The Secret Lives of Paleoindians: Regional Exchange and Social Networks in the Western Great Lakes

For much of the history of Paleoindian studies poor organic preservation and overt focus on fluted point manufacture has led to a perception of a monolithic culture that had little to no social or ritual life. Here we examine local, regional, and extra-regional patterns of fluted point distribution and raw material use in the Western Great Lakes region to illustrate patterns of mobility, interaction, and exchange. We propose that St. Louis style Clovis points are style-rich geographic outliers, which move beyond normal patterns of raw material circulation and illuminate potential early Paleoindian social interactions and maintenance of largescale social networks.