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Possibly the Most Prolific Paleo Site; Cibilo Creek

Posted on 01. Mar, 2009 by Shannon Graham in Archeological Excavations, Artifact Finds, Flint Artifacts, Texas

Buried deep below the sand on a rise above Cibilo Creek, lies possibly the most prolific Paleo site found to date. Located 20 miles southeast of San Antonio, Texas, collectors know it better as the Wilson County Sand Pit (WCSP), a reference to the commercial sand mining operation responsible for discovering the site.

Thousands of artifacts have been discovered here, many of them from the Paleo period. Dr. Leslie Pfeiffer authored an article for the Central States Archeological society several years ago providing a good overview of the site and its findings. In preparing for that report, Leslie conferred with Gregory Perino and Dwain Rogers who had this to say about the WCSP.

…what Gregory Perino has called “one of the most important sites in our country, and virtually every Texas point type has been found there.” Dwain Rogers calls the site “a Texas gold mine of ancient art and education.”

Artifacts started showing up in collectors hands in the late 80s when employees started seeing them on the screens in the sifting process. Basically, when the soil was screened to remove debris, rocks and other unwanted natural objects from the sand, projectile points and tools were part of the culls. It didn’t take long until the WCSP was on the archeological map.

Dr. Pfeiffer also notes…

Gregory Perino feels that the Cibolo Creek Site may have been the most continuously occupied site in our country (11,000 years) and asked me to list all of the point types which have been found there. The list of known types includes Clovis, Folsom, Midland, Agate Basin-like, Hell Gap-like, Plainview, Barber, San Patrice, Victoria, Scottsbluff, Red-River Knives, Angostura, Zella, Golondrina and Daltons. Rounding out the early points are early stemmed lanceolates, which grade into Angostura; early corner-notched; early side-notched, which resemble Simonson points. The Angostura and Golondrina component is very large, with more Golondrina points being found here than in almost the rest of Texas combined.

Archaic points include Abasolo, Andice, Axtell, Bell, Bulverde, Castroville, Darl, Desmuke, early triangular, Edgewood, Ellis, Ensor, Fairland, Frio, Gary, Godley, Gower, Kent, Kinney, Lange, Langtry, Marcos, Marshall, Martindale, Matamoros, Montell, Morhiss, Nolan, Pandora, Pedernales, Refugio, Tortugas, Travis, Uvalde, and Corner-Tang knives. Later arrow points include Edwards, Fresno, Perdiz, and Scallorn. In addition, there have been many early woodworking adzes, including Clear Fork gouges. In addition to this, several rare Waco Sinkers have been found and, ever rarer (especially for Texas), bannerstones.

The breadth of lithic materials present at the site is just as amazing. Collectors familiar with the site can correctly identify artifacts as having originated from the site based solely on lithic material and patination. As Rogers notes, many points are discolored by minerals present in the soil creating a yellow-orange to amber color. It’s not uncommon to see agatized woods and petrified palm wood here in the form of Scottbluffs, Clear Fork Gouges and arrow points. Arrow points crafted from clear agate are as translucent as they get. Quartzite is also prevalent in the materials as is silicified sandstone, with some appearing deep purple or red.

Also from Dr. Pfeifer’s research and correspondence with Rogers and Perino…

Dwain was as impressed as Mr. Perino with the variety of point types from the site: “My personal observation of hundreds of points is one of awe because of those unnamed in the archaeological literature. The occurrence of East Texas, San Patrice types and previously unreported beveled Pedernales points is interesting. Hell Gap, Rio Grande, Victoria, Angostura, Zella, and Agate Basin styles are a scientific study in themselves. Resharpened examples make for even more confusion in typing. One point type recently named Angview by a professional archaeologist is an attempt to clarify Angostura-Plainview hybrids found at the site.” This typifies the complexity of the site, because as Gregory Perino points out, there is a 2,000-year time difference between the Plainview and Angostura.

It’s difficult to summarize the significance of this rich site. Dr. Pfeifer did it best with the following;

The Cibolo Creek Site is unique in the archaeological record. It exhibits point types and materials that are found from virtually every geographic zone in Texas: The east Texas Woodlands, the Gulf Coast, south Texas, the High Plains, and central Texas. Are there other sites out there as yet undiscovered? We as collectors, probably already know and need to record them.

Below are just a few from the Cibilo Creek site. There are many more out there. Let’s see yours!

Related Posts

1. April ‘09 Site of the Month: Texas Beyond History.net
2. A Paleo Mystery from Illinois
3. Arrowheadology Exclusive: Shifting Sands Folsom Site

Tags: Paleo, Texas, WCSP, Wilson County Sand Pit