The Shot

Texas is one of my favorite parts of the country so when I was invited by Paleo Cultural Research Group (PCRG) to participate in the Gault dig I quickly accepted. A Clovis excavation at that, and under the direction of Mike Collins and Stan Ahler, who could ask for anything more?

The work was exacting and the soil not much different from concrete. The skies were blue, the Texas air hot and the 10-member team was having a laughing good dig experience.

BANG!

The shot rang out and we dove for the pit floor. The smell of gun smoke/powder hung in the air. We were all OK.

The questions started. Who did the shooting? Where did it come from? Why would someone be shooting at us? Has it stopped?

We kept low in the pit. Then little by little we started to rise up to look around. Other teams further away were continuing their work as though nothing had happened. What in the world?

Back at work excavatiing, members of our team were beginning to say they were excavating plastic! Clovis and plastic? Doesn’t make sense.

This was too much for my brain. I decided to have a cigarette.

I climbed out of the pit and went to my backpack only to find my lighter had exploded under the hot Texas sun!

Gun shot indeed!