Digging into the past

Bonham, Texas -- It was a lesson in local archaeology June 26, 2021 when Bois d'Arc Master Naturalists welcomed Gary Cheatwood to the Derrell Hall Education Center in Bonham for a lecture and presentation called "Digging Up the Past."

Mr. Cheatwood is a participating member of the Texas Historical Commission who describes himself as an "avocational archeologist."

"I don't get paid for my work," he explained. "I do it for sheer pleasure."

Cheatwood grew up near the Sulphur River and Saturday he exhibited 700-800 year old pottery that he found approximately three feet underground on his property.

He also had glass cases of projectile points, some 10,000 years old and a full-grooved ax that is 3,000-4,000 years old.

Gary Cheatwood describes some of his collection to Faye Wedell.

Cheatwood told of a specific type of projectile point called a Bonham Point that dates back 400-1,200 years.

He also held up a mammoth vertebrae that is at least 10,000 years old and was found in this area.

Gary Cheatwood holds up a vertebrae of a mammoth.

Streams are great places to look for artifacts, he noted.

"Anywhere there is water, 10,000-15,000 years ago, somebody camped there," Cheatwood said.

Some of these projectile points are 10,000 years old.

At The Sherman Library, John M. Moody describes a fossil during "Bring Your Rock to the Museum Day" June 26.