Clovis Coastal Zone Width Variation: A Possible Solution for Early Paleoindian Population Disparity Along the Mid-Atlantic Coast, USA

Abstract

A coastal ecological model based on coastal zone width is presented to explain human interest in the coastal plain during the Clovis-era circa 13,200 to 12,800 years ago. Isobathic depths on the continental shelf along with relative sea-level data are used to approximate the Clovis-age coastal zone widths for the Delmarva Peninsula and coastal North Carolina. Coastal plain areas with former broad coastal zones during the Clovis-era have revealed large numbers of Clovis diagnostics within the extant terrestrial settings. In contrast, regions with narrow coastal zones during the Clovis-era imply limited use of the coastal plain. Modern analogues to these types of settings denote disproportionate coastal and marine resource productivity, which may explain the disparity of Clovis sites along the extant Atlantic coastal plain areas of the eastern United States.

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