Folsom Man

These men of the Ice Age were nomadic and not merely ape men. They wore furs, are believed to have spoken a language and made weapons. Points made by the Folsom Man were as sharp as broken glass. Long. slender blades taper gracefully to the point; short, stubby specimens widen near the point. Size of their intended prey may have influenced the design of these blades.

Folsom Points are distinguished by a smooth channel extending lenghtwise along both faces. These skilled workmen evidently removed a single long flake with a strategically directed blow.

Various archeaological sites have produced points very near to completion that were obviously ruined by an 'unlucky' blow. Tests of charred bones associated with these ancient pieces of stone fix their ages, because radiocarbon will not date these stones.

Eight miles west of Folsom on the Wild Horse Arroyo, a large deposit of bones protruding from the river bank was discovered by George McJunkin. It was not until 1925 that scientists determined the cowboy's discovery was one of the most important archeaological finds ever made in North America.

The bones were classified as those of ancient bisons - animals extinct shortly after the ice age. More important was the discovery of stone spear points among the bones. These fluted points indicated the presence of man, the oldest known inhabitant of New Mexico discovered at that time. In 1934, evidence of still an older inhabitant, Sandia Man, dating roughly 20,000 years, was found in

Sandia Cave near Albuquerque. Scientist can merely speculate on the appearance of these ancient people, for no skeletal remains have been found. From the slim evidence left behind, they were nomads who knew the use of fire, made their own weapons and were skilled hunters.

The Folsom Idea, July 4, 1891 - A Mammoth Tooth: The Geology of the Country About Folsom

A fragment of the molar tooth of a mammoth weighing over a pound and a half, also small pieces of the tusks, were found a short time ago while excavating for the wasteway at the dam for the new lake near Hotel Capulin. Judging from the size and shape of this piece of tooth it must have originally weighed not less than four or five pounds.

The finding of this fossil would seem to settle the question as to the age of the geological formation upon which the town of Folsom is located. It is undoubedtly Quaternary (Pleistocene Ice Age), while the bordering ridges of yellowish grays and stone are supposed to be the "Fucoidal" sandstone, or what the coal miners call the "bed rock" of coal, as it underlies nearly all of the coal fields in Colorado and New Mexico. Good specimens of coal have been found in connection with this sandstone near Folsom, and we see no reason why good paying mines may not be developed here, yet it is a fact worthy of notice that all of the heavy deposits of coal thus far discovered in this part of the country lie southwest of the Denver, Texas & Gulf Railroad and seem to fade out and disappear near that line.

Beneath the "Fucoidal" sandstone lies the marine Cretaceous shale, while overlying all are the immense beds of lava which have poured out from the numerous extinct volcanic craters in the surrounding country. This lava varies from the hard and heavy basalt column as seen in the canyon of Cimarron Park to the light volcanic ash of Twin Mountain and Capulin, such as is now being used with fine effect on our streets.

Folsom, New Mexico	First accepted evidence of Ice Age Man.
Danger Cave, Utah	9,000 year old basketry, earliest found in the New World.
Fort Rock Cave, Oregon	Sandals from same period as Danger Cave basketry.
Tule Springs, Nevada	Tests indicate charcoal of possible human origin, is more than 23,800 years old.
Lindenmeier Valley, Colorado	Artifacts allow reconstruction of Folsom Culture.
Clovis, New Mexico	Fluted points found beneath typical Folsom artifacts indicate Clovis Man older than Folsom Man.
Dinwiddie & Mecklenburg Counties, Virginia	Clovis-type fluted points.
Lubbock, Texas	Folsom points 9,500 to 10,000 years old.
Midland, Texas	Skull of Midland Man at least 12,000 years old.
Sandia & Manzano Mountains, New Mexico	Artifacts belonging to predecessor of Folsom Man. This was recently proved to have been a hoax by the area being seeded with artifacts known to have been first found elsewhere.
Gypsum Cave, Nevada	Triangular blades 10,500 years old.
Arizona & New Mexico	Cochise Culture, 1,500 to 7,500 years old.
Conkling Cavern, New Mexico	Skull could challenge Midland Man's as earliest in New World.
Yuma County, Colorado	Ancient culture characterized by long, slender, nonfluted points.
Cape Denbigh, Alaska	Artifacts estimated to be 8,500 years old.
Brooks Range, Alaska	Habitation sites with artifacts similar to those found at Cape Denigh, Alaska.
Vero Beach & Melbourne, Florida	Remains of man and extinct animals.
Pelican Rapids, Minnesota	Skeleton of Minnesota Girl in clay deposited 20,000 years ago.
Chile	Organic remains 8,000 to 9,000 years of age found in cave.
Punin District, Ecuador	Primitive skull found with bones of extinct animals.
Minas Gerais, Brazil	Human skeleton discovered in same stratum as mastodon and extinct horse.