The Gault in Central Texas is reshaping history, telling the story of the earliest humans in the Americas
On an unremarkable stretch of roadway, just north of Austin, you'll find Gault. It's an archaeological site so significant that textbooks have been rewritten and experts have challenged what they thought they knew about when the first humans came to the Americas.
And it's right in our backyard.
A look at the Gault's history
"It's a place that has been known and used by indigenous people for tens of thousands of years, probably, back maybe 18,000 years," said archaeologist Mike Adler, PhD.
Adler also chairs SMU's Anthropology department. He, too, is eager to see what is uncovered at Gault.
"What did they eat? What were they doing?" Adler pondered. "People were here. And people were here very early, much earlier than we used to think. That's exciting."
The earliest humans in the Americas have been called "the Clovis Culture". The findings at Gault predate even that by thousands of years.
Experts haven't agreed on what to call the evidence of those even earlier humans, so right now they're described as "earlier than Clovis". And the sheer magnitude of the evidence of their existence uncovered at Gault is astonishing even to veteran scientists.
"And it's not a played-out site. It's not a place that's used up," Adler added. "There's more mystery under that dirt."
A man on a mission
And it is a mystery that most likely would have remained buried were it not for the perseverance of UT Austin Archaeologist Dr. Mike Collins.
"He had the faith," Adler explained, before adding, "the personality, and the humility of someone to say, 'You know, I'll just keep being patient. I'll keep asking, and I'll try and get this place saved.' And then to put his own resources into it? Again. Not many colleagues would do that. So, it took a unique person to save a unique site."
The story of Gault and how Dr. Collins fought to save it is shared in a new independent film called "The Stones are Speaking". Former journalist turned filmmaker Olive Talley, of Dallas, wrote, directed and produced the film.
"The Gault site now is what it always has been," Talley said. "It's a bucolic little pasture along Buttermilk Creek in central Texas. If you walked out there today, and I hope your viewers will someday, you will wonder, 'Really, how could this place be so extraordinary when it looks so ordinary?' And that was the question, one of the questions that drove me."
The film has generated new interest in the site and in exploring how the earliest Texans-- yes, even before there was a Texas – lived and survived.
"There were these persistent places that people knew, depended upon," Adler said. "They knew when they could go there, what would be available, when the deer would show up. And so, you had this predictability that humans crave. We don't like unpredictability."
And that's true, he said, of humans 18,000 years ago, as well.
"Absolutely," Adler insisted. "We've been the same for a long time."
Part of the fascination in finding places like Gault, he said, is in the natural curiosity about how people survived.
"And, you know, in some cases, they didn't. And then you want to find out what happened," he said.
People traveling across country to visit the historic site
After many challenges, Dr. Collins purchased the site and then donated it, so that it could be preserved for future scientists. It's now in the care of the Gault School of Archaeological Research. The site is also open for monthly tours.
"A couple of months ago, we had two ladies who were visiting a friend in San Marcus, and they heard about it," Mary Condon with GSAR said. "And they were from Pacifica, California. So, people are coming from all over. And they're like, 'We had no idea.' And it is one of the most important sites in the Americas."
Visitor Al Kaufman said he has always been interested in archaeology and came out with a group from Austin.
"Well, I learned some things," Kaufman said. "I mean, it's fun to be on the ground and see stuff because history tells us who we are."
Experts said the Gault site is significant, in part, due to the sheer magnitude of what was found. Just 3% of the site has been excavated, but scientists have uncovered more than 2.5 million artifacts.
Most of those are Clovis artifacts, but some 150,000 of those have been attributed to the as-yet-unnamed culture that is older than Clovis. The excavated site has since been covered to protect it. But the good news for those who want to preserve this space is that it's all still here.
Honoring Dr. Collins' legacy
"I started coming out here when I was nine," Elizabeth Collins said.
She's a geophysicist with an interest in archaeology.
How could she not be?
She's also Dr. Collins' granddaughter.
"And he's just so kind and so open, and he's never talking down to you," Elizabeth shared. "He's just sharing what he knows. And he's excited about it. And that always helps bring out the excitement in other people to learn and to see all of these amazing things."
Elizabeth helps lead tours of the site and said she is incredibly proud to be able to help others experience Gault.
"This is the biggest part of his legacy. And I am honored to be able to be a part of it, she said as she wiped away tears. "I've seen a lot of it, and I want other people to see it too."
In her film, Talley shared that part of what drove her to document the Gault story and Dr. Collins' fight to save it is that he can no longer share it for himself. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2022.
"Because, for me," Talley added with her eyes filling with tears, "if we don't have people like this in our society, if we don't have people who are driven to make a difference, what do we have?"
Talley's movie about the fight to save Gault is winning awards at film festivals across the country. The 85-minute director's cut is now available on Apple TV, Google Play and Amazon Video Prime.
As for Gault?
"It's something to be proud of for so many reasons," Adler said. "First, that it's unique, that it's in Texas, that it's so old, but also, it's a story of potential harm, potential loss, and in the end, triumph. Mike Collins got it done. And saved this place."
And that, he said, is a big deal. "It's a really big deal."
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