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We got a lot of lightning and a much needed long slow drizzle; probably about the same that Frank got. Are those buffalo bones, longhorn or modern range cattle, Charlie? I can't tell from the photos whether they're mineralized or not.

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We didn't get a whole lot here. It kinda skirted my area. We were on the edge of the system. Mighta got an inch. Dem's some real fine bones you got there. Apparently not all from the same critter either. These were washed up by the creek? What's next? That one looks like somebody worked it a little to make the round spot. No idea why.

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David, I know that their like these that I've found previously in color (brown versus white): http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bone11.jpg http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bone59.jpg http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bone29.jpg http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bone67.jpg http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bone72.jpg http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bone92.jpg Frank. I think these are eroding up from the alluvium, not washing down from upstream. I found several of them while digging the test trench. I added links to the bones in my previous post if you want a blow up shot. A bunch of bones have been discovered here.

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What has won her the most renown—and shaken up the archaeology establishment—is her 1996 report on her excavation of Caverna da Pedra Pintada in Brazil. This cave, adorned with rock paintings, is situated in the hills overlooking the Amazon floodplain near the town of Monte Alegre. Though long known to locals, it had never been excavated. What Roosevelt unearthed there appeared to contradict the standard explanation of how the New World was settledShe found stone projectile points buried near the mouth of the cave and, in the same layer of deposit, ancient remains of such foods as palm seeds, Brazil nuts, and fish. The settlement proved to be unexpectedly old. Using a combination of carbon-14 dating for the organic matter and thermoluminescence dating for the stone artifacts and sediment, Roosevelt placed the original occupation of the cave between 10,900 and 11,200 years ago, making it contemporaneous with the earliest dates of the mammoth-hunter settlements in North America. Anna Roosevelt contends that Amazonia has been inhabited longer and more densely than archaeologists have guessed. In 1988, she won a MacArthur "genius" award for her research on how prehistoric humans interacted with the tropical rain forest and influenced its composition. But the most interesting feature of Pedra Pintada was the shape of its projectile points. The conventional scenario of New World settlement has long hinged on distinctive stone points known to archaeologists as Clovis points, after a town in New Mexico where many were found beginning in the 1930s. So-called Clovis points have turned up at a number of sites throughout North America, and the earliest dated examples are between 10,900 and 11,200 years old. Narrow and fluted in shape, Clovis points appear well formed to fit on the ends of spears and penetrate the bodies of large animals, and indeed, the bones of mastodons, mammoths, bison, and other large ruminants have often been found near them. A whole generation of archaeologists was schooled in the notion that these points were proof that the original progenitor culture of ancient America was built around big-game hunting and that all other ancient Indian cultures had to be its descendants. The Clovis paradigm holds that because of their big-game-hunting technology, the hunter-gatherers who migrated from Asia to North America via the Bering Strait land bridge about 13,000 years ago were able to prosper and propagate their culture across the New World all the way to the southern tip of South America. The Pedra Pintada points were of a type completely different from Clovis—triangular, with a barbed base more suitable for spearing fish and smaller game. And they are not the only non-Clovis points to have been found in South America, Roosevelt notes, although she contends they are the best documented. She thinks discoveries like Pedra Pintada show that ancient American culture was more diverse and widespread than the conventional wisdom holds. In her report in the journal Science, she wrote: "Clovis is evidently just one of several regional traditions. Clearly, Paleoindians were able to adapt to a broad range of habitats. In the Amazon, they developed a long-term adaptation to the humid tropical forest." Challenging the Clovis-only model was bound to ruffle feathers. While it's generally agreed that Roosevelt's excavation and dating methods are careful, many archaeologists continue to differ with her on matters of interpretation. C. Vance Haynes of the University of Arizona, for example, urged a more conserv

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Good pics Charlie, Looks like you're getting there! I keep meaning to post pics of a weird-shaped piece of stone I found near the edge of a reservoir a couple of years back. The valley was only flooded about 100 years ago, but the cliffs overlooking it have Iron Age forts on them. This piece of stone was actually sticking upright out of the ground near the water's edge, like someone had found it and used it as a throwing knife. Might be a prehistoric tool, chances are that it isn't, but it's still an interesting shape. Regards,Gordon http://freewebs.com/thehistoryvault/ www.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian

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Charlie, It's clearly been heavily reworked, and it's quite possible that the base is not in its original form. My guess would be an Archaic rework of a late paleo point, or a heavily reworked Early Archaic point. Qien sabe, amigo?

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Hey Rkeyo. That makes total sense. It has the general Paleo morphology, but then it definitely has been reworked to an earred piece, which suggests Archaic manufacture. Here's another, what I believe to be, transistional or reworked Early Archaic/Paleo point found recently: http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/archaic%20artifact%2021.jpg http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/archaic%20artifact%2022.jpg It appears to be stemmed, but not shouldered. What's your take on it? You still making a pass through Central Texas this Summer? Thanks for the advice Bro. Peace Charlie Hatchett Charlie@preclovis.com www.preclovis.com

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From: Jim Bischoff Date: 09/22/06 12:22:29 To: Charlie Hatchett Subject: Re: Central Texas Artifacts Hi Charlie: My home email just got scrambled, and I don't have a copy at my office of your description and number of the second artifact you sent. Please enlighten me. The artifacts really look like artifacts! I'll be scraping the carbonate off today. Jim -- James L. Bischoff, Geologist Emeritus US Geological Survey, ms/470 345 Middlefield Rd Menlo Park CA 94025

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From: James L Bischoff Date: 09/19/06 14:32:31 To: Charlie Hatchett Subject: Re: Central Texas Artifacts I trust the artifact is the same age as the first you sent. I need to obtain reproducible ages on coeval artifacts if the dates are to be believed. From: Charlie Hatchett Date: 09/19/06 15:14:31 To: Jim Bischoff Subject: Central Texas Artifacts Good afternoon Jim. It's from the same stratum and subunit as the first specimen (alluvial gravels-Lima-Igl): http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/site10.jpg http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/site11.jpg The very bottom of the overlying topsoil, right at the boundary of Icl and Igl, has been very well documented ca. 8 miles upstream as 11,500 rcybp, uncalibrated. This dating was performed at The Wilson-Leonard site, excavated by The University of Texas. They've now moved ca. 20 miles North to The Gault Site, though Mike Collins has a report in press concerning artifacts he found in the Pleistocene gravels at Wilson-Leonard: Stratigraphic, Chronometric, and Lithic Technological Evidence for PreClovis at Wilson-Leonard, Texas. Current Research in the Pleistocene. So in summary, I know that the artifacts are at least 11,500 B.P. From there, I'm guessing the calcrete coated artifacts are as old as the last prolonged dry spell prior to Wisconsin. I do find artifacts in the gravels that don't have any trace of calcrete. I'm guessing these are younger than the calcrete coated ones. I also find iron stained and calcrete coated artifacts. My guess is these are the oldest. Both specimens I've sent you have both the iron staining and calcrete coatings. Charlie Hatchett PreClovis, Clovis and Archaic Artifacts 1-877-252-2351/ 1-512-453-6178 ( Austin) charlie@preclovis.com / www.preclovis.com

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From: Jim Bischoff Date: 09/15/06 19:17:25 To: Hatchett Talent Agency Subject: Re: Central Texas Artifacts Charlie: I was able to scrap off only about 0.15 grams of carbonate, which is the minimal amount I need. So don't send any with less carbonate. Jim -- James L. Bischoff 774 Christine Dr. Palo Alto, CA 94303