SOME NOTES ON DRY ROCK SHELTERS IN WESTERN TEXAS BY VICTOR J. SMITH INCE there are no available published data bearing upon dry rock shelter finds in

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1 S SOME NOTES ON DRY ROCK SHELTERS IN WESTERN TEXAS BY VICTOR J. SMITH INCE there are no available published data bearing upon dry rock shelter finds in western Texas, these brief preliminary notes are offered for purposes of comparison with similar finds elsewhere and in order to supply those who may be interested with some information concerning the nature of the sites now being investigated in the Big Bend district of Texas. Climatic conditions in this territory are rather favorable for the preservation of specimens which in many localities would have long ago perished. The district is semi-arid and the rugged topography offers numerous shelters where fragile material has been kept covered and preserved in a bone dry state for many years. The district directly referred to in this report is a comparatively small one, since all of the shelters which have been investigated to any extent are in the northern part of Brewster County, though reports from ranchmen and other sources indicate that similar material has been found over a considerably wider area, especially to the south. The mountains in the vicinity investigated range from 4,800 to 6,750 feet above sea level with a rise of from 300 to 2,250 feet above the valleys or surrounding planes. At the foot of many canyon bluffs or at the top of the talus are to be found a number of rock shelters, the most important of which may be roughly classified as follows: A. Long open shelters, sometimes partly filled with slabs, boulders, and smaller fallen rock; B. Cave shelters extending back into the cliff. Sometimes these are cluttered with loose rock but are usually floored with fine dry dust, animal refuse, etc., from six inches to six feet deep. The mouth of these caves vary from ten to thirty feet in width and the shelters themselves are from ten to fifty feet in depth. 286

SMITE] SOME NOTES ON DRY ROCK SHELTERS 287 The shelters which indicate the most use as primitive habitations are, of course, those which afford the best protection from the elements and, in addition,

2 SMITE] SOME NOTES ON DRY ROCK SHELTERS 287 The shelters which indicate the most use as primitive habitations are, of course, those which afford the best protection from the elements and, in addition, are near mountain streams or water holes which, in spite of the dry nature of the country, are rather permanent at many places. The specimens herein reported were found from surface level to a depth of six feet. In a number of cases crude drawings have been observed on the shelter walls and, in several instances, rock surfaces are grooved and lined in a crisscross fashion with marks varying in size from that of a horse hair to V grooves three-fourths of an inch deep. In other places parts of the rock floor or wall are dead smooth and polished to a high gloss-evidently the result of constant contact with the human body. One such case indicates the position taken by the squaw at the mortar or pot-hole as she ground food with the pestle. All of the shelters yield specimens of food grinding implements, most commonly the muller stone and metate and less often the pestle, though many mortars are evident. The general character of the camp refuse yielded is practically the same throughout the district. Most bulky is the mass of accumulated desert plant material which was used in the preparation of food and drink as well as in the manufacture of basketry, sandals, string, rope, etc. Some of this material is tied loosely in bundles or coils (see P1. VI, a)-evidently not pottery rests though of similar design. In the practical absence of pottery these bundles were probably methods of storing or bringing in such material or may have been used as basket rests. Other camp materials found are: firewood; ashes; charcoal; cactus hulls; acorn and walnut (Spanish) shells; chewed desert fiber, some of which still shows the imprint of human teeth; human bones; bones of animals, often split for the marrow; rocks used about the camp fire; flint chippings; gourd shells; mesquite beans; acorn cups and shells from the live oaks; bits of twisted or plaited string from one-sixteenth to one-fourth of aninchindiameter (seeplatevi1, a); and small corn cobs (see P1. VII, b). Regardless of depth, the finds run rather uniform, except in the case of one deep excavation here the twisted string found seemed to indicate less skill in its manufacture. Little or none of the true characteristic dry rock

3 288 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [pi. s.: 29, 1927 FIG. 1. Typical rock shelter. FIG. 2. Wooden knlfe, shuttle or toggle. (Photograph taken by courtesy of Mr. Charles Arthur, of Alpine, Texas.)

$PLATE \'I a, Desert plant materials tied loosely together with yucca string;$

4 PLATE \'I a, Desert plant materials tied loosely together with yucca string; b, Fiber sandals; c, Basket ears; d, Types of basket and mat weayes and edging.

$PL.\-rI.: \'I1 a.$

5 PL.\-rI.: \'I1 a. Fibcr string and rope; bone piercing instruments; h, Specimens of wooden objects: fire sticks, corn cob, fiber brush, stick with wrapped string, pointed stick; c, Basket from cache containing beads, arrom heads, etc., nine inches high, twenty-one inches wide.; d, Basket showing repairs with leather.

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