Tuesday, September 3, 1996

Old Indian Items Coming Into View Amid Reduced Spring Flow

By Associated Press

SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) - Ancient American Indian artifacts are suddenly popping into the view of divers at Aquarena Springs as spring flows diminish during the drought.

"There's a lot of stuff," said Curtis Dybala, an underwater gardener at the park. "You're swimming along one day and there it is, in a spot where all the vegetation is gone."

The artifacts were left behind by people who lived here thousands of years before the modern lake was created in 1849, when a small dam was built downstream from San Marcos Springs.

Dybala alerted an archaeologist from Southwest Texas State University - which owns Aquarena Springs - to an apparent connection between reduced spring flow and exposure of the ancient Indian items.

"A lot of the springs are changing place. ... It may be eroding away the soil," Dybala was quoted as saying in Monday's San Antonio Express-News.

Chris Ringstaff, an archaeologist completing his master's degree in geography at Southwest Texas State, agreed that reduced spring flow may be changing the bottom of Spring Lake.

"Normally, the sediments are somewhat fluid," Ringstaff said. "The sediments are starting to compress with diminished spring flow, and as a result we have a lot of artifacts coming to the surface."

Ringstaff recently led a team of four scuba divers to inspect several deep pockets where an array of stone tools was detected by gardeners who keep the spring-fed lake from being taken over by hydrilla.

"We're doing an impact assessment. A full and recorded survey of the lake has never taken place," Ringstaff said.

Jim Bruseth, deputy state historic preservation officer at the Texas Historical Commission, praised the university's actions and its intent to protect the unique archaeological sites at Aquarena Springs.

"This is the correct response," Bruseth said. "The site is of major significance for Texas. It is in a rare category. There are not many sites that have been continuously occupied for over 10,000 years."

After some underwater exploring in Spring Lake, Ringstaff said he saw items that "ran the whole gamut from tool-making flakes to big fragments."

Ringstaff said he does not believe an archaeological excavation will be necessary because there is no need to collect the artifacts.

"What we'll be doing is plotting the areas on the map we have. I expect every hole is going to be loaded. Every clear area is going to have some artifacts," he said.

Southwest Texas State purchased Aquarena Springs two years ago. The park is open daily. There's no admission charge except for glass-bottom boat rides. Highlights include Spring Lake, historic buildings and exhibits on archeology and endangered species.