The McNeill Ranch Site has given us many clues to the mystery of how early people lived their lives in the Coastal Bend. We have discovered human burials, hearth features, tools made of stone and bone, pot sherds, blades and points. These are indicative of human settlement spanning the Late PaleoIndian period through the Late Prehistoric period.
Scrapers are one of the original stone tool types, dating to long before the Neolithic age began. These unifacial tools were the unsung heroes in the survival of early humans. They were used primarily in butchering animals and removing the meat from the hides. Typically these tools are made by chipping the end of a lithic flake to create one sharp side. The other sides are left dull, so the user can safely and comfortably hold it during use.
Knives have also been around for a long time. They are harder to make than scrapers, as they are longer, thinner blades, often two sided. They can slide more deeply into a carcass, but also worked better for fruits and vegetables as agriculture developed. Often held in hand without the use of a handle, the knives had a sharp cutting edge along at least one side. This was created by the removal of small flakes along the blade's edge. When the knives became dull from daily use cutting through hide, meat, and bone, another row of flakes was removed along the edges to sharpen it. The size of a knife would eventually become greatly reduced by multiple sharpenings. It would then be discarded.
Arrowheads and spearheads changed as the times changed. Moving from atlatl to bow and arrow use for hunting meant that projectile points needed to be lighter and smaller. They also needed to be shaped at their base so they could be tied to arrow shafts. Projectile points are organized by type, usually of temporal and geographic significance. However within each type there are variations. Why? These were made by human hands, without the help of machinery. Each maker used their own tools and techniques, eliciting some differentiation in finished product.
The polished stone axe was one of the most important tool developments of the Neolithic era. Made through flaking the stone, and then grinding it smooth, an axe made clearing land for farming much easier and faster. They also made good weapons against enemies! Having farmland meant others wanted it, and protection became a greater need. Other tools include stone adzes, hammers, and chisels for woodworking. These gained importance as construction of permanent settlements became more common. Early people didn’t rely solely on stone tools, though. Bone tools, such as awls, have been in use since the dawn of human civilization.
Another development that grew out of living more sedentary lives was the increase in sophistication of food preparation. This included building more permanent hearth areas, and making and decorating pots for repeated use. About 9,000 years ago, the prehistoric people of Texas began using heated limestone rocks to cook food. The rocks either lined a hearth to concentrate and prolong the heat within, or were dropped right into pots for heating water. Fire-cracked rock (FCR) is the by-product of those processes.