Sloan Site
Earl Sloan Dalton Cemetery
Paleo-Indian Dalton 8500–7900 BCE·Paleo-Indian Dalton (Sloan Dalton)·🇺🇸 Arkansas, United States
About
About Sloan Site
Early Dalton Paleo-Indian cemetery (8500–7900 BCE) on Crowley's Ridge sand knoll, oldest documented cemetery in the Americas (475 human burials excavated, single use). Ellis-Sloan lithic tradition with 200 Dalton points of high-grade Crowley's Ridge chert, Maine-like burials with red ochre, exotic Sloan Cove and Raven tools. Demonstrates terminal Pleistocene hunter-gatherer ranking and sedentism pre-agriculture.
Why it mattersEarliest formal cemetery in the Americas revolutionizing model of Paleo-Indian sedentism and social ranking before agriculture.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether 475 burials represent seasonal aggregation vs permanent residence
- 02Dalton ranking tied to Crowley's Ridge chert control
Theories
- 01Paleo-Indian emergent complexity via lithic resource control model
- 02Cemetery as territorial anchoring after megafauna decline
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.8500–7900 BCE
- Period
- Paleo-Indian Dalton 8500–7900 BCE
- Culture
- Paleo-Indian Dalton (Sloan Dalton)
- Builders
- Paleo-Indian Dalton
- Purpose
- Cemetery and hypothesized permanent base camp on Crowley's Ridge
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.8500–7900 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1465 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
36.2234° N · 90.3138° W · 90 m · 2 mapped features
Sloan Site central feature
featureMain architectural feature
36.2234° N · 90.3138° WSloan Site secondary sector
sectorSecondary sector
36.2244° N · 90.3128° W