After the region finally took on a couple inches of rain, we had a chance to visit one of our favorite haunts south of town. One interesting feature of this particular site is a sink hole or washed out area which grows with each new (but rare) rain. This washout is about six to seven feet deep, and about that wide. This past week, we noticed three smooth stones projecting from the wall of the hole. We carefully removed the stones and continued to poke around.
After carefully loosening the stones and removing surrounding dirt, we discovered that there were actually four manos and one metate. As we continues to probe, we turned up two nice abrader stones. Then, a jaw bone of what appears to be a deer or antelope. Multiple long bones, a palm-sized digging tool were also uncovered. As we had clearly transitioned into the "excavation" mode, we decided to stop. Overall, however, this is an incredible glimpse into the past as the wall of the hole shows obvious detail in term of burned wood fragments, charcoal, ash, bones, etc. The area, I believe, has been excavated years ago, so I'm still considering whether or not to probe further into the wall.
Hope to report more artifacts in the near future. (Notice the gray streaks seen in the last two photos. This is similar to the fine ash you might find in the bottom of your charcoal grill. Mixed in this material are marble-sized fragments of a more firm, dark, charcoal material.)
After carefully loosening the stones and removing surrounding dirt, we discovered that there were actually four manos and one metate. As we continues to probe, we turned up two nice abrader stones. Then, a jaw bone of what appears to be a deer or antelope. Multiple long bones, a palm-sized digging tool were also uncovered. As we had clearly transitioned into the "excavation" mode, we decided to stop. Overall, however, this is an incredible glimpse into the past as the wall of the hole shows obvious detail in term of burned wood fragments, charcoal, ash, bones, etc. The area, I believe, has been excavated years ago, so I'm still considering whether or not to probe further into the wall.
Hope to report more artifacts in the near future. (Notice the gray streaks seen in the last two photos. This is similar to the fine ash you might find in the bottom of your charcoal grill. Mixed in this material are marble-sized fragments of a more firm, dark, charcoal material.)
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