Archaeologist uncover artifacts near Cypress Creek

Rain and floods have taken a toll on Harris County waterways. "Over the years through various flood events and the everyday rains that we get, sometimes the streams become a little unraveled in places," explained Harris County Flood Control District Director Mike Talbott. 

Several archeologists work to uncover Native American artifacts from an area around Cypress Creek [Credit: Moore Archeological Con]

That's why the Flood Control District is in the second phase of a project that will repair a section of Cypress Creek near Meyer Park in Northwest Harris County. The area flooded pretty badly during the heavy rains in July. 

The yearlong project extends from Latson to Stuebner-Airline Road. The project includes the construction of gentle side slopes and a channel bench or plateau into the banks along a half-mile stretch. It's all designed to help prevent and control future erosion. 

The cool stuff happened before they got to this stage. In late 2009, archeologists excavated portions of a Native American campsite and recovered more than 2,000 artifacts, mostly stone tools and broken pieces of pottery, from the banks of Cypress Creek. 

"Most of the artifacts they found are as much as 2,000 years old," Talbott said. "One of the things they found in the site was 8 to 10,000 years old, so it's been a camp site for quite a while." 

Analysis of the artifacts determined that the site had been occupied repeatedly during the Early Ceramic (A.D. 100- 800) and Late Ceramic (A.D. 800-1750) periods. Evidence of an earlier, more limited presence was suggested by a single Paleoindian artifact (8000-6000 B.C.). 

Don't bother pulling out your metal detectors. The stuff isn't worth much. 

"The things they find in general are what they call shards and chips or flakes. Shards are broken pottery, small fragments of pottery and they'll find an occasional point or arrowhead," Talbott explained. 

The artifacts tell the story of this area’s history. 

"It's something that helps the archeologist understand the life and times of the people that lived in this area," said Talbott. 

Maybe they weren't much different than us. 

Source: CW39 [August 15, 2012]