The archaeology of Mockingbird Gap was first noted by Robert H. Weber in the 1950s. He continued the work of noting archaeological remains in the Gap until 2008. He found at least 70
Clovis projectile points in the Mackingbird Gap outside the area of the site. The Mockingbird Gap site itself. about 0.5 square kilometers in extent, was first excavated from 1966 until 1968 by George Agogino of
Eastern New Mexico University, working with Weber. An area of about 87 square meters was excavated revealing remains from
Clovis, Archaic, late Prehistoric, and early Historic period
Ancestral Pueblo periods. Occupation material extended about 1 meter deep. From 2005 to 2007 a
University of New Mexico and
University of Arizona team led by Bruce Huckell and
Vance Holliday excavated at the site. Work including deep coring. In 2022 work resumed at the site by a team led by Briggs Buchanan. Operations focused on surveys, documentation of finds, and geophysical sensing. During the initial complete surface survey on 5 diagnostic specimens were recovered indicating the site is geomorphically stable. Clovis period finds recovered so far include "more than 200 projectile points (mostly basal fragments), 100 gravers, 50 end scrapers, numerous unifacially retouched flakes, and abundant utilized flakes and debitag". About 27
projectile points are complete. The most common stone used for tools is
jasper followed by
chalcedony and
obsidian. In a core drilled in 2008 a
calcium carbonate bead was found at a depth between 910 and 920 centimeters below the surface. It was manufactured using a rotary drill and dated to about 11,000 C14 years BP, the Clovis period though it was suggested that it might belong to the slightly later
Folsom tradition. ==See also==