The Gault Site in Texas
| The significance of the Gault site
lies to a great extent in its
convincing evidence, contrary to conventional wisdom, that large populations of the "Clovis" time frame inhabited sites of
considerable geographical extent and duration, strongly
suggesting the possibility of a "pre-Clovis" presence.
In the context of the large quantity and extent of artifact material at
Day's Knob (33GU218) and other North
American venues, it is interesting to note the similarity in
morphology of much of Gault's Clovis-age material to that of artifacts at this site, notably in its
resem- blance to the rounded or flattened (quasi-anthropomorphic) bird face images - mouth, eye, and general form of the figure being the salient features.
Linearly incised limestones are a also a distinctive feature of both sites.
The photo below shows the Gault artifact widely known as the "Wheatstone", the incision marks being interpreted as wheat stalks, on the rather questionable as- sumption that the image was intended to be viewed vertically. In addition to its bird-like shape, this figure exhibits the face characteristic of thousands of images at the Day's Knob and other sites. Note the mouth, the eye, and the crest over the forehead. Given the overall morphology, seeing the carvings along the side as feathers (albeit abstract) seems more plausible. Dr. Michael Collins at the Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory (TARL) was informed of this observation in 2004 (and he has seen this web page), but despite repeated requests via e-mail for comments pro or con has steadfastly refused to discuss the matter. Be this as it may, now that TARL has been made aware of the obvious bird and feather imagery, perhaps they will eventually "discover" it. Shown below, beneath the Gault bird, are three photos of similar figures (very common) at Day's Knob. Although without the finely incised ornamentation, they are clearly of the same form, and carved with the same characteristic face. |
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Gault photo by Peter A. Bostrom |
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http://www.lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2003septembergaultengravstonepag1.htm |
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| Below: Both sides of a limestone bird from Day's Knob, this one with a more naturalistic face, but otherwise with essentially the same geometry as that of the Gault bird. Note the reflectional (or at least thematic) symmetry, a well recognized hallmark of human agency. |
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| Below: Left, a sandstone bird figure from the Dave Gillilan cache find in southern Ohio (apparently Late Archaic), about the same size and geometry as the Gault bird stone, right. This was a popular style for a long time. |
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Below: On the left, an incised limestone from Gault. On the right, one from Day's Knob, shown refitted to the rock from which it was cut. |
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Gault photos below from http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/gault/clovis.html |
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Below: A decorative quartz bird at Gault (facing left), with essentially the same form as many at Day's Knob, like the sandstone image from this site shown in the photo beneath. |
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Below: More birdlike effigies at Gault (all facing right). |
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Gault photos below by Peter A. Bostrom |
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http://www.lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2003septembergaultengravstonepag1.htm |
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