Latest news with #CBBS
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
6,500-year-old hunting weapons discovered Texas cave
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Archaeologists in Texas have discovered a cache of ancient hunting weapons, including the remains of poison darts, that is one the earliest collections of hunting weapons ever found in North America. The weapons are about 6,500 years old and were unearthed in a cave over several years of excavations there. They seem to make up a system of interchangeable parts for an atlatl, or spear-thrower. "We found the first pieces in 2020 and then we've found other pieces every year," said Bryon Schroeder, an archaeologist and director of the Center for Big Bend Studies (CBBS) at Sul Ross University in Texas. The team found the most recent weapon last summer and researchers plan to return to the site later this year, he told Live Science. The finds come from the remote San Esteban rock shelter in the Big Bend region beside the Rio Grande and the border with Mexico, where archaeologists from the CBBS and the University of Kansas have carried out excavations since 2019. They've now found evidence of human activity at the site that dates back 13,000 years or more. However, all of the weapons were broken, leading archaeologists to suspect that a single person or a small group may have used the cave to sort through and repair their old hunting weapons about 6,500 years ago, Schroeder said. Related: Tiny, Ancient Native American Weapons May Have Been Used to Train Children to Fight The weapons found so far include a throwing stick, also known as a straight boomerang; four "nock" or notched ends of darts for the spear-thrower; part of the spear-thrower itself; six wooden foreshafts for darts with sharp stone points; and four hardwood foreshafts that the archaeologists think were used for poison darts. Radiocarbon dating suggests the spear-thrower is older than the foreshafts for the darts, but Schroeder thinks that may be because older wood was used to make it — a common issue with ancient wooden artifacts known as the "Old Wood Problem." CBBS archaeologist Devin Pettigrew told Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine that the weapons were all broken, but nearly all components of the atlatl system had been found. "We don't yet have the socket ends [that] we need to understand how the foreshafts attach to the main shafts," he told the magazine. "We're also missing the proximal [or handle] end of the atlatl, but we know enough about this type to reconstruct what it may have looked like." Image 1 of 3 The ancient weapon were unearthed over several years from a remote rock shelter and cave in the Big Bend region of Texas. Image 2 of 3 Teams of archaeologists have excavated several parts of the rock shelter and cave since 2019. Image 3 of 3 The pieces of weapons have been excavated over several years from a particular part of the cave behind the rock shelter and may be the oldest found in North America. Pettigrew was also enthusiastic about the "straight boomerang" found at the site. Historically, boomerangs aerodynamically shaped to return to the thrower were used as toys or for hunting birds. But straight boomerangs, like the weapon found in the San Esteban rock shelter, flew straight and were heavy enough to kill or incapacitate small animals. These straight boomerangs have been found all over the world, with the oldest coming from Poland and dating to about 30,000 years ago. As well as the cache of weapons, the archaeologists excavating the cave have also found an ancient fireplace or "hearth"; coprolites, or fossilized human feces; and the folded-up hide of a pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) — an antelope-like animal native to North America. RELATED STORIES —Ancient burial of fierce female hunter (and her weapons) discovered in Peru —Melting glaciers reveal 1,700-year-old weapons used by reindeer hunters —Oldest firearms ever found in US were abandoned by Spanish in 16th-century battle against Native Americans The pronghorn hide had been tanned — that is, cured by some method to prevent decay — and much of its fur was still there after more than 6,000 years. (Objects made of wood or leather often rot away entirely, but the region's arid climate may have preserved them here.) Schroeder said many bone fragments found at the site suggested that pronghorns were one of the main prey animals for the prehistoric hunters who occupied the rock shelter. The archaeologists are now examining other bone fragments from the cave to determine which additional animal species the ancient people there hunted, and perhaps how they butchered the animals for food.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Cave discovery of 6,000-year-old hunter's toolkit offers rare glimpse into earliest lives in West Texas
MARFA, Texas – Archaeologists have unearthed a treasure trove of artifacts frozen in time deep within a West Texas cave, including potentially the oldest intact weapon system ever found in North America. The remarkable discovery within the San Esteban Rockshelter, south of Marfa, is now rewriting the story of the Big Bend region's earliest inhabitants. For the past six years, archaeologists from the Center for Big Bend Studies and the Odyssey Archaeological Research Fund at the University of Kansas have been working together to study area sites that may have harbored the earliest evidence of humans in the region. Deer Hunter Stumbles Upon Rare Mammoth Tusk In Rugged Terrain Of West Texas One of the most notable finds was a preserved ancient hunting kit that was found in pristine condition. While no complete components were found, among the weaponry were broken dart nock ends, a straight-flying boomerang, stone-tipped and hardwood foreshafts, and a partial atlatl. Researchers believe the discovery suggests an ancient hunter paused within the cave, built a small fire, repaired their essential tools and left behind the mundane items of everyday life that waited thousands of years to be discovered. Ancient Tiny Shark Species Discovered At Mammoth Cave National Park "If it really is a contemporaneous kit, it's a pretty monumental finding," CBBS Director Bryon Schroeder told Texas Parks and Wildlife. "We can use the wood to reconstruct the environment