First Tuesday SMTX film series presents “The Stones are Speaking,” a documentary about Archaeologist Mike Collins who saved the Gault archeological site. The site provides evidence of human habitation dating back as far as 20,000 years ago, challenging previous timelines for when people first arrived in the Americas.
Midway between Georgetown and Ft. Hood in central Texas, the site is located in the Buttermilk Creek Valley on the Williamson-Bell County line. It is significant for its vast number of artifacts. As of 2023, over 2.6 million artifacts have been found, including a large quantity of stone tools and incised stones that point to the presence of multiple prehistoric cultures at the site.
Early investigations began in 1929 with Professor J. E. Pearce of the University of Texas, but the site was heavily damaged by relic collectors before professional excavation and preservation efforts began in the late 1990s.
Through great effort, Dr. Collins managed to acquire the site and donated it to the Archaeological Conservancy in 2007, establishing the Gault School of Archaeological Research to oversee its study and preservation.
According to Collins, who spent his career seeking clues about the earliest people in the Americas, the Gault site “was the biggest nest of Clovis artifacts I’d ever seen.” Later he learned from his work that, “There were people here significantly earlier in the Americas than we used to tell people.”
The Clovis people arrived in North America approximately 13,000 years ago and were believed to have migrated from Asia, crossing the Bering Land Bridge. They thrived for about 300 years before disappearing some 12,700 years ago. They are known for their distinctive stone tools, particularly their fluted spear points, which are the first widespread evidence of a single cultural group across the continent.
While Clovis people were assumed to be the first inhabitants of North America, discoveries at the Gault site now point to a pre-Clovis culture who arrived as early as 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.
“The Stones are Speaking” is more than a film about the Gault archaeological site, it shows how one person can make a difference and inspire others to act for the greater good.
Directed by Olive Talley, “The Stones are Speaking” won the Texas State Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival.
Following the film, there will be a question and answer period with film Director Olive Talley, National Geographic photographer Ken Garrett and Dr. David Kilby, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University - San Marcos.
Tickets are $9. Doors open at 6:15 p.m, complementary pizza and drinks served from 6:30 p.m., and the film starts at 7. The Price Center is located at 222 W. San Antonio St. in San Marcos. For tickets and information about First Tuesday SMTX, visit firsttuesdaysmtx. com. The documentary is presented in partnership with the Texas State University Center for Archaeological Studies.
