Diane Ruetz and I have been volunteering at the Pflugerville Animal Shelter for about seven months now. As ‘dog walkers’ we’ve come to know the various quirks and distinct personalities of the long-term shelter dogs pretty well. Recently, one of the dogs who had been at the shelter for more than a year and who was often overlooked by visitors, was on a walk with a volunteer. Shelby, a sweet and playful mixed-breed dog, has a fondness for playing fetch in the water. No matter how small the pebble you throw into the creek for her to retrieve, she would consistently come bounding out with large rocks. One day she brought up something a lot more interesting than a rock. Read about Shelby’s ‘find’ and how the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory contributed to the story…and, we like to think, to her adoption by a loving family.
Shelby’s story on KXAN News (Austin area):
The below information was provided by TARL NAGPRA Specialist, Kerri Wilhelm, to Pflugerville Pets Alive following the discovery of the bone by Shelby. PPA hoped that the discovery, and the prehistoric perspective attributed to the find by TARL staff, might help to inspire some positive exposure for Shelby. They were right!
This is a photo of Shelby’s bone (on the right) compared to the same element from a species of bison excavated at the Bonfire Shelter archaeological site (near Langtry, TX). Both exhibit the percussion fractures with beveling consistent with human processing in the immediate postmortem interval. These fracture patterns on the proximal and distal aspects of long bones of the large Pleistocene (and modern) herbivores are generally attributed to “marrowing,” a technique of retrieving the nutrient-rich bone marrow for consumption by utilizing a hammerstone.
This is the tag that is associated with the fossilized bison humerus we have here at TARL (Bonfire Shelter).
This is a photograph of an intact humerus from Bison antiquus; the circle indicates the part of the humerus that Shelby brought up from the creek.
This is a photograph taken of a fully reconstructed Bison antiquus skeleton on exhibit. The red circle indicates where on the skeleton Shelby’s find would have been located during the life of the bison. Image of the Bison antiquus on display at the La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles.
For more information on the Bonfire Shelter archaeological site, where the comparative bison bone (Bison antiquus) was originally discovered and the different kinds of information such finds can tell archaeological researchers at TARL, please visit the Bonfire Shelter webpages on Texas Beyond History:
Photograph of a drawer of bison remains recovered from one of the bone beds of the Bonfire Shelter bison jump. Included in this drawer are faunal remains used to compare with Shelby’s find. TARL collections.
The January 2015 issue of the Texas Exes publication, The Alcalde, included an article written by Rose Cahalan entitled “The Things They Carried: Inside the Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory.” Ms. Cahalan of The Alcalde and photographer Anna Donlan recently visited TARL for a tour of our collections. The article begins by describing their initial reaction to being shown the ‘Hunter’s Pouch’ collection of artifacts excavated by A.M. Woolsey in Val Verde County during 1936. It continues with their experience of observing Dr. Deborah Bolnick selecting skeletal elements for aDNA sampling in our Human Osteology Collection (where we use only archival boxes, not “cardboard boxes”) and segues to their description of the Vessel Collection.
Reading Cahalan’s article was a good reminder for those of us on staff that there is a very perceptible difference between the lens through which we view the collections as professional stewards and archaeologists, and the lens through which non-archaeologists view them. Of course, we manage and break down the archaeological collections here to their most granular typologies, classifications and descriptions; identifying discrete flaking techniques utilized, ceramic vessel decorative phases by time periods and skeletal elements most likely to provide collagen viable for stable isotope and aDNA analyses. It is easy enough for us to forget that, to the ‘uninitiated,’ TARL at first appears like a great many older campus locations: starting to show its age, relegated to the outer margins and slowly beginning a descent into obscurity. This is the part where we urge you to look more closely.
The Alcalde article is a reminder to us that it is not only our task to serve as stewards of these irreplaceable archaeological and ethnographic collections; it’s also our job to step out from behind the boxes and endless research-driven academic minutia to remind people why it’s important for us to do what we do. We need to remind people why the objects here are as significant historically, culturally and temporally as we say they are. We need to help make Texas archaeology, and its rich material culture, more accessible to everyone. We here at TARL hope this blog helps to evidence this philosophy of increased access as we strive to bring you highlights from our collections, records and research being undertaken. We hope that sharing these things, in addition to any shared insights by affiliated researchers or guest contributors, become something ‘you can carry with you.’
You can find The Alcalde article in its entirety here:
The staff here at TARL would like to thank Anna Donlan, a photographer who contributes to the Texas Exes publication, The Alcalde, for granting permission to display her photographs here.
Molecular anthropologist Dr. Deborah Bolnick (right) and Research Fellow Jennifer Raff, both of UT Austin, examine remains from the Human Osteology Collection as part of an ongoing project undertaken by Dr. Bolnick in her lab. Photo taken by Anna Donlan of The Alcalde.
Marybeth Tomka, Head of Collections, providing a tour of the collections, including these spears in the ethnographic collection, for The Alcalde. Photo taken by Anna Donlan of The Alcalde.
Marybeth Tomka, Head of Collections, explaining the types and significance of the artifacts recovered from the Ft. St. Louis archaeological site. Photo taken by Anna Donlan of The Alcalde. For more information about the Ft. St. Louis archaeological site, with images of artifacts, please visit:
