About the Lubbock Lake Landmark
The Lubbock Lake Landmark is an internationally known archaeological site located in a bend of Yellowhouse Draw, an ancient river valley cut through the Llano Estacado.
For thousands of years, people on the Southern High Plains used spring-fed water that flowed through the draw. The springs went dry in the early 1930s. Years of sediment covered traces of human activity until 1936, when the City of Lubbock dredged the meander to revive underground springs as a water source. Dredging exposed human-made points and ancient bison bones from the Folsom era.
The first formal explorations were conducted in 1939 by the West Texas Museum, now the Museum at Texas Tech University. By the late 1940s, several Folsom bison kills were identified, and later evidence of Clovis tools helped date human occupation to about 12,000 radiocarbon years ago.
Today, the Landmark is an active archaeological site and natural history preserve that serves as a field laboratory for geology, soils, and radiocarbon studies. Continuous excavations have been conducted annually for more than 50 years, involving both professionals and volunteers from around the world.
Public education is central to the Landmark mission. Programs for children and families are offered throughout the year. Guided tours during summer field seasons allow visitors to see active excavations, and self-guided experiences are available year-round on marked trails.
The 336-acre site is designated both a National Historic Landmark and a State Archeological Landmark, providing federal and state protection from destruction, urbanization, and vandalism.
Because of this protected status, and for wildlife and visitor safety, dogs are not allowed on hiking trails. Dogs are allowed at picnic tables adjacent to visitor parking.
"Any one of the remarkable records of plant and animal communities, geology, climate, environmental resources, or human activities would make Lubbock Lake significant, but we have it ALL!"
- Vance T. Holliday
Professor, University of Arizona
Landmark Research Associate
Mission Statement
Lubbock Lake Landmark provides leadership through stewardship, research, and education to reveal cultural and natural heritage for the public and scientific communities.
Stewardship
The Lubbock Lake Landmark is an archaeological preserve containing evidence of peoples on the Southern High Plains for almost 12,000 years. Due to its nearly complete record of human activity within well-stratified and well-dated geological deposits, the Lubbock Lake Landmark is one of the most important archaeological sites in North America.
An archaeological site is any area that has an indication of activity by peoples of the past.
An archaeological site represents a piece of cultural and natural heritage of a region and the nation. Through survey and excavation, researchers attempt to reconstruct the ways in which people lived and adapted to their surroundings. Researchers study artifacts (objects made and modified for use by people) as well as plant, animal, and geologic specimens from excavations that might reveal information about the ways past peoples lived within the past landscapes and natural history.
Archaeology is important for the knowledge it unearths of societies and peoples unknown to today's population, past climates, and the natural history of a region. The placement, or context, in which archaeological evidence is found is very important for interpretation. When archaeological context is disturbed by people or natural means, information becomes irretrievable for scholars and ultimately for everyone.
As an archaeological preserve, the Landmark is government-protected from destruction due to widespread population growth, urbanization, and vandalism. According to the Office of the Texas State Archaeologist, over 6,000 Texas sites fall victim to some sort of disturbance every year, and only a handful receive professional attention.