Clovis culture
- noun
- /ˈkloʊvɪs ˈkʌltʃər/
- Specialized
:
cultura clovis
Examples
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The Clovis culture may have only existed for a 200-year period that can be placed somewhere between about 12,800 and 13,250 years ago, but in that relatively brief time, they spread across nearly all of North America.
Academic text (2011) -
It's commonly believed that North America's Clovis culture came to an end around 12,900 years ago, when their characteristic spear points disappeared from the archaeological record.
Academic text (2011) -
The earliest American settlers were hunters of megafauna such as mammoths and were assumed to be part of a so-called Clovis culture arriving around twelve thousand years ago.
Academic text (2006) -
As for the Clovis culture itself, Holliday and Meltzer think a new interpretation of radiocarbon dates indicates the people gradually stopped making the spear points they are associated with and simply began making another kind.
Academic text (2011) -
The Clovis culture is known for its unique fluted stone projectile points, which were used for hunting.
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Archaeologists have discovered evidence of the Clovis culture, indicating their presence in North America over 13,000 years ago.
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Many artifacts from the Clovis culture, such as spear points, provide insight into the lives of prehistoric Native Americans.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Clovis + culture
The phrase follows the productive and transparent pattern 'X culture' (the culture associated with X), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it names a culture linked to 'Clovis'. However, 'Clovis' is a specific historical proper name and the precise, specialised sense (a prehistoric Paleo‑American culture noted for fluted projectile points) cannot be derived from the words alone and requires world knowledge.
Etymology
Clovis culture gets its name from the town of Clovis in New Mexico, where archaeologists found many special 'fluted' stone points at an early dig. Those 'fluted' points had a long groove that made them easy to spot, so any very early North American sites with these points are called the Clovis culture.
