Doors open at 12 noon with refreshments. Meeting begins at 1:00 pm.
Title: The Upper Paleolithic of Texas: The Early Human Occupation of the Gault Site
Speaker: Thomas Williams, Assistant Executive Director, Gault School of Archaeological Research; and Research Associate, Prehistory Research Project, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin
Abstract:
Excavations at the Gault Site, Central Texas, have recovered a significant assemblage of stone tools, referred to as the Gault Assemblage, from the lowest stratigraphic deposits.
These earliest cultural materials were recovered from excavation Area 15 and include an early projectile point technology unique in the Upper Palaeolithic of North America. Dating using Optically-Stimulated Luminescence confirm the presence of humans in Texas before ~16,000 years ago. This talk will explore the age and use of this early technology and where it fits into the broader context of the early peopling of the New World.
Bio:
Thomas Williams is the Assistant Executive Director of the Gault School of Archaeological Research and a Research Associate with the Prehistory Research Project at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin. He has worked on the Gault Site collections for the past 6 years and has published on the early cultural materials. His research focus is the earliest human occupations of the Americas and specifically the stone tool technology, manufacturing processes and broader patterns in global human expansion. He earned his PhD in Archaeology from the University of Exeter, UK.