ARE THERE ICE AGE FOSSIL SITES NEAR BY?

By Pam Stranahan, Friends of the History Center

ARE THERE ICE AGE FOSSIL SITES NEAR BY?


Surprisingly there are several paleontological sites nearby that show how ice age animals were on the landscape in the coastal bend. We set the stage by remembering that during the last ice age sea water was frozen at the polar caps. With less water in the oceans, land extended approximately 70 miles into the Gulf of Mexico.
Along the Nueces River, near Bluntzer, fossil vertebrates were recovered from sand and gravel pits in San Patricio and Nueces Counties. The sites yielded fossils of Equus, Mammoth, Tapirus, Camelops and Bison. What makes these locations unusual are the fossils from early Pliocene horses. Some of these fossils are on display at the History Center.
Another well-known site is at Ingleside. At this site of an excavation yielded one of the largest assortments of fossils found in a single locality in Texas. They were discovered in 1939 when highway engineers were digging for caliche to use in road construction. Fossils found here represented such animals as the mammoth, saber-toothed tiger, bison, ground sloth, camel, alligator, tapir, and various species of freshwater fish.

In San Patricio County along the Aransas River fossils from the Pleistocene were measured and photographed. The collection revealed that of the 40 different species 67.5% were plains animals, 15% were riparian dwelling, and 17.5% were aquatic or semi aquatic.

On the Berclair Terrace in Bee County ice age fossils have been found. As early as 1936 paleontologists recorded Mammoth, Mastodon, Horse and Bison. By 1940 archeologists recognized Paleoindian artifacts in the mix.

View selected fossils April 15 through May 7 at The History Center for Aransas County at 801 E. Cedar St. is open Fri. 10-2; Sat. & Sun. 1-4 PM and Mon. 10-2. More information may be found on the website at www.theachistorycenter.com or by calling 361 727-9214.