Prehistoric human skeleton found in Texas
U.S. archaeologists have excavated what appears to be the skeleton possibly 2,000 years old from the shores of a lake near Austin, Texas.
The skeleton consisting of a jawbone, teeth and a forearm was found Aug. 9 by a man riding in a personal watercraft on Lake Travis, the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman reported. It was removed from the site Sunday by a team of professional archaeologists and has been donated to the University of Texas for study.
Andy Malof, an archaeologist with the Lower Colorado River Authority, told the newspaper arrowheads found near the remains, in what appears to have been a camp, suggest a burial taking place between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago.
The remains were uncovered when the lake recently dipped to about 16 feet below its average August level.
The find is unusual since prehistoric people usually "buried very few people during that time," Malof told the American-Statesman. "They were usually burned."
He said the skeleton is probably that of a woman about 40 years old.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
