C urrent archaeological and genetic evi- dence suggests that modern humans first dispersed into and began colonizing the Americas perhaps around 16,000 years ago (Eriksson et al. 2012; Goebel et al. 2008; Meltzer 2009; Pitblado 2011). Clovis, which developed around 13,000 calendar years before present (B.P.) (Haynes 1992; Waters and Stafford 2007), is the most recognized early archaeological com- plex in North America, and Clovis has been linked to the first human colonization of interior North America (Anderson 1990, 1996; Kelly and Todd 1988). Where Clovis came from, how it developed and spread, and how it relates to the colonization of the New World, however, remain in question because no sites or technologies have been shown to be unequivocally ancestral to Clo- vis. Identifying Clovis technological origins en- tails clearly defining Clovis and tracing techno- logical signatures to a precursory archaeological complex. To further our understanding of the ori- gins of Clovis, this paper presents new data on the pre-Clovis chipped-stone assemblage from the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas, termed the Butter- milk Creek Complex (BCC), and compares pre- Clovis and Clovis technological signatures using site-level behavioral, technological trait-list, and cladistic analyses. Results of these three inde- pendent comparative methods show that BCC is distinct from but similar to Clovis, and we suggest PRE-CLOVIS LITHIC TECHNOLOGY AT THE DEBRA L. FRIEDKIN SITE, TEXAS: COMPARISONS TO CLOVIS THROUGH SITE-LEVEL BEHAVIOR, TECHNOLOGICAL TRAIT-LIST, AND CLADISTIC ANALYSES Thomas A. Jennings and Michael R. Waters Humans first left Siberia and colonized the Americas perhaps around 16,000 years ago, and the Clovis archaeological com- plex in North America has traditionally been linked to this migratory pulse. Archaeologists searching for evidence of Clo- vis technological antecedents have focused their attention on the Beringian and Siberian archaeological records. Growing evidence for the pre-Clovis occupation of North America provides a possible alternative source for the origins of Clovis. In this paper, we present new data on the pre-Clovis lithic assemblage from the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas, and compare Clovis and pre-Clovis lithic technological signatures. We show that while Clovis and pre-Clovis share some important tech- nological traits, they also differ in important ways. We conclude that the pre-Clovis assemblage from Debra L. Friedkin cannot be called “Clovis,” but it could represent a technological antecedent of Clovis. Los seres humanos primero dejaron de Siberia y colonizaron América quizás alrededor de 16,000 años, y el complejo arque- ológico de Clovis en América del norte, tradicionalmente se ha relacionado con este pulso migratoria. Arqueólogos buscando evidencia de Clovis antecedentes tecnológicos han centrado su atención en los registros arqueológicos Beringian y Siberia- nos. Creciente evidencia de la ocupación de pre-Clovis de América del norte proporciona una fuente alternativa posible para los orígenes de Clovis. En este trabajo presentamos nuevos datos sobre el conjunto lítico de pre-Clovis del sitio de Debra L. Friedkin, Texas y compara Clovis y firmas tecnológicas líticas de pre-Clovis. Nos muestran que mientras que Clovis y pre- Clovis comparten algunas características tecnológicas importantes, también difieren en aspectos importantes. Concluimos que el conjunto de pre-Clovis de Debra L. Friedkin no puede llamarse “Clovis,” pero podría representar un antecedente tec- nológico de Clovis. Thomas A. Jennings  Department of Anthropology, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, 30118 (jennings.thomas.a@gmail.com) Michael R. Waters  Center for the Study of the First Americans, Departments of Anthropology and Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 American Antiquity 79(1), 2014, pp. 25–44 Copyright © 2014 by the Society for American Archaeology 25 Delivered by http://saa.metapress.com Society for American Archaeology - American Antiquity access (392-89-746) IP Address: 71.92.40.40 Friday, January 10, 2014 2:40:18 PM