By Jim Rogers

Twenty-five years ago, East Wenatchee metformin hydrochloride brand name became the site of a spectacular archeological discovery. In 1987, Moises Aguirre uncovered the 14,000 year-old Clovis artifacts while digging an irrigation line in an apple orchard along Grant Road.

The artifacts from the site are safely housed in the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center for the public to view.

The Clovis name came from the pointed arrow shape of the large tools that were characteristic of the culture that lived at the site that is now East Wenatchee. It is known today as the East Wenatchee Clovis site or the Richey Clovis site.

Characteristic of the artifacts are the exceptionally large Clovis points measuring up to nearly 10 inches. The largest points previously found were about six inches, located in Colorado, Utah and Montana. Remains of bones were preserved at the site and uncovered by archeologists. The bone artifacts were from ancient mammoths.

Archeologists speculated that the site might have been a burial ground, although this has not been proven. Some bones were thought to be human teeth and human bone in 1993, but that theory has not been proven either.

The site is owned by the State of Washington and the artifacts preserved in the museum are on loan there.

The tools were not war weapons but instruments for killing large animals for food. The Clovis points served as weapons to kill and dress the meat of mammoths and mastodons that are now extinct.

The social structure of the culture is not definitive since little else but Clovis points for hunting have been found.

Bill Rietvelt, museum coordinator, said the Clovis exhibit was one of the most extraordinary of its kind. He said the size of the tools are amazing, and the artistry of the spearheads and tools stand out as unique among museum exhibits.

“We are so fortunate to have this exhibit. Certainly archeologists throughout the world are familiar with this exhibit,” Rietvelt said.

People come from out-of-state-to see it. It is one of the more popular exhibits in the museum.

Rietvelt said he did not know of any special recognition of this exhibit on this anniversary of its discovery. It continues to be a unique display for Wenatchee Valley residents who come to see and study the artifacts.