This history of the first people to settle in the New World starts with a summary of the archaeology of Clovis-fluted point-makers in North America. Gary Haynes evaluates the wide range of interpretations given to facts about the Clovis. He then presents his own fully developed and integrated theory, which incorporates vital new biological, ecological, behavioral and archaeological data.

Part I. Fluted Points and the Peopling of the Americas: 1.1. Introduction; 1.2. Fin de siècle paradigm-busting, or what’s at stake in the debate about the colonizing of North America?; 1.3. How do archaeologists address the big unanswered questions about Fluted-Point-Makers?; Part II. What is Clovis? The Archaeological Record: 2.1. Introduction; 2.2. Clovis archaeological footprints, region by region; 2.3. Knowledge and guesswork about the late Pleistocene; 2.4. Defining Clovis: is it a culture? 2.5. The course of regional developments: the megamammal connection; Part III. Clovis Archaeological Culture: 3.1. Introduction; 3.2. Clovis-era technology; 3.3. Clovis-era megamammal bone-breakage; 3.4. Clovis-era artwork, decorative work, ‘symbolic’ objects; Part IV. The Old and New World Patterns Compared: 4.1. Dispersals and diffusions: old world Upper Paleolithic and new world Clovis; 4.2. The American Upper Paleolithic; Part V. Figures in the Landscape: Foraging in the Clovis Era: 5.1. Introduction; 5.2. Archaeological evidence about hunting and gathering in megamammal landscapes; 5.3. Why hunt megamammals? Why not hunt megamammals? Conclusions from Part V. Figures in the Landscapes: Part VI. Colonizing Foragers: 6.1. Introduction; 6.2. Colonization theory. Conclusions from Part VI: Complexity in Clovis dispersals; Part VII. Unified Conclusions about the Clovis Era: 7.1. Introduction; 7.2. The end.