Topper Site
Topper is an archaeological site located along the Savannah River in Allendale County, South Carolina, United States. It is noted as a location of artifacts which some archaeologists believe to indicate human habitation of the New World earlier than the Clovis culture. The latter were previously believed to be the first people in North America.
Artifacts at this site may predate Clovis by 3,000 years or more, but these conclusions are disputed. The primary excavation has gone down to a level that dates to at least 50,000 B.C., searching for evidence of cultural artifacts. Until increasing challenges in the first decade of the 21st century to the Clovis theory based on this site and others, it was unusual for archaeologists to dig deeper than the layer of the Clovis culture, as they then believed that no human artifacts would be found older than Clovis. Among the objects from the "pre-Clovis" stratum, dated to 16,000-20,000 years BP, is a large piece nicknamed the "Topper Chopper." This apparent tool offers some of the most compelling evidence for human agency, including bifacial flaking of the edge.
Topper lies at 33°0′19″N 81°14′40″W / 33.00528°N 81.24444°WCoordinates: 33°0′19″N 81°14′40″W / 33.00528°N 81.24444°W, along the eastern side of the Savannah River. The site is somewhat hilly: the lowest section lies along the river at an elevation between 80 feet (24 m) and 90 feet (27 m), while the highest is the site's eastern edge, which rises above 130 feet (40 m). It measures approximately 0.1 miles (0.16 km) east-west and slightly more than half of that distance north-south, although the full extent of the archaeological deposits has not yet been determined. The site is located on a large parcel of secure, private land owned by Archroma, a color and specialty chemicals company and is not open for public access.
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