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The Calico Mountains site in California is a controversial archaeological site, associated with pre-Clovis human occupation. Located in the Mojave Desert, it was excavated in the 1960s and 1970s, with famed archaeologist Louis Leakey among those who investigated it. The site contains lithic artifacts that some interpret as tools. They are within sediment layers dated to around 200,000 years ago. Some even as low at 26 feet, or 8m below the surface. Which would make it one of the oldest sites of human activity in North America.

Animal fossils ranging from more than 350,000 to 20,000 years ago are present here too
They include: mammoth, horse, camal, saber-tooth cat, dire wolf, coyote, short-faced bear, flamingo, pelican, eagle, swan, geese, duck, double-crested cormorant, grebe, crane, seagull and stork

However, the human evidence from Calico is highly debated. Many archaeologists question whether the artifacts are tools or simply naturally flaked rocks. Given their rudimentary appearance compared to other well-established early human tools. Additionally, the lack of typical features, like signs of flaking or distinctive tool shapes. It has led most researchers to dismiss them as artifacts or tools; and, more as products of geological processes.

Due to these concerns, Calico remains a disputed archaeological site. Most archaeologists hesitate to consider it reliable evidence of pre-Clovis human presence. Nonetheless, it continues to draw interest and discussion, as it challenges the views on timing of human migration into the western hemisphere. And, that is changing. To date, the site is still open to the public.

Bibliography: “U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Calico Early Man Site” (https://web.archive.org/web/20070404003818/http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/barstow/calico.html). Archived from the original (https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/barstow/calico.html)

Bischoff, J.L., R.J. Shlemon, T.L. Ku, R.D. Simpson, R.J. Rosenbauer, & F.E. Budinger, Jr., “1981 Uranium-series and Soils-geomorphic Dating of the Calico Archaeological Site, California”, Geology V9 (12), pp. 576–582

Haynes, Vance (1973) “The Calico Site: Artifacts or Geofacts?”, Science, vol. 181, no. 4097, July 27, 1973, pp. 305–310.

Payen, L., “Artifacts or geofacts at Calico: Application of the Barnes test,” in Peopling of the New World, Ericson J., Taylor, R., and Berger, R., eds. Los Altos, California: Ballena Press, 1982, pp. 193–201.

Calico Early Man Site: The Setting (http://www.calicodig.org/text?page=4)