A September 2005 Matagorda County Float Trip.

We have been wanting to float down this creek in Matagorda county for some time to see what secrets were held there.

By the end of the summer of 2005 the water level had dropped to about as low a level as it gets. What a perfect time to explore a waterway!

Loaded up and ready to go but between the trees in the road and some real rough looking cows I was starting to wonder if we would make it to the creek.

Got it all tied down and we're ready to ride.

We aren't going to let a tree in the road slow us down.
Move over folks, we'll show you how to get by!

Uhhoh ... These guys don't look too playful!

Finally made it to a gravel bar.

Didn't take long to spot this one!

How long did it take you to see it in the water?

Look at the moss on that point.
No telling how long it has been laying there waiting to be found

Travis has a good reason to smile.

An archaic Motley or Cupp point, related to the poverty point culture centered in Louisiana.

I heard Travis say "Ohh, I wish it wasn't broken ... sigh"

Look at that paleo point in-situ.

You can see the canoe in the background.

Look at that paleo point in hand.

What a perfect flute, this might be a Clovis but it's hard to prove without the whole point.

Speaking of Clovis here's a petrified bone we also picked up.

According to a professor friend this is most likely from a type of giant Elk like deer ...

Yeah, I know, you're probably thinking about the cow picture!

Quite a day, we finally get a chance to go check out this creek and it turns out better than we had dared to hope. Paleo artifacts are special to find even when they aren't whole. 10,000 years or so ago, an ancient hunter broke that point using it in some fashion. He then discarded or lost it. All those thousands of years went by without it being seen again until Travis spotted it in the gently flowing waters. Then just downstream he picked up a bone from an extinct Deer from that same time. Now that's a trip back in time!


References Cited:

Turner & Hester
“FIELD GUIDE TO STONE ARTIFACTS OF THE TEXAS INDIANS”

Timothy K Perttula
“THE PREHISTORY OF TEXAS”

Photos & Text (c) David Crain / Texasarrowheads.com


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