Class Trip to Gault
Submitted by Kathryn Teich, current class of the Balcones Canyonlands chapter.
On Saturday November 6th the Balcones Canyonlands Texas Master Naturalist class
visited the Gault School of Archaeological Research site near
Florence, Texas. Dr. D. Clark Wernecke, the Executive Director of the Gault School of
Archaeological Research, served as our instructor and our guide at the site.
Dr. Wernecke explained that the Gault Archaeological Site is one of the oldest
artifact sites found in North America, dating back 16,000 years—and possibly older.
The Gault Site was purchased by Mr. Gault in the 1920’s with the intention of
farming it, but instead he found a bounty of artifacts scattered over the land. In
1929, it was brought to the attention of J. E. Pearce, an Anthropologist from the
University of Texas who started excavations on the burnt rock middens. He
discovered several Clovis artifacts while digging. Excavations only lasted a few
months and then Mr. Gault opened his property for pay-per-dig, which continued
until the 1990’s. Pay-per-dig means people paid a fee to keep what they dug up,
wherever they wanted to dig on the site. In the 1990’s incised stones were found, so
the new property owner agreed to stop the pay-per-dig and allow archaeologists
access to study the site.
The first legitimate excavations of the site yielded more than 1.4 million artifacts,
half of those from the Clovis period, dating back 13,000 years. Later digs unearthed
approximately 150,000 artifacts dating before the Clovis period, to 16,000 years
ago.
Excavations have stopped (and the site has been reburied); work is now being
carried out in the lab analyzing the artifacts. Aside from the vast amounts of
artifacts found at the Gault Site, the oldest documented stone floor in North
America was unearthed, and the remains of a Columbian Mammoth were found
along with hunting and butchering tools.
Dr. Wernecke is an engaging and knowledgeable speaker. He is also an amazing
storyteller. His stories related the archaeological finds to the lives of the people who
lived there and how the land was able to support people for 16,000 years. Artifacts
are tools that help archaeologists understand people and cultures. Each of the
layers unearthed at the site help to build a picture of the people and their way of
life.
The location and terrain of the Gault Site is also important to the story. The Gault
Site lies at the crossroads of three distinct biomes (Black Prairie grassland savanna,
hardwood Texas Hill Country uplands, and lush valley river bottom) enabling people
to shift between biomes as resources became plentiful or scarce in each biome. The
site is near ancient trade routes and it is located on Edwards Limestone. Edwards
Limestone is porous, supporting numerous springs and in the limestone is found a
high-quality chert used for tool making and trading.
The artifacts found at the Gault Site support and prove the hypothesis that humans
have inhabited Central Texas for at least 16,000 years. As more sites are discovered
around Texas, archaeologists are piecing together the life of the first inhabitants in
the Americas.In 2006, The Gault School of Archaeological Research was established to protect
and maintain this crucial site for preserving, studying, and understanding our
heritage. Archaeologists from around the world recognize the significance of the
Gault Site and have come here to study it. The Gault School of Archaeological
Research also strives to encourage public involvement and education.