhead known as a Clovis point. Clovis points have a unique fluted design and are sharpened on both sides. At the sites where these spearheads have been discovered, archaeologists have also found evidence of the meals these people ate. They ate a wide variety of animals and plants, from mammoths to grasses, and evidence suggests they were skilled game hunters.
The Clovis were probably intelligent, resourceful and culturally highly advanced, according to all the finds that have been made so far. They were obviously skilled hunters and appear to have bred plants for specific needs. They also developed unique technology that allowed them to create specialized cutting tools, including their famous spearheads.
The disappearance of these people is almost as interesting as their appearance, in the eyes of some archaeologists, because nobody knows why they vanished. Some historians theorize that they experienced a miniature ice age, which caused climate changes dramatic enough to alter their lifestyles. It is also possible that disease and other social pressures arose as the Clovis people multiplied, and the animals they hunted may have experienced pressures of their own, leading to dramatic population declines.
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