An ancient workshop on the Nottoway River
On a sandy terrace overlooking the Nottoway River in Sussex County, Virginia, lies one of the most important archaeological sites in the Americas. Cactus Hill, named for the prickly pear cactus that grows in the sandy soil, contains evidence that changed our understanding of when humans first arrived on the continent. The site, designated 44SX202, is not a cave or a permanent settlement but a stratified campsite where people have stopped for millennia. Its remarkable record is preserved within wind-deposited (eolian) sand dunes that have kept distinct layers of occupation separate for thousands of years.
Systematic excavations, led by archaeologists Joseph M. McAvoy and Lynn D. McAvoy starting in 1993, revealed a clear sequence of cultural layers. An upper layer contained classic fluted projectile points and tools associated with the Clovis culture, radiocarbon dated to about 10,920 years ago. Below this, separated by a layer of sterile sand, archaeologists found an even older cultural deposit. This pre-Clovis layer contained a different toolkit, including thin, unfluted lanceolate bifaces, polyhedral blade cores, and scrapers made from local quartzite. The presence of these tools deep below the Clovis horizon showed that people were in Virginia long before the Clovis hunters appeared.