A FURTHER EVALUATION OF THE SAN-JON SITE, NEW-MEXICO

The San Jon site (LA 6437) is a well-known, but only briefly documente d multicomponent archaeological locality situated on the northern rim of the Southern High Plains in Quay County, New Mexico. The site is in a small (360 m wide), dry lake basin or ''playa.'' Archaeological mat erials buried by basin fill are now being exposed along deep arroyo tr ibutaries of a canyon that cut into the High Plains escarpment Excavat ions in 1941 provided evidence that Paleoindian and late Archaic hunte rs may have used the site to procure and process bison. A ceramic habi tation also was documented. Fieldwork in 1993, 1994, and 1995, and rea nalysis of the extant San Jon collection yielded additional data on th e cultural chronology of the site and the complexity of the site's for mational history. Two unfluted, lanceolate points were found in 1941, one of which is the type ''San Jon'' point recovered in association wi th an extinct species of bison (MNI = 5). The other Late Paleoindian p oint was found in association with modern bison in a redeposited conte xt Both artifacts are now considered to be Firstview points. The ''San Jon'' level is dated to greater than or equal to 8400 yrs BP. In 1993 , a latest Paleoindian or Early Archaic feature, very rare for the reg ion, was found in situ directly above the ''San Jon'' bonebed and yiel ded the base of a lanceolate point, two small side-notched points, con siderable lithic debitage, and bone. The feature dates between 8400 an d 7600 yrs BP. The Late Archaic bonebed (MNI = 7) dates to < 3600 yrs BP. San Jon is one of the few sites in the region with a documented re cord of multiple in situ occupations spanning the Paleoindian, Archaic , and Late Prehistoric Traditions.