Abstract
The peopling of the Americas is both the oldest and most frequently researched question in American archaeology. Although rarely considered, early art has the potential to provide insight into questions that may be obscured by other kinds of evidence, particularly stone tools. What part did art play in the peopling of the Americas? This question is addressed starting with a reconsideration of rock varnish chronometrics as applied to Great Basin, eastern California, petroglyphs. This demonstrates, conservatively, that the petroglyph tradition began before 11,100 YBP, probably before 12,600 YBP, and potentially in the 14,000 years range. Comparison of these ages with evidence from other regions in the hemisphere demonstrates substantial artistic and stylistic variation in rock art by the Paleoindian period (circa 10,000–11,000 YBP). This suggests that, while art may have been part of the baggage of the first immigrants, regional cultural traditions had already been developed by the Terminal Pleistocene, if not earlier. The result is evidence for the development of regional cultural diversity in the Americas by Paleoindian times.
Highlights
Few New World archaeological problems have received more attention than the initial peopling of the Americas
What and where is the evidence for the earliest American art, and what does it tell us about the peopling of the hemisphere?
Regional microlamination sequences appear to vary and require local calibration, the Saharan, South American, and other international studies [85, 86] indicate that varnish microlamination (VML) has the potential for widespread application in arid and semiarid environments
Summary
Few New World archaeological problems have received more attention than (and experienced as much debate as) the initial peopling of the Americas. Recent research in North and South America, including improvements in chronometric techniques, has amplified our understanding of Terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene art This demonstrates that it is more common than generally recognized, includes both portable and landscape (i.e., rock) art, and exhibits considerable geographical and stylistic variability. These studies are summarized below with the intent of providing a hemisphere-wide overview of early symbolic behavior. My point of departure in this discussion is a chronometric reanalysis of Great Basin petroglyphs (rock engravings), directed at identifying the earliest art in far western North America This necessarily requires a discussion of recent advances in petroglyph dating techniques before turning to the larger issues at hand
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