Pleistocene Man at Calico, 1972, Introduction

Introduction - pp. 6-8

The antiquity of man in the New World has been the subject of dispute for many years. Throughout the first decades of this century the consensus of American scientific opinion was that the Americas were inhabited by man for only a few thousand years before their discovery by Europeans. But a growing accumulation of evidence has forced a re-examination and a new approach to the problem of man's occupancy of the New World. The discovery of sophisticated stone weapons and tools associated with the skeletons of extinct mammals pushed the early man horizon back more than 10,000 years. Later discoveries of tools and hearths in even older deposits have suggested that man's age in America is much greater still, perhaps in excess of 20,000 or 30,000 years.

During four days in October, 1970, the attention of many scientists and prehistorians was focused on a gathering of their number in Southern California. There, in San Bernardino, the International Conference on the Calico Mountains Excavation was held, a meeting sponsored jointly by the San Bernardino County Museum, the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation. At issue was an evaluation of the findings which had been made by staff members and volunteers of the San Bernardino County Museum during the previous six years at a site on the eastern slopes of the Calico Mountains in California's Mojave Desert.

Those who had been most closely associated with these excavations were convinced that evidence had been obtained of man's presence there more than 50,000 years ago. It was to submit this evidence to their colleagues of the scientific world that the conference was called. In attendance were nearly 100 distinguished scientists and prehistorians, invited to visit the site, to see the evidence, to hear the presentations, and to engage in such discussion and argumentation as they desired. In the opinion of those attending, this conference was the largest scientific gathering ever held to critically examine the evidence from one specific site.

The conference began on Thursday evening, October 22, with a social hour and dinner meeting at San Bernardino's Holiday Inn. Dr. Gerald A. Smith, Director of the San Bernardino County Museum, welcomed the participants and introduced a number of distinguished guests. Then Dr. Louis S. B. Leakey briefed the gathering on the purpose of the conference. Friday a full-day trip was scheduled to study portions of the Calico Mountains where the dig was located, and to visit the archaeological site itself.

On Saturday morning, October 24, four presentations were made at a general session of the conference at San Bernardino Valley College. Dr. Leakey explained why he was convinced that Calico was an archaeological site. Miss Ruth Simpson, San Bernardino County archaeologist and Field Director of the project, told the history of the dig and described the material recovered. Dr. Thomas Clements gave his interpretation of the geology of the area, and this was followed by a presentation by Dr. Rainer Berger of UCLA giving evidence that a hearth-like feature unearthed in the excavation had, in fact, been exposed to fire.

Saturday afternoon was spent at the San Bernardino County Museum in Bloomington where the participants examined the specimens, studied the statistical data, and looked over charts, aerial photos, and geological maps. At this time, also, a preliminary report on the technology of the site prepared by John Witthoft of the University of Pennsylvania was made available to the participants.

The Sunday session, again held at San Bernardino Valley College, was devoted largely to comments and questions concerning the age of the alluvial fan from which the specimens were recovered, and the nature of the specimens themselves.

Audio and video recordings were made of all the formal sessions of the conference. This publication is an edited compilation of that "raw" data. It is a report on the conference and does not purport to be a final definitive study of the work which has been carried out at Calico. Such papers are still forthcoming, and must be written by those individual researchers who have been the principals in the project.

To eliminate redundancy and to reduce verbiage, the transcripts of the sessions have been heavily edited. A serious and sincere attempt has been made to insure the inclusion of all significant differences of opinion, and to make sure that comments would not be so removed from context as to give an impression not intended by their author. To those participants who made comments which are not included in this report, I offer my apologies Responsibility for the editing is mine alone.

It was clear from the varying opinions expressed during and after the conference that the issues raised are still far from resolved. Some participants were convinced that artifacts had been discovered at Calico, and that man's period of occupancy of the New World had been pushed back substantially. A few rejected the specimens as reflecting human workmanship, and felt that the work at Calico, though meticulously done, had only geological significance. Many were skeptical, taking the position that the case was not yet fully proven, that additional corroborative evidence should be sought. Some were completely non-committal.

Meanwhile, activity at Calico goes on. Additional work is underway in an attempt to answer some of the questions raised at the conference. Limited archaeological work and the recovery of additional specimens is continuing. The material already recovered will be further studied and evaluated. The site, with the cooperation of the U. S. Bureau of Land Management, is being preserved so that further studies can continue.

This report would not be complete without acknowledging our gratitude to the institutions, organizations, foundations, and many individuals who have made the project and the conference possible. Major financial support has come from the National Geographic Society, the Isotope, Wenner-Gren, and Wilkie Brothers Foundations, the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and the L. S. B. Leakey Foundation. Hundreds of individuals have given generously of their time as volunteers and crew members. Special mention should be made of the many members of the Archaeological Survey Association of Southern California who provided the nucleus of the Calico crew. Appreciation must be expressed to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, to the staff and volunteers of the San Bernardino County Museum and the Leakey Foundation, to San Bernardino Valley College and the San Bernardino Chamber of Commerce for their part in the planning and operation of the conference itself.

My special thanks, also, to my wife, Erna, and son, Ty, for their help in transcribing the conference proceedings; to Dottie McLaren for her aid in preparing the maps and charts used; to Dr. Charles Davenport for the photographic coverage of the conference and the excavations; and to Dr. Gerald Smith, Museum Director, for his overall assistance in preparing this report for publication.

Walter C. Schuiling
San Bernardino, California
April 1972