Rock art at Seminole Canyon State Park near Comstock Credit: photos by Gerald E. McLeod

Texas Archaeology Month comes around every October, and Texans have a lot to celebrate. From the rock art in West Texas to prehistoric burial sites in Central Texas, the state’s rich history is as diverse as its landscapes.

“Archaeology is the study of ancient and recent human past through material remains,” according to the Society of American Archaeology. That’s a pretty diverse field of study, since an archaeological site can be any place where there are physical remains of past human activities.

The archaeological dig at the Gault Site near Florence

You don’t have to look too far to find an archaeological site. All of our 89 state parks and 39 state historic sites have been studied by scientists trying to better understand the past.

Few examples surpass the mystery of the rock art of West Texas. Created thousands of years ago, scientists are still baffled by the meanings of this great library of stories created by the ancients. Fate Bell Shelter at Seminole Canyon State Park outside of Comstock is a good place to start your personal Indiana Jones-style exploration. Tours of the art are available through the park and the Witte Museum in San Antonio.

The recreation of the Horn Shelter at the Bosque County Museum in Clifton.

It is estimated that the Gault site, an archaeology dig between Salado and Florence, has been inhabited by humans for more than 20,000 years. This is older than the Blackwater Draw site near Clovis, N.M. Tours of the Gault site are available on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month through the Bell County Museum and the Williamson Museum.

In 1970, archaeologists uncovered an 11,700-year-old burial site in Bosque County northwest of Waco. The Horn Shelter site has been re-created in the Bosque Museum in Clifton along with excavators’ tools, photos, and explanations of the site’s importance.

These are just a few examples of archaeological exploration in Texas. To see a map of some of the important sites in the state, go to archaeology.org/travel/interactivemap-texas.

1,726th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere: Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.

This article appears in October 25 • 2024.

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Gerald E. McLeod joined the Chronicle staff in November 1980 as a graphic designer. In April 1991 he began writing the “Day Trips” column. Besides the weekly travel column, he contributed “101 Swimming Holes,” “Guide to Central Texas Barbecue,” and “Guide to the Texas Hill Country.” His first 200 columns have been published in Day Trips Vol. I and Day Trips Vol. II.