Anzick Site
Anzick Clovis Burial (24PA506) · Wilsall Clovis Child
Paleo-Indian (Clovis, ~12,700 BP)·Clovis (Paleo-Indian)·🇺🇸 Montana, Park County, United States
About
About Anzick Site
Only known Clovis human burial (c.12,707–12,556 cal BP, ~12,600 BCE) and most complete Paleo-Indian genome, on a sandstone bluff near Wilsall. 18-month child (Anzick-1) buried with 112 lithics — Clovis points, bifaces, antler rods — all stained with red ochre, under a rock cairn. Genome (Rasmussen 2014 Nature) links child to ancestral Native Americans, refuting Solutrean hypothesis. Campsite 200 m away produced antemortem Clovis point production. Reburied 2014 on Crow land after genomic study; affiliated tribes (Crow, Blackfeet) repatriated.
Why it mattersFirst Native American paleogenome; proves Siberian–Beringian ancestry and closes Solutrean debate; defines Clovis funerary behavior.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why 112 tools interred with infant — inheritance vs grief offering
- 02Anzick genome's closer affinity to southern Native Americans than northern
Theories
- 01Child of high-status lineage buried with heirloom toolkit
- 02Clovis rapid spread 13,000 BP via interior ice-free corridor
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.12,707–12,556 cal BP (Clovis, ~12,600 BCE)
- Period
- Paleo-Indian (Clovis, ~12,700 BP)
- Culture
- Clovis (Paleo-Indian)
- Builders
- Clovis hunters
- Purpose
- Cairn burial of elite child with full Clovis toolkit and ochre cremation ritual
- Abandoned
- c.12,500 BCE (single event)
- Rediscovered
- 1968 by construction crew; excavated 1968 Lahren & Bonnichsen
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.12,600 BCE
Burial of Anzick-1 child with Clovis toolkit and ochre
1968
Discovery during sandstone bluff construction
2014
Whole-genome sequencing published (Nature) and repatriation
2014 06-28
Reburial on Crow land with ceremony
On the ground
Structures & features
46.0500° N · 109.4400° W · 1020 m · 2 mapped features
Clovis burial pit with ochre
burial1.5 m pit with Anzick-1 child, red ochre dust and 112-stone tool cache
46.0510° N · 109.4390° WAnzick campsite lithic workshop
feature200 m scatter of Clovis point production debitage and antler billet
46.0489° N · 109.4408° W