By Jim E. Cox, D.D.S.
Cedar Creek is a well known multi-component archaeological site in western Oklahoma. It has been referenced in the archaeological literature since professional investigations began there in 1947 (Bell 1948, 1951). While it is famed for its Paleoindian and Pleistocene deposits, it is most remarkable for its frequency of Folsom artifacts. This locality has produced more diagnostic Folsom artifacts than anywhere else in Oklahoma (Hofman1994). Collected over the last 80 plus years, numerous Folsom and Midland examples have come to light in the collections of a number of individuals. The quantity recorded by this author and Dr. Jack Hofman have now exceeded well over 100 specimens.
Selected Cedar Creek Folsoms and Midlands, Cox Collection
Top Row: Finished Folsom points, all of Edwards chert or Alibates.
Bottom Row: Finished Midland points and two channel flakes, far right one with graver spur.
Materials recovered indicate the canyon was a kill site as well as a camp location. The high density and array of Folsom materials from Cedar Creek have led some researchers to suggest it is a Folsom “aggregation” site (much like the Rendezvous of the nineteenth century mountain men in Western lore). Other Folsom sites identified as potential aggregations are Lindenmeier, Shifting Sands, Adair-Steadman and Lipscomb (Wilmsen 1974; Wilmsen and Roberts 1978; Hofman, Amick and Rose 1990; Tunnel 1977; Hofman 1990, 1992, 1994; Hofman, Todd, Schultz, Hendy 1991, and Schroeder 2007).