Meadowcroft Rockshel pre-Clovis excavations

Record summary

Excavations directed by James Adovasio at Meadowcroft Rockshel produced lithic material and dates interpreted by some researchers as indicating human presence before the conventional Clovis horizon. The site became central to debates about the timing and routes of initial settlement in North America. Its importance is comparative because stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, charcoal contamination, and possible bioturbation can be assessed against other early-occupation claims. The antiquity of the lowest materials remains disputed, and the strongest claims depend on contested associations between artifacts and dated sediments.