Texas A&M University completed excavations at the Gault site (41BL323) in
Bell County, Texas, in the spring season of 2000. Located at the head of Buttermilk
Creek, past inhabitants have enjoyed perennial springs and a variety of natural resources
available in the immediate area, including high quality chert from the Balcones
Escarpment of the Edwards Plateau. Chipped stone material diagnostic of the Clovis
period was recovered during the TAMU block excavation, informally referred to as the "Lindsey Pit," from clay deposits approximately 35 cm thick. Natural agents that may
have impacted contextual integrity of the Clovis cultural deposits include stream action,
pedoturbation, and bioturbation. Artifact spatial analyses examined long axis
orientations and artifact degree of dip to identify non-random patterns that would result
from stream action. Vertical and horizontal relationships of refitting artifacts were
examined to evaluate post-depositional displacement.
Orientations of chipped stone artifact long axes and inclination were found to be
statistically random, with minor patterns that reflect the paleotopography. Thirty-three
groups of refitting artifacts were identified, none of which contained elements recovered from deposits more recent than the Clovis clays. Five groups have elements that appear
to come from both of the Clovis clay deposits, indicating a small degree of vertical
displacement. The results of this research indicate the clays bearing Clovis materials
retained a high degree of integrity such that the spatial patterns preserved in the
archaeological record at this location are the result of cultural activities and not natural
processes. Though time-consuming in the field and laboratory, additional fine-grained
analyses such as artifact orientation and refit studies provide separate lines of evidence
to account for natural processes that may have acted to obscure the original patterns of
the archaeological record, and our understanding of past human cultures.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/85896 |
| Date | 10 October 2008 |
| Creators | Alexander, Dawn Aileen Joyce |
| Contributors | Waters, Michael R. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, born digital |
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