The Stemmed Point Tradition of Western North America

ABSTRACT

In April 2018, the Center for the Study of the First Americans, Hakai Institute, and University of Victoria co-sponsored a five-day workshop investigating the origins of Western Stemmed technologies and their relationship with other Paleoindian and Paleolithic technocomplexes of far western North America, Beringia, and northeast Asia. This Perspective introduces the proceedings of the workshop, which are presented as a series of longer essays in this special issue of PaleoAmerica. The workshop was funded through an endowment created by Robert and Sharon Wilson at Texas A&M University to support the continued multidisciplinary investigation of the peopling of the Americas and dissemination of scientific results to the professional community and the public.

KEYWORDS:

• Western Stemmed tradition
• Pacific coastal migration
• peopling of the Americas
• Wilson Workshop

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Robert and Sharon Wilson (Figure 2) for graciously creating the endowment supporting this endeavor. Thanks also to Erick Peterson and Christina Munck, founders and directors of the Hakai Institute, for providing the institute’s facilities in Victoria and Calvert Island for the workshop. Duncan McLaren, Daryl Fedje, and Quentin Mackie, as well as their students Callum Abbott, Angela Dyck, and Colton Vogelaar, provided invaluable support in the months leading up to (and during) the workshop. Thanks also to all the workshop participants for taking time out from their busy schedules to visit Vancouver Island with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Michael R. Waters is a distinguished professor of anthropology at Texas A&M University and is the director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans. His research focuses on the archaeology of the first Americans, and he has investigated early archaeological sites in Texas, Florida, and beyond, publishing numerous articles and books on the subject.

Ted Goebel is a professor of anthropology at Texas A&M University and is the associate director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans. His research has focused on the archaeology of the peopling of the Americas, investigating early sites in Siberia, Alaska, and the Great Basin. He also serves as editor of the journal PaleoAmerica.

Kelly Graf is an associate professor of anthropology at Texas A&M University and a research faculty member of the Center for the Study of the First Americans. Her research has focused on technological variability of the Upper Paleolithic in Siberia and the Western Stemmed tradition in the Great Basin, and most recently she has led field projects investigating site formation of Upper Paleolithic sites in Alaska, e.g. Owl Ridge, Dry Creek, and McDonald Creek.