Cactus Hill early pre-Clovis occupation claims

Record summary

Cactus Hill is a sand-ridge archaeological site where excavators reported artifacts in deposits beneath a Clovis-associated component. The proposed lower assemblage was used in arguments that people occupied eastern North America before the conventional Clovis horizon. It is useful for comparison because the controversy combines stratigraphy, lithic typology, sediment disturbance, and radiocarbon interpretation. Researchers should distinguish the site’s documented excavation history from broader claims about a continent-wide pre-Clovis population. The main uncertainty concerns whether the lower materials are securely stratified and culturally deposited.