Monday, February 08, 2010

1

Mr. Gill,

I included several pictures of some of the cool stuff we’ve been finding in the cave. In addition to what you see here, we found a small corn cob fragment and a small arrow head. No ceramics have been found other than one sherd in the back of the cave which means the occupation we’re seeing is likely older than the ceramic period (before 200 A.D.). Angela seems to be finding some interesting things; I’ll have to let her tell you about it. She and I are going to meet this week to get a better look at the culturally modified bones (i.e., burned or cut) and separate them out from the others. So far, so good. Now that hunting season is over we can get back out there and keep digging. I left a message today with Norma Wilson to schedule.

I’m working on getting funding for radiocarbon dating so we can know exactly how old these things are. As I told you when we spoke last, there is a chance that we’ll hit a cultural deposit 2-m below ground surface which could be Paleoindian. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Thanks again for the opportunity and the great hospitality!

Javi Vasquez 915-433-4130

Figure 1: Cords and Knots (likely sandal fragments).

Monday, February 08, 2010

2

Figure 2: Knot.

Figure 3: Complete sandal on left and distal sandal portion on right (found in situ).

Monday, February 08, 2010

3

Figure 4: This photo shows the two from the previous photo plus one fragment recovered during a previous visit from surface (the one on top).

Figure 5: Complete sandal recovered from Excavation Unit 2, Level 4 (15-20 cm below the surface).

Monday, February 08, 2010

4

Figure 6: Pinecone fragment associated with the two Sandals from Figure 3 (where are the closest conifers?!)

Monday, February 08, 2010

5

Figure 7: Working hard!