Photo: University of Michigan researchers and volunteers excavate the Belson site in St. Joseph County, Michigan. Daryl Marshke/Michigan Photography
In an article recently published in the journal PLOS One, U-M archaeology student Brendan Nash and co-authors shared results of their analysis of lithics from the Belson site—a Clovis site in southwest Michigan dating to about 13,000 BP. Based on the presence of protein from a range of mammals, they conclude that the site’s inhabitants were opportunitic foragers and not solely focused on big game. They also found that some of the tools were made with chert from a source about 400 miles to the south, suggesting that the site was part of a network of trade and travel.
The title of their paper is “Clovis organizational dynamics at a Late Glacial campsite in the central Great Lakes: Belson site excavations 2020–2021.” The PLOS One article is open access.
Read more at Phys.org and Eurekalert.org, and in the University Record, Newsweek and Archaeology Magazine.
