AMARILLO, TEXAS—KFDA reports that some 3,000 artifacts were recovered from the Schaeffer Shelter in south-central Texas. Situated on private property in Ceta Canyon, the rock shelter, discovered in 1949 by Stanley Schaeffer, measures about 20 square feet. Archaeologist Brandon Tully said that different groups of people likely returned to the site over thousands of years, and he estimates that some of the recovered artifacts are between 8,000 and 10,000 years old. “We really don’t have a lot of information about archaic period sites in the Texas Panhandle, especially rock shelters,” Tully said. “Almost all of our rock shelters are from about the last 2,000 years or so,” he explained. Older objects may have been brought to the cave, however, Tully cautioned. The objects include a pendant made of dolomite, Southwestern ceramics, and turquoise and marine shell beads. Some of the shell beads are thought to have come from Baja California or the Texas Gulf Coast, more than 500 miles away. Tully also suggests that the landscape of the canyon made it easier to travel through the region. “We’ve basically been able to prove this was a highway, essentially,” he explained. Bones of bison and deer found in the shelter are thought to have been left behind by hunters, while corn recovered there may have been left by people who also farmed, Tully concluded. To read about surreal rock art found at rock shelters in the canyonlands of West Texas, go to “Art for the Ages.”
