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TMM 1950-1951 Photo Gallery

Lubbock Lake Reservoir dredged out and dried up, August, 1950. Unidentified man stands above one of the exposures where Folsom deposits were found. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
Lubbock Lake Reservoir dredged out and dried up, August, 1950. Unidentified man stands above one of the exposures where Folsom deposits were found.
Profile where Folsom points and the bones of extinct bison were found at the contact between Bed 2 (banded) and Bed 3 (light gray), June, 1951. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy of Texas Memorial Museum.
Profile where Folsom points and the bones of extinct bison were found at the contact between Bed 2 (banded) and Bed 3 (light gray), June, 1951.
Excavations ongoing along diatomite layer, July, 1951. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
Excavations ongoing along diatomite layer, July, 1951.
Thick section of banded diatomite deposits. The diatoms are white, while the peat-like darker material is characteristic of anaerobic (without oxygen) pond mud. The swirls in the profile were caused by disturbances to the pond deposits while they were still fresh and wet. In some cases, the tromping of heavy animals like the extinct bison is believed to have caused such disturbances. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
Thick section of banded diatomite deposits. The diatoms are white, while the peat-like darker material is characteristic of anaerobic (without oxygen) pond mud. The swirls in the profile were caused by disturbances to the pond deposits while they were still fresh and wet. In some cases, the tromping of heavy animals like the extinct bison is believed to have caused such disturbances.

These photographs were taken in 1950-1951 by Glen Evans, during field work at Lubbock Lake undertaken by the Texas Memorial Museum (TMM) under E. H. Sellards, Director of the TMM. Sellards and his team of geologists investigated many different "Early Man" sites in the southern Plains of Texas and New Mexico: Blackwater Draw (NM), Miami (TX), and Kincaid Shelter (TX), among them. Geologist Glen Evans and vertebrate paleontologist Grayson Meade directed the field investigations at Lubbock Lake.

The TMM work focused on the Folsom-age deposits, now known to date to 10,000-11,000 RCYB (radiocarbon years before present) or roughly 11,500 to 12,500 years ago. In 1952, William Libby, the man who developed radiocarbon dating, obtained a radiocarbon date of 9883 +/- 350 B.P. from bones recovered by the TMM that were thought to be associated with the Folsom culture. Although subsequent geological work determined that the dated material came from the somewhat later Plainview deposits at Lubbock Lake, this was a historically important step in confirming the age of early Paleoindian cultures in the southern High Plains.


View of large reservoir area in northwest part of site. The TMM did little work in this area. The only Clovis point from the site was found on the berm on the right formed by dredging out the reservoir. Eileen Johnson later conducted major excavations in this area of the site. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
View of large reservoir area in northwest part of site. The TMM did little work in this area. The only Clovis point from the site was found on the berm on the right formed by dredging out the reservoir. Eileen Johnson later conducted major excavations in this area of the site. Leg bone from extinct bison found in Bed 2, notable for the finely banded layers of diatomite, consolidated pond deposits of diatoms, one-celled, algae-like organisms that live in slow-moving or stagnate water. Photo by Glen Evans, June, 1951, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.

Leg bone from extinct bison found in Bed 2, notable for the finely banded layers of diatomite, that is, consolidated pond deposits of diatoms, one-celled, algae-like organisms that live in slow-moving or stagnant water.

Geologist Grayson Mead stands beside freshly cleaned exposure of Folsom-age diatomite deposits, June, 1951. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
Vertebrate Paleontologist Grayson Mead stands beside freshly cleaned exposure of Folsom-age diatomite deposits, June, 1951.
Grayson Meade examines the top of the Blancan Formation (the bright white caliche), which formed at least two million years ago. The darker deposits on top of this formation are much younger in age. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
Grayson Meade examines the top of the Blancan Formation (the bright white caliche), which formed at least two million years ago. The darker deposits on top of this formation are much younger in age.

Click images to enlarge  
Folsom point found in place amid bones of extinct bison, June, 1951. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
Folsom point found in place amid bones of extinct bison, June, 1951.
Overhead view of Folsom point found in place alongside the bones of extinct bison, June, 1951. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
Overhead view of Folsom point found in place alongside the bones of extinct bison, June, 1951.
Close up of swirled diatomite deposits. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
Close up of swirled diatomite deposits.
Close shot of bison bones and Folsom point found in place below striking banded diatomite, June, 1951. Photo by Glen Evans, courtesy Texas Memorial Museum.
Close shot of bison bones and Folsom point found in place below striking banded diatomite, June, 1951.