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Site Details

Sandia Cave

Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection Read more about this collection »

Site Typecave DescriptionType site for a tanged and unfluted projectile point in New Mexico's Sandia Mountains. This cave has yielded artifacts of the so-called "Sandia Man" (25,000 BC). In Pueblo mythology the Sandias were sacred, marking the southern boundary of the Tiwa-speaking Indian territory. Sandia points were stratified below Folsom points but the radiocarbon dates of pre-20,000 BC are often discounted, the true date probably falling in the range 12000-8000 BC, overlapping with Clovis. Associated fauna of bison, mammoth, and mastodon suggested contemporaneity with the Llano complex. Sandia type I has a lanceolate blade without fluting and without concave base of Clovis/Folsom and a shoulder to one side of the base of the blade, suggesting knife use. Sandia Type II has rounded base (see linked publications).

Site Name Sandia Cave Site Type cave Description
Type site for a tanged and unfluted projectile point in New Mexico's Sandia Mountains. This cave has yielded artifacts of the so-called "Sandia Man" (25,000 BC). In Pueblo mythology the Sandias were sacred, marking…
Type site for a tanged and unfluted projectile point in New Mexico's Sandia Mountains. This cave has yielded artifacts of the so-called "Sandia Man" (25,000 BC). In Pueblo mythology the Sandias were sacred, marking the southern boundary of the Tiwa-speaking Indian territory. Sandia points were stratified below Folsom points but the radiocarbon dates of pre-20,000 BC are often discounted, the true date probably falling in the range 12000-8000 BC, overlapping with Clovis. Associated fauna of bison, mammoth, and mastodon suggested contemporaneity with the Llano complex. Sandia type I has a lanceolate blade without fluting and without concave base of Clovis/Folsom and a shoulder to one side of the base of the blade, suggesting knife use. Sandia Type II has rounded base (see linked publications).

Citation

Page Citation for Sandia Cave

Page Citation

"Site Details - Sandia Cave, Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection." University of Alberta Museums Search Site, https://search.museums.ualberta.ca/g/7-686/17-31. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

Publications

Author Kipfer, Barbara Ann
Title Archaeology Wordsmith

Site Information

There are 2 specimens from this Item Group

969.18.1 - projectile point

Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection

Object Typeprojectile point Place CollectedNorth America: United States, New Mexico, Sandia Mountains

969.18.2 - projectile point

Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection

Object Typeprojectile point Place CollectedNorth America: United States, New Mexico, Sandia Mountains