Texas Almanac, 1984-1985 Page: 55
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SCIENCE 55
proach to the study of archaeology through the use of
public money:
"Archaeologists are becoming far more conscious
of the ethical dimensions of their work. Recognition of
archaeology as a public resource is making archaeolo-
gists far more sensitive to the social implications of
their work."
The study of archaeology in Texas in the mid-1980s
still faces many challenges. While the TAS now has 1,000
members who faithfully donate time, most of the con-
tract funding comes for salvage archaeology of sites
that may be destroyed. More than 4,000 sites a year are
lost to construction, vandals or other destructive
forces. Often a crisis atmosphere exists at digs. And
although many studies are made, funds aren't avail-
able for interpretation, and volumes of information of-
ten staclk up for years without funds available for stud-
ies to integrate the findings into the mosaic of Texas
archaeology.
The question of conservation also touches upon the
work of the archaeologists themselves. Many practi-tioners have adopted the practice when possible of
leaving parts of sites uninvestigated, preserving them
for future archaeologists who will have new questions
to answer and evep more sophisticated tools.
Wendorf, chairman of the State Antiquities Com-
mittee, summed up the challenge of the study of
archaeology:
"Archaeology gives us a sense of a place in history.
If we are only aware of our place today or in the imme-
diate past, we don't really understand ourselves, and
we aren't aware of the enormous acceleration of man-
kind's progress in the past 8,000-9,000 years."
This article on archaeology (also spelled "ar-
cheology" by some organizations) in Texas was
prepared by Mike Kingston, editor of the Texas
Almanac.Archaeology Can Be Seen By Texans
Between 25,000-30,000 archaeological sites have
been registered with the Texas Archaeological Survey at
the University of Texas at Austin. Thousands more ex-
ist, yet are unreported or undiscovered. Most Texans
seldom have occasion to visit many of the remote loca-
tions where archaeologists carefully piece together the
broad picture of the state's prehistory.
The Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, Texas
Tech University and the National Park Segvice of the U.S.
Interior Department have provided the public with ac-
cess to several archaeological sites that provide a
glimpse of prehistoric.Texas.
The point of'archaeological .investigations is not
just to recover artifacts. Scientists excavate sites to de-
termine how ancient people lived, how the climate af-
fected.their lifestyles and what impact the environment
and its changes had on inhabitants over long periods of
time. Those goals have been attained at many of the
localities available for public viewing.
Most fascinating of the seven locations open for
visitation is the Caddoan Mounds State Historical Site in
Cherokee County in southeast Texas. Located six miles
south of Alto on State Highway 21, three large Caddoan
Indian mounds, representing the most advanced of
Texas' prehistoric cultures, are open to tourists.
The Caddoan culture represented by the mounds
flourished in the East Texas woodlands between 800
A.D. and 1300 A.D. Builders of the mounds, one of which
was a burial ground and ceremonial center, were ac-
complished farmers and traders, as well as hunters.
The culture was socially stratified and was far ad-
vanced in comparison with other prehistoric peoples in
the state. Descendants of the Caddos were still in East.
Texas when Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th
century.
Although the mounds were first dug as a Works Pro-
gross Administration project in 1939, it was not until the
1960s that Dr. Dee Ann Story of UT-Austin began exten-
sive excavations. The Caddo's sophisticated civilization
once was considered akin to the highly developed Aztec
and Mayan cultures of Mexico, but no evidence has
been found to support that theory. Nevertheless, the
remains of the civilization are impressive and worththe
visit.
On the South Plains, the Lubbock Lake site has just
recently been opened to the public. Information on
tours and hours can be obtained from The Museum at
Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
Five distinct stratum provide visitors with a view of
STexas history that covers 12,000 years, from the prehis-
toric big-game hunters to the historic Apaches, all of
whom took advantage of the unique geologic features
of the area. This site also was discovered in the 1930s,
but it was not until 1974 that archaeologists from The
Musem at Texas Tech, under the direction of Dr. Eileen
Johnson, began extensive investigations of the cultures
that inhabited the location.
Studies also have revealed the changes in climate
that affected the people who depended on the ready
source of water at the springs that once flowed in the
area. And the excavations have provided information
on the increasing sophisticated technology that the in-
habitants developed to harvest the game and plant life
that was available. *At the Seminole Canyon State Historical Park, nine
miles west of Comstock on U.S. Highway 90 in Val Verde
County, a narrower time frame is represented. The
area around the canyon park has been inhabited by
man for 8,000 years, archaeologists have determined.
Man's experience in the area is depicted in an exhibit,
"Man on the Lower Pecos," that is located at the park
headquarters. The Fate Bell rock shelter, which can be
toured with a park guide, offers visitors a view of some
of the first Indian rock art created in the state.
Big-game hunters of the late Ice Age drove herds of
a now-extinct huge bison over the canyon's cliffs, and
then they butchered the animals. When the climate of
the area became dryer and warmer, inhabitants hunted
smaller game and used wild plants for food. A much
different lifestyle was pursued in the cultures repre-
sented at this park than at Caddoan Mounds or Lub-
bock Lake.
Just east of El Paso, the Hueco Tanks State Historical
Park also provides a view of diverse cultures once living
in that part of the state. Archaeological investigations
have determined that big-game hunters also once in-
habited the area. But the main attraction of this park,
which is located 32 miles east of El Paso on U.S. High-
way 62-180, is the rock art. Some of the pictographs, as
the painting is called, date back to the Desert Archaic
period, more than 1,000 years ago.
"Hueco" is Spanish for "hollow places" or "holes"
that are found in rock formations in the area, and they
have long served as storehouses for water. Although the
Jornada Branch of the Mogollon culture farmed in the
area about 1000 A.D., Hueco Tanks has served as a way
station for prehistoric and historic travelers. Some of
the rock painting that can be seen at one of 25 locations
in the park was done by the Apaches.
The Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument,
which is operated by the National Park Service, is locat-
ed near Fritch in Hutchinson County in the Panhandle.
Guided tours are available through the area that was
mined for thousands of years for.flint for arrowheads
and stone tools by prehistoric Texans. From September
to May, advance registration for the tours is required.
Quality of the material from the quarry put it in great
demand by prehistoric hunters throughout a large geo-
graphical area.
Just seven miles from the State Capital in Austin is
the McKinney Falls State Park, the home of the Smith rock
shelter. This site, which can be viewed from a park trail,
was inhabited for several hundred years. An excava-
tion by Dr. Dee Ann Story of UT-Austin indicated that
prehistoric Texans first used the shelter about 1500 B.C.
A complete review of the types of people that inhabited
the area is available at an interpretive center on the
park grounds.
In the future, two other state parks - Caprock Can-
yon in Briscoe County and Enchanted Rock in Gillespie
County - will have interpretive centers and archae-
ological sites for public viewing.
Further information on these parks and the tour
schedules can be obtained from the Texas Department
of Parks and Wildlife, the National Park Service or The
Museum at Texas Tech University. Contact should be
made with the proper agency before traveling to these
locations.
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Texas Almanac, 1984-1985, book, 1983; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113817/m1/57/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.