and learn more about the amount of time they spent working on tools." Schroeder added that this new knowledge can be applied to other archaeological sites in the Big Bend. "We get these incredible snapshots of life, vignettes of how they lived, what the environment was and how they responded to it," he said. Life-sized Murals Discovered On Walls Of Pompeii Home Buried By Volcanic Eruption Nearly 2,000 Years Ago Caves were likely a potential cultural significance of Indigenous American traditions, where hunted prey could be reincarnated, according to CBBS assistant professor Devin Pettigrew. "We aren't sure to what extent the deposit of these broken components in the rock shelter had a symbolic or spiritual purpose," CBBS Assistant Professor Devin Pettigrew noted to Texas Parks and Wildlife. "Interpretations like this, based on more recent cultures, are more difficult the further back in time you go." Beyond the hunting implements, archaeologists also unearthed human feces – which can provide valuable dietary and health information – and a remarkably preserved folded pronghorn hide, Texas Parks and Wildlife reports. "We just sat there and stared at it in wonder," Schroeder said of tanned hide discovery. "That's a moment in time. It's akin to holding dish gloves that somebody put over the sink after doing the dishes. Somebody folded that hide up and sat that right on top of this rock. And nobody touched it for 6,000 years."Original article source: Cave discovery of 6,000-year-old hunter's toolkit offers rare glimpse into earliest lives in West Texas
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Texas hunter's ‘old stump' find was actually a rare mammoth tusk
A local visitor to the O2 Ranch believed he came across something special while hunting on the property in West Texas. But ranch manager Will Juett took some convincing. After researchers from Sul Ross State University (SRSU) descended on the historic property, Juett realized the discovery was indeed something special: It was an extremely rare mammoth tusk. 'I was skeptical when a deer hunter showed me a picture of what he thought was a fossil,' Juett said in a university announcement. 'I figured it was likely just an old stump.' The investigation began soon after Juett contacted Bryon Schroeder, a longtime acquaintance and director of SRSU's Center for Big Bend Studies (CBBS). Along with CBBS archeologist Erika Blecha and a few other colleagues, Schroeder's team traveled to O2 Ranch to examine the object found sticking out the ground in a creekbed's drainage area. 'We realized pretty quickly there was not more to the skeleton, just an isolated tusk that had been separated from the rest of the remains,' Schroeder explained. Researchers worked over two days to create a protective cast around the tusk for transport. After covering the fossil in plaster-soaked burlap strips, Schroeder's group then constructed a frame around the ranch discovery before hauling it to SRSU for further analysis. Although multiple mammoth and mastodon species existed across modern North America until roughly 12,000 years ago, few of the elephant relatives ever migrated into West Texas. According to Schroeder, only a single mammoth tusk excavated from the Trans-Pecos region has ever been carbon-dated—and that happened over 60 years ago. Even then, the process at the time was far less accurate than dating methods used today that can narrow down an age range to within 500 years. Schroeder believes a more precise estimate for the O2 Ranch tusk should be completed within the next few months. It's too early to determine the exact mammoth species just yet. But as Gizmodo noted, the tusk possibly belonged to a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi), one of the only species documented in Texas. The Columbian mammoth was a distant cousin of the more recognizable woolly mammoth, but could still grow to around 13 feet tall while weighing around 10 tons. The reasons behind their eventual extinction remain debatable, but they likely died out due to a combination of factors including climate change and human hunting. It's a bit poetic, then, that hunting is what led humans back to one of these megafauna in 2025.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare mammoth tusk discovered in West Texas
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A hunter recently stumbled across a rare mammoth tusk as he searched for deer at a private West Texas ranch, according to a release from Sul Ross State University's Center for Big Bend Studies (CBBS) Tuesday. 'I was skeptical when a deer hunter showed me a picture of what he thought was a fossil,' said Will Juett, the manager of O2 Ranch where the tusk was found. 'I figured it was likely just an old stump, but imagined how great it would be if he was right.' It turns out, the hunter was right. Soon after Juett reported the find to CBBS, a team of anthropology professors and archaeological researchers descended upon the private ranch. The team quickly confirmed the hunter had, in fact, found a mammoth tusk. 'The tusk was located in the drainage area of a creek bed,' CBBS Director Dr. Byron Schroeder said. 'We realized pretty quickly there was not more to the skeleton, it was just an isolated tusk that had been separated from the rest of the remains.' CBBS said it took the researchers two days to cover the tusk in plaster-covered burlap for protection, before it was taken to Sul Ross State University to be carbon dated. Carbon dating results for the mammoth tusk will be available in the coming months, per CBBS. 'Seeing that mammoth tusk just brings the ancient world to life,' Juett said. 'Now, I can't help but imagine that huge animal wandering around the hills on the O2 Ranch. My next thought is always about the people that faced those huge tusks with only a stone tool in their hand!' This discovery marks only the second time a Trans-Pecos mammoth artifact has been carbon dated, according to Sul Ross State University. The last time somebody discovered a mammoth tusk in West Texas was reportedly in Fort Stockton during the 1960s, when carbon dating was only about 10 years old. 'There was a big range of error back then. Now we can get it down to a narrower range within 500 years,' Schroeder said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
