100 miles one way B FARMLAND A GRAZING LAND TODAYS TRAVEL ROUTE 1 TWO WAYS TO PLOT THIS TRIP On a Highway Map What geologic goodies will we see on this drive On a State Geologic Map ID: 659033
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Texas Stone Quarry
Total Trip,
100 miles
one way!
(B)
FARMLAND
(A)
GRAZING LAND
TODAY’S TRAVEL ROUTE
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TWO WAYS TO PLOT THIS TRIP
On a Highway Map!
What geologic goodies will we see on this drive!
On a State Geologic Map!
On Next Page
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DETAILED VIEW ON THE GEOLOGIC MAP
RIVERS
SEDIMENTS
Keys Valley Marl
Gault Site
Austin Chalk
Edwards Limestone
Mudstone
Clay & Gravel
Clay, Quartz, Calcite
Balcones Fault System
Austin Chalk
Austin
Waco
I-35 Highway
Glen Rose Limestone
Lake Flow Limestone
Sand, clay, marl
Georgetown Limestone
Pecan Gap Chalk
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Eagle Ford ShaleSlide4
WHY IS THERE SO MUCH LIMESTONE?
fallen. During times of high sea level, Texas, along with much of the center of the USA, has been under a “shallow” sea. When that happens, corals, algae and other microscopic marine organisms flourish and then die, depositing their calcium rich skeletons on the
sea floor. Over millions of years, those “skeletons” are buried, compressed, de-watered, turned to rock (limestone), then exposed at the surface. This gives us the limestone that we are seeing at the surface today! Geology Rocks!
This is a snapshot in time from about 100 million years ago (
mya)4As icecaps and glaciers have come and gone, sea level has risen andSlide5
ANTHROPOLOGY
“the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture”
Merriam
ARCHAEOLOGY
“the scientific study of material remains (as fossil relics, artifacts, and monuments) of past human life and activities”Merriam“In North America, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology”
ARCHAEOLOGY KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
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The archaeological site commonly referred to as the “Gault Site” is
in central Texas (near Florence) where a meter-thick (3.2-foot) Late Prehistoric and Archaic
midden
overlies a hard-packed, Paleo-Indian component
Components in evidence at the site include Late Prehistoric, Late Archaic, Early Archaic, and Paleo-Indian, Folsom and Clovis occupationsThe “Gault Site” is actually composed of two different archaeological work areas: the Gault Archaeological
Site & the Debra L. Friedkin
Paleo-Indian site, better known as the Buttermilk Complex site. They are approx. 300 yds
apart.
The
Buttermilk Complex
provided an impressive chronology of tools; oldest possibly dating to 15,500 years ago
. Tools belonged to a much older people than “Clovis”; therefore known as “Pre-Clovis”!Regardless of who was “first”, people had apparently been coming here for millennia to camp , hunt and make stone tools near the banks of the Buttermilk Creek
Clovis people had been thought to be the First Peoples of North America
The Gault Site is particularly well known for the large quantities of Clovis materials--more than 600,000 Clovis age artifacts have been recovered from excavations with only 3% of the total site area having been researched.These 600,000 artifacts constitutes about
60% of all known Clovis artifacts recovered in North America
, making Gault an unprecedented research collection
A VISIT TO THE “GAULT SITE”
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HISTORY OF THE
GAULT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
James E. Pearce, first professional archeologist in Texas, learned of the Gault Farm site & excavated there in 1929-1930 (for 8 weeks)
Over the next 60 years, artifact collectors churned up the upper deposits over almost the entire site, but stopped digging when the dark rich
midden soil played out, figuring that there was nothing below that layer…In 1988 site became a “pay to dig” site where artifact collectors could come, pay a small fee, dig anywhere on the site, and carry away anything found
In 1990, an artifact collector dug deeper and found Clovis artifacts along with several unusual incised stones (first North American Art?), something never before found with Clovis materials Learning of the find, Drs. Thomas R. Hester and Michael B. Collins of the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory carried out testing at Gault in 1991, just enough to confirm the collector's story
But the property owner at the time continued to let pay-to-dig artifact collectors dig up (destroy?) the site
Fortunately for archaeology, in 1998 the property changed hands and the new owners recognized the scientific importance of the siteStarting in 1998, a major excavation project were undertaken at Gault, led by Dr. Michael Collins (Texas State U., San Marcos) (Dr. D. Clark Wernecke is currently Executive Director, The Gault School of Archaeological Research)
By June of 2013 the excavations at Gault were substantially completed with Area 15 excavation reaching bedrockAn estimated 2.6 million artifacts, 600k identified as Clovis, from ca. 3% of the site have been collected. This is the largest Clovis site anywhere!
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What’s a Mammoth?
http://static.diffen.com/uploadz/6/6a/mammoth-mastodon-evolution.jpg
Mammoth
Mastadon
African Elephant
PALEOMASTADON
Evolution:
Species:
Mammoth species at Waco Site
Waco Mammoth National Monument
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https://www.cdm.org/mammothdiscovery/img/namammothmap.gif
MAMMOTH MAXIMUM GLACIATION HABITAT RANGE DURING LAST ICE AGE
http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projects/qen/nercNORTHAMERICA.html
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The Waco Mammoth National Monument
HISTORY- two hikers found a large bone sticking from a ravine near the Bosque River
(McLennan County, Tx) - Baylor Museum staff identified the bone as a femur from an extinct Columbian mammoth1978-1990 - archeological excavations of the site uncovered fossils of 16 mammoths – a nursery herd that appears to have died together in a flash flood
1990-1997 – additional discoveries of six mammoths, a western camel, dwarf antelope, American alligator
, giant tortoise, and tooth of a juvenile saber-toothed cat 2009 – erection of a climate-controlled dig shelter for public viewing & scientific study2015 – Waco Site becomes part of the National Park Systemhttp://farm2.staticflickr.com/1422/4720537007_7aece6fa2d_z.jpg
13 feet
Columbian Mammoth Characteristics:
Height: 11-13 feetWeight: 8-10 tonsGestation: 22 monthsLifespan:
~ 80 yearsHabitat: open savannah, rangeDiet: vegetation (sedges, grasses_
Extinction: ~11,500 YBP (climate change? human hunting?)
TOUROur tour guide,
Dava Butler, will lead us from the Welcome Center, down a 300 yard paved path to the Dig Shelter where the rmammoth fossils are in situ (in their original position). During our tour, we will learn about the Ice Age, how these fossils were discovered, and why the Waco Mammoth Site is one of the most important paleontological sites in North America.12