Split-twig figurines, willow branches bent to resemble miniature animals and dating between 2900 B.C. and 1250 B.C., have been found at 30 Late Archaic period archaeological sites in the Greater American Southwest. Two different and geographically distinct construction styles, Grand Canyon and Green River, have been identified for split-twig figurines. Application of ethnographic analogy to the current split-twig figurine archaeological record supports the postulate that the two different styles of split-twig figurines served two different functions. The Grand Canyon-style figurines generally functioned as increase totems whereas the Green River-style functioned as social totems. This is the first example of increase totemism reported for the region. Ritual and social attitudes toward the animal and totem eventually ended and the last split-twig figurine was discarded around 1250 B.C.

Controversy has surrounded the All American Man pictograph in southeast Utah since its discovery in the 1950s. Its coloration, similar to the flag of the United States of America, has led to questions regarding its authenticity. We have obtained two radiocarbon values on a single sample comprised of pigmented sandstone fragments from one small area of this pictograph. They suggest the pictograph dates to the fourteenth century and indicate that it is an authentic, prehistoric pictograph, probably Anasazi in origin.

No abstract

A reexamination of all the published reports on split-twig figurine sites in light of the excavation of Cowboy Cave where 20 whole and fragmentary specimens were recovered under good stratigraphic control provides a foundation for discussing the possible cultural affiliation of the Grand Canyon figurine complex. A hypothesis is presented which may account for the known distribution of figurine finds and their lack of cultural associations at some sites.

Multiple hypotheses have been advanced for the geographic origin of the Clovis technocomplex. Several competing hypotheses are considered in relation to the distribution of Clovis caches. Clovis caching behavior is interpreted as a strategy for maximizing exploration and migration rather than an embedded strategy associated with an annual foraging round. Based on this analysis, it is hypothesized that the Clovis technocomplex may have originated along the North Pacific coast or south of the Cordilleran ice sheet in the Puget Lowland before rapidly spreading across the continent.keywords Paleoindian, fluting technology, Clovis cache, migration, Western North America, Clovis origins Clovis is the label used for the earliest widespread, identifiable prehistoric technocomplex south of the Late Pleistocene Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets in North America. The Clovis tradition is short-lived and currently dated from 13,250-12,700 cal BP (Goebel and Keene 2014; Stafford 2007, 2013). A variety of site types are associated with the Clovis tradition, including encampments, quarry sites, megafauna kill or butchering sites, and cache sites.The Clovis complex includes a well-developed bifacial lithic technology including projectile points, knives, gravers, and bifaces of various stages of manufacture