H.C.R. No. 143
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Debra L. Friedkin made a site along Buttermilk Creek
in Bell County available to Texas A&M University's Center for the
Study of the First Americans in 2006, and research at the site is
adding immeasurably to our understanding of the first Americans;
and
WHEREAS, Since the 1930s, archeologists have believed that
early inhabitants of the Americas, named the Clovis people for
artifacts found near Clovis, New Mexico, arrived in North America
from Asia, by way of the Bering Land Bridge, as the last Ice Age
waned about 13,500 years ago; over the past few decades, however,
credible evidence has emerged for pre-Clovis human occupation of
the Americas, but until now the evidence has been incomplete; and
WHEREAS, The land in Bell County, now known as the Debra L.
Friedkin site, has been under excavation for five years by Michael
R. Waters, director of the Center for the Study of the First
Americans, and his team of scientists and researchers from TAMU,
Baylor University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the
University of Minnesota, and Texas State University--San Marcos,
and the group has found artifacts that support the pre-Clovis
theory; and
WHEREAS, The excavation of the Debra L. Friedkin site has
revealed deposits that testify to human occupation spanning the
last 15,500 years; layers near the surface show evidence of late
Prehistoric and Archaic occupants of the region, while deeper
layers reflect Folsom and Clovis occupations dating back 12,000 to
13,000 years; below this, researchers have discovered nearly 16,000
artifacts that appear to be pre-Clovis in origin; and
WHEREAS, Multiple studies suggest that the Debra L. Friedkin
site is undisturbed and intact; because the lack of organic
material at the site made carbon dating impossible, researchers
employed a technique known as optically stimulated luminescence,
which detects the last time the sediment surrounding the artifacts
received exposure to sunlight, and more than 60 such measures show
that people had arrived there by 15,500 years ago; and
WHEREAS, The discoveries from the excavation at the Debra L.
Friedkin site are bringing archaeologists and other members of the
scientific community much closer to solving mysteries of early
human habitation of the Americas, and their work would not be
possible without the generosity of Ms.
Friedkin; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby honor Debra L. Friedkin for her support of the ongoing
research at the Debra L. Friedkin site and extend to her sincere
gratitude for the advances in knowledge of human history she is
helping to realize; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That
an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Ms. Friedkin as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives and Senate.
S. Davis of Harris
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 143 was adopted by the House on May
12, 2011, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 143 was adopted by the Senate on May
17, 2011, by a viva-voce vote.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor