Editor’s note: This article was originally published in UTSA newsletter The Discourse in Nov. 1975
(April 26, 2019) — Twelve UTSA anthropology students gained practical experience in archaeological field work as well as insight into past cultures in a dig on the university campus November 3–10.
The excavation was near the corner of UTSA and Regency boulevards.
>> Watch the video on UTSA’s historic dig.
The students are members of a class taught by Joel Gunn, UTSA assistant professor of anthropology. In cooperation with Thomas Hester, director of the UTSA Center for Archaeological Research, Gunn initiated a problem-oriented approach that enabled his students to explore a prehistoric burned rock midden site.
The midden, or refuse heap, extends above the surface. The students found remnants of cooking fires, stone tools used for chipping and scraping, and other artifacts indicating the uses of the midden and the lifestyle of the inhabitants, believed to be early Tonkawa Indians, according to Gunn.
>> Read the rest of this story and relive other memories from UTSA’s history as we celebrate UTSA’s 50th Anniversary.
