A CLOVIS CAMP AT THE MARTENS SITE

A CLOVIS CAMP AT THE MARTENS SITE
Julie Morrow, Ph.D.

Arkansas Archaeological Survey A.S.U., Jonesboro, Arkansas

Artifacts from the Martens Site in Chesterfield, Missouri. These artifacts represent a Clovis encampment dating to approximately 13,500 years before present. They were surface collected by Richard Martens in a plowed field. Today this site is a housing development. Photos provided through the courtesy of Richard Martens.

I first learned of the Martens site in the early 1990s while researching Clovis sites in the Midwest. Rumor had it that the site had yielded fluted point manufacturing rejects and other tools suggestive of a substantial Clovis occupation. Thanks to Alan Banks, I was able to make contact with Richard Martens, who had surface collected the site since the 1960s. Toby Morrow and I spent several enjoyable weekends at Dick's house, illustrating and measuring fluted points, end scrapers and other tools from the Martens site. The information recorded from the surface-collected Martens artifacts, along with those from other collections, provided many insights into Clovis stone technology (Morrow and Morrow 1999). We can learn a lot about the peopling of the New World by studying Clovis and other Early Paleo Indian artifact assemblages on a continent-wide basis.

In May, 1996, I attempted to contact the owner of the Martens site to get permission to conduct a test excavation. Surrounded by housing developments, the site was situated within one of the few remaining cultivated fields in suburban Chesterfield, Missouri. Unfortunately, the land owner, Mary Plant Faust, had recently passed away, and the land within which the Martens site lay was soon to be developed. I wrote a proposal to the land development company explaining why, where, when, and how we wanted to excavate at the Martens site. The Nooning Tree Partnership graciously allowed us to excavate the site for five weeks. To prepare for the excavation, I put a call out for volunteers in the Missouri Archaeological
Society Newsletter. We received an overwhelming number of phone calls and letters from people wanting to help out.

We were fortunate that Richard Martens had made a map of where he had found various Clovis and other artifacts at the Martens site. This information allowed us to focus on a 2-acre area within a more than 80-acre field. Farmer Buddy Burkhardt set aside this roughly 2-acre area for us and even came out and mowed the corn stubble when we got ready to excavate. Within this area we excavated many 1x1 meter (roughly 3 x 3 foot) squares. In one area of the site, corresponding to one of the areas where Dick had found a number of Clovis artifacts, we found many artifacts far below the plowzone and far below depths that we expected to find artifacts. We concentrated our efforts on this area by excavating 96 contiguous 1 xl m. squares we called "The Big Block~" Although several artifacts from later time periods were found, many Clovis tools, flaking debris, and preforms were recovered. I believe that the "Big Block" area represented what was once a Clovis camp site. A total of 139 square meters was excavated by a crew of over 100 different people. The crew included members of the Central States Archaeological Societies Inc., Missouri Archaeological Society, St. Louis Singles Club, Girl Scouts, students from East Central College, and many local residents who wandered up the hill to find out what we were digging for out in the corn stubble.

Funding for the Martens site project came from many different sources. At first, it was all out of our own pockets. We designed a poster to help

On to Pg 85>>

HOME MISSION STATES JOURNAL SUBSCRIBE