Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-07-14
ICAlgN'|lI|lB|'ALSFIRST
TO uVHABlT The
ST||ATEOF TEXAS
is Discovery Made by
James E. Pearce of Texas
University.

Austin. Texas, July 14.-Evidence
that Texas was inhabited by a pre-
historic people different from the In
dian who roamed the plains when the
first white men came has becn UNI
earthed by James e. Pearce, profess
sor of ~anthropology Of the University
Q { Texas. The early inhabitants. he
said, lived a ~nomad-like existence.
roaming from n part Of the wilder
ness to another and killing, with rude
stone weapons. animals and even hu-
mans for food.
ian Institute Bureau OF Ethnology,
Prof. Pearce has been investigating
the mounds for more than a year..
he reported.
..The life history Of these people
have been read from the records they
left in their buried-rock mounds or
kitchen middens,' the professor said.
and charred bits of limestone three or
-four feet high and sometimes as long
as 100 feet. They are made up Of
the kitchen refuse of these prehistoric
peoples who had regular camp sites at
frequent intervals along the Edwards
Plateau, extending from Austin west
ward to New Mexico.
'"These people evidently were ad-
vanced to the stage of paleolithic Gull
ture. and earlier g. than the period
Of neolithic culture, to which most
Of the American Indians belonged.
These early Texas inhabitants had
arrows and spears tipped with flint
points, Clipped but not polished. They
did not polish their stone weapons:
o did they engage in n form OF
!. agriculture. They were. however.
.skillful skin dressers for We have
found skin scraping tools made Of
flint.
"The kitchen middens which We
discovered are the only thing Of their
kind in America. so far as I know,
although they have been FOUND IN
other parts Of the world. At these
sites, camps we're located with a great
fire place In the center over which
huge slabs Of limestone were placed
as q sort Of primitive stove upon
which to cook the meat the inhabi-
tants killed.
I'VE know these people were canni-
balls for among the refuse hee is have
been found human bones sr t apart
In order to get at the mar Nv.
"The soft limestone slabs, being az
posed to the weather, b ike from
time to time and were cast aside
nearby, to be replaced by new ones
''In the course of our Investigations
we have completely examined some
fifteen of these mounds and IN them
have found thol sands Of splendid
specimens Of chipned arrow and spear
heads, as well as ~scraping tools and
other implements. Rones Of the deer
which were prevalent in this region
are found in p%rofusion, IL Heating tina
this was the principal arti., ' Of diet
prof. Pearce said he was assist ID
in his research by DR.. ]. Walter Few
kes, head of the Smithson' n Bureau
OF Enthnology. and that che report
Of the investigation is to be publish
ed by the Smithsonian T. titute. The
University Of Texas will tetain posses
sion of the collection Of material un-
earthed. This will t nj, Prof. Pearce
satd, the nucleus fol a museum IN
anthropology.
when the present Investigation or
the Edwards Plateau has been con-
cluded work will be S rted upon thu
funeral mounds IN East exa
which are the work Of al. entirely dit
ferent race of people, according tt
Prof. Pearce. These pt ,ple. he SAID
lived in a later period. Their pot
terry and polished weapons have beer
found in the mounds.