The result of the Bayesian chronological modeling was a well-supported age estimate for the pre-Clovis layers at Paisley that is consistent with, and substantially more precisely characterized than, the original estimates from the 2008 paper.

The Parallel Technology Argument

The argument made in the 2012 Jenkins paper that Western Stemmed technology was parallel to Clovis rather than derived from it deserves careful examination, because it touches on one of the most fundamental questions in the study of early Americans: how many founding dispersals were there, and what was the relationship between them?

The Clovis-first model, in its strongest form, proposed a single founding dispersal into the Americas — a population that crossed from Beringia into North America and rapidly spread across both continents, bringing with it the Clovis technological tradition.

Under this model, all subsequent technologies, including Western Stemmed technology, would be derived from Clovis — modifications and adaptations of the Clovis toolkit to different environments and different prey animals.