to similar artifacts found at other suspected pre-Clovis sites such as Cooperton, Oklahoma; Bonfire Shelter, Texas; and the Lamb Spring site in Colorado (Ray 2000:70). The evidence for a pre-Clovis occupation at the Big Eddy remains an area of speculation. To date, no clearly humanly modified object has been found below the Clovis strata of the site. It is hoped that future work will find more conclusive proof of early occupation. Dating of the site One of the issues with many pre-Clovis sites that have been tentatively identified is the lack of secure dating. One of the remarkable features of this site is how well stratified it is. Layer upon layer of silt has been laid down over the millennia, and periodic sealing has locked the deposits in an easily dated context. Aware of the significance of their finds, Ray and Lopinot have taken great care in excavating and documenting the site. Secure dating of Paleoindian sites is rare, but the team at Big Eddy has been able to obtain 15 dates from charcoal at Paleoindian levels of the strata (CAR 2006). Just above the Paleosol, Early Archaic artifacts have been found with charcoal that yielded an uncorrected AMS date of 9,525+/-65 years BP (Lopinot et al. 1998:40). Within the Paleosol itself, charcoal in close association with the San Patrice points has been AMS dated to 10,185+/-75 BP (Lopinot et al. 1998:40; Ray et al. 1998:77). Lower still in the Paleosol have come three other dates, all uncorrected; 10,400+/-75, 10,470+/-80, and 11,280+/-75 years BP (Lopinot et al. 1998:40). Below the Paleosol, in the Early Rodgers layer, charcoal was also found within 2 cm of the Gainey/Clovis point. The uncorrected AMS date of this piece was found to be 10,710+/-85 years BP (Ray et al. 1998:78). Clovis occupation is believed to extend to 3.55 meters, but five more dates have been obtained from material at even greater depths: 3.58 meters, 3.64 meters, 3.75 meters, 3.83 meters, and 3.86 meters. The dates obtained for these samples are 12,320+/-130 years BP, 11,930+/-110 years BP, 12,250+/-100 years BP, 11,375+/-80 years BP, and 12,590+/-85 years BP respectively. These dates are all AMS uncorrected (Ray 2000:69). Even if pre-Clovis evidence remains elusive, the excellent dating at the site has provided extremely valuable information about the climate of the region through time. Different climate conditions promote different kinds of plant growth. These different flora leave different carbon