Archaeologists will discuss prehistoric spear points from Cedar County
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Written by: Rebecca Pope

Two researchers from the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) will discuss issues surrounding the discovery in a Cedar County corn field of Clovis spear points, the oldest type known in North America, and the failure to find other similar sites in the state.

A man standing in an office work space with lots of shelves in the background
John Doershuk

John Doershuk and Mark Anderson will present their free, public talk, “Where is that Confounded Site? Historic Background and the Recent Search for the Rummells-Maske Clovis Cache, 13CD15,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 28 in the Biosphere Discovery Hub of the UI Museum of Natural History. The presentation kicks off the spring UI Explorers Seminar series sponsored by UI Pentacrest Museums and the Museum of Natural History.

A man standing in front of a display of pottery
Mark Anderson

The Rummells-Maske Clovis Cache was excavated in the mid-1960s, raising hopes for future discoveries of buried Paleoindian archaeological sites dating from the end of the last Ice Age, when early Americans hunted large animals such as the mammoth, mastodon, and bison.

Yet despite some small finds from various locations around the state, including a recently defined Carlisle Cache location in Polk County, this promise has not been realized. The persistent lack of comparable sites has led to renewed interest in details of the Rummells-Maske site. As part of their talk, Doershuk and Anderson will describe recent efforts to relocate and re-examine the site.

Doershuk is the State Archaeologist, having been appointed to that position in 2007. He has been with the OSA since 1995 and has an undergraduate degree from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., and master’s and doctoral degrees in anthropology from Northwestern University. Anderson is a project archaeologist with the OSA. He holds an undergraduate degree from Ball State University, Muncie, Ind.

Light refreshments will be offered, co-sponsored by Molly’s Cupcakes IC.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. For more information on the UI Pentacrest Museums and the UI Museum of Natural History, visit www.uiowa.edu/mnh or call 319-335-0606.