Topper Site
Topper Pre-Clovis Quarry (38AL23)
Pre-Clovis (Topper) to Clovis·Pre-Clovis (Topper)/Clovis·🇺🇸 South Carolina, Allendale County, United States
About
About Topper Site
Chert quarry and hillside camp on Savannah River Allendale terrace with buried pre-Clovis horizon (Topper Assemblage) beneath Clovis. Albert Goodyear revealed 15,000-year-old chert debitage in Pleistocene alluvium below Clovis with 2 m sandy terrace separating horizons. 600+ flakes contested as natural vs anthropogenic. Allendale chert source 1 km away. Central to pre-Clovis debate east of Mississippi. The quarry face preserves Allendale chert nodules and fire-cracked rock hearths, while the upper Clovis horizon yields fluted points. Ongoing micromorphology tests stratigraphic integrity and OSL dating of the lower terrace.
Why it mattersEarliest east-coast pre-Clovis chert quarry — contests Clovis-first with lower terrace flakes.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Age of deepest chert artifacts — 15,000 vs 13,500 BP
- 02Whether lower flakes are anthropogenic vs natural fracturing
Theories
- 01Topper lower horizon as pre-Clovis eastern quarry predating Clovis by 2 kyr
- 02Chert nodules as curated preform trade to Savannah River
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.15,000–12,900 BCE (Topper pre-Clovis to Clovis)
- Period
- Pre-Clovis (Topper) to Clovis
- Culture
- Pre-Clovis (Topper)/Clovis
- Builders
- Pre-Clovis (Topper) foragers
- Purpose
- Allendale chert quarry and hillside camp
- Abandoned
- c.12,900 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1990s by Goodyear; excavated 1998–2015 South Carolina Institute
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.15,000 BCE
Initial pre-Clovis quarry use (lower terrace disputed)
c.12,900 BCE
Clovis horizon with fluted points
1998–2015
Goodyear excavations publish pre-Clovis claim
2015
Debate continues with micromorphology and OSL
On the ground
Structures & features
33.4500° N · 81.3000° W · 85 m · 2 mapped features
Pre-Clovis quarry face with chert nodules
quarry2 m Pleistocene terrace with lower debitage and chert nodules
33.4510° N · 81.2990° WUpper Clovis horizon with fluted points
featureClovis fluted points and blade debitage in upper sand
33.4489° N · 81.3008° W