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TAS Field School Photo Gallery
TAS member Sharon Menegaz from Tomball, Texas shows off a Hoxie dart point from the later deposits at Gault.
TAS member Sharon Menegaz from Tomball, Texas shows off a Hoxie dart point from the later deposits at Gault.

Visitors gather around the Lindsey Pit, one of the main excavation areas where Clovis deposits have been exposed. This area is difficult to work in because of the high water table.
Visitors gather around the Lindsey Pit, one of the main excavation areas where Clovis deposits have been exposed. This area is difficult to work in because of the high water table.

TAS members gather around Mike Collins for a hands-on introduction to Clovis tools.
TAS members gather around Mike Collins for a hands-on introduction to Clovis tools.

Field school supervisors and crew chiefs rally around the Explorer's Club expedition flag.
Field school supervisors and crew chiefs rally around the Explorer's Club expedition flag.

TAS members struggle to remove a large rock from what was at first thought to be another sinkhole. As the excavations progressed, it proved to be a small rockshelter that had been filled by sediment. Archaic artifacts were found within the shelter and it is hoped that older deposits are represent in its lower reaches.
TAS members struggle to remove a large rock from what was at first thought to be another sinkhole. As the excavations progressed, it proved to be a small rockshelter that had been filled by sediment. Archaic artifacts were found within the shelter and it is hoped that older deposits are represented in its lower reaches.

In June 2001, the Texas Archeological Society held its Annual Field School at the Gault site and other nearby localities. An average of 120 TAS members per day worked at the Gault site excavating and manning the water screens. Others helped with the laboratory processing, took part in a regional survey, and worked at the Bowmer site elsewhere in Bell County. Here are a few of the many scenes of the work in progress at Gault.

To learn more about TAS and annual TAS field schools, visit www.txarch.org/.

Mike Collins gives participants in the 2001 TAS Field School an overview of Clovis technology.
Mike Collins gives participants in the 2001 TAS Field School an overview of Clovis technology.

Volunteers from the 2001 Texas Archeological Society Field School proudly show off an Expedition Flag from the Explorers Club of New York. This well-traveled flag has been to the South Pole and many other places in the world.
Volunteers from the 2001 Texas Archeological Society Field School proudly show off an Expedition Flag from the Explorers Club of New York. This well-traveled flag has been to the South Pole and many other places in the world.

TAS field school participants remove buckets of soil from a deep sinkhole at the Gault site. The hope was that undisturbed Clovis deposits would be found. Instead the sinkhole had a mix of ancient and historic artifacts, indicating it had been filled in recent times.
TAS field school participants remove buckets of soil from a deep sinkhole at the Gault site. The hope was that undisturbed Clovis deposits would be found. Instead the sinkhole had a mix of ancient and historic artifacts, indicating it had been filled in recent times.

Case Mumpire digs within the narrow confines of the sinkhole.
Case Mumpire digs within the narrow confines of the sinkhole.
While TAS members dug mightily in search of Clovis artifacts, landowner Ricky Lindsey walked up to an exposed provile.
While TAS members dug mightily in search of Clovis artifacts, landowner Ricky Lindsey walked up to an exposed profile and found a Clovis point in the wall.

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Another Clovis artifact comes to light.
Another Clovis artifact comes to light.

Excavations in progress in Bobcat Area 1. A Bobcat, a small front-end loader was used to clear away the disturbed upper deposits above the Clovis deposits.
Excavations in progress in Bobcat Area 1. A Bobcat, a small front-end loader was used to clear away the disturbed upper deposits above the Clovis deposits.

Landowners Ricky and Howard Lindsey give their approval of the TAS field school to TAS President Skip Kenedy (in the middle).
Landowners Ricky and Howard Lindsey give their thumbs-up approval of the TAS field school to TAS President Skip Kenedy (in the middle).

Members of the regional survey get their turn with the Explorer's Club flag.
Members of the regional survey team get their turn with the Explorer's Club flag.

Buckets on the move. The white plastic buckets seen in almost every excavation hot are essential to the operation. All hand-excavated sediment from the Clovis deposits is water-screened to recover small items.
Buckets on the move. The white plastic buckets seen in almost every excavation photo are essential to the operation. All hand-excavated sediment from the Clovis deposits is water-screened to recover small items.

This iron axe and a 13,000 year-old Clovis perform were found within a few feet of one another at the bottom of the sinkhole.
This iron axe and a 13,000 year-old Clovis perform were found within a few feet of one another at the bottom of the sinkhole.