Folsom Point discovery and the Folsom site excavations

Record summary

In 1927, George McJunkin’s earlier observations were followed by the discovery of projectile points associated with extinct bison at the Folsom site; controlled excavations in 1929 helped establish that humans occupied North America during the late Pleistocene. The finding overturned the then-common assumption that people arrived much later. Its initial significance was difficult to accept, and the case matters for comparing how stratigraphy, extinct fauna, and artifact association resolve apparently impossible chronologies. Exact discovery credit and early excavation details should be checked in excavation reports.