Paleoindians in Southwestern New York: Preliminary Results from Collector Surveys Derek T. Anderson ➤ Keywords: Paleoindians, survey, eastern Great Lakes The eastern Great Lakes region has been a focus of Paleoindian research for decades (e.g., Deller and Ellis 1992; Fogelman and Lantz 2006), but relatively little is known about the late-Pleistocene occupation of New York State. Ritchie (1965) produced the first map of fluted-point distributions for the state, and Wellman (1982) provided updated point counts by county, but analyses of regional or national point distribution maps (e.g., Anderson et al. 2010) shows that a dearth of information exists from New York compared with surrounding states. Paleontological and paleoenvironmental data indicate that the western portion of the state was deglaciated by approximately 12,500 RCYBP (e.g., Laub et al. 1988; Shuman et al. 2002), and archaeological evi- dence from sites like Arc (Vanderlaan 1986), Divers Lake (Prisch 1976), Emanon Pond (Tankersley 1995), and Hiscock (Laub 2003), indicate that early-Paleoindian groups (i.e., Gainey/Clovis) were utilizing, and possibly permanently occupying, the region. Consequently, the current lack of docu- mented fluted points is problematic. To address this issue, exploratory re- search was conducted in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, western New York, during the summer of 2009. A series of examinations of private collec- tions resulted in the identification of at least 10 previously undocumented fluted points and one multicomponent site. The first collection includes two fluted points and one probable fluted preform that were collected as isolated surface finds between the towns of Akeley, PA, and Frewsburg, NY, as well as numerous early- and middle-Archaic points. Although the majority of the collection is currently in storage, high- quality photographs in the possession of the collector show that both fluted points were heavily resharpened, making it impossible to assign them to a specific point type. Material identification is tentative, but one of the resharpened points appears to be Onondaga chert, which outcrops over 100 km to the north. Derek T. Anderson, South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, 1321 Pendleton Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208; e-mail: dta@email.arizona.edu CRP 27, 2010 ANDERSON 59