Deep in the heart of Texas is the Gault Archaeological Site containing more than two million lithic artifacts and the greatest number of Clovis-age artifacts in the world. Dr. Michael Collins has studied archaeological sites for the past 50 years and believes the Gault Site provides an ideal “laboratory for the study of human adaptability,” —both in the past and for the future. Find out more at Gault School of Archaeological Research or Texas Beyound History.

The Gault Site is one of the most important archaeological sites in America, and the Gault School of Archaeological Research arranges a variety of public education and media events to advance its research. Dr. Clark Wernicke conducts tours of the Gault Site in coordination with the Bell County Museum in Belton and the Williamson Museum in Georgetown.

Fed by a series of fresh water springs, Buttermilk creek flows through a wooded valley. Fresh water, along with the game and plant life it supports and an unlimited supply of excellent flint, created an ideal campground for hunter-gathering bands. Generations of campers took advantage of its resources and left artifacts behind to let us know of their existence.

The banks of the creek reveal accumulations of excellent flint that drew hunters to the site. Debris from 11,000 years of flintknapping lay exposed for archaeologists to examine.

The contrast between an expertly honed point and that of a lesser skilled flintknapper is clear in this display of two points found at the site. Clark compares these paleo-craftsmen to sculptors—as we do in our story—who search for the “spirit of the stone hidden within its depths.”

Clark describes the identifying characteristics of various points found at the site—more than 2 million have been analyzed and date back from approximately 15,000 years to a mere 500 years ago. This site has been inhabited—and still is—for a very long time.

Clark demonstrates to use of an atlatl to increase the power and distance of a hunter’s spear.

The major excavation site is marked to show the 27 layers of habitation and was, for several years, accessible for visitor viewing. The hole has now been preserved and covered to insure its availability for future archaeological study. You may view a video tour of the excavations of Gault Area 15.

You can see the Clovis culture defined here—spanning approximately 13,100-12,900 years ago—200-300 years. Below the Clovis level, additional lithic artifacts have been identified, possibly dating 13 to 15,000 years ago.

One of the most important finds at the site is a variety of engraved stones thought to be the first artistic representation of the Clovis culture. No one knows for sure what the stones signify, but in our Shadow Trails story, we imagine that the engravings might have been story maps used to re-tell ancestral history and legend.

This was the site of an ancient midden, earth oven, dating approximately 8,000 years ago. Evidence of earth ovens are indicated by collections of heat-cracked stones with the remains of plant matter, mainly sotol, camas, and agave roots.

In the youtube video, DIGGING TEXAS - The Gault Archaeological Site of Central Texas Dr. Collins describes what may have been the first architectural structure in America—a 7x7 ft. pavement positioned according to the cardinal directions