Baker Cave is a prehistoric archaeological site, located on a small canyon near Devils River in Southwest Texas.
A large cooking hearth was found inside it, dating to around 9,000 years ago, and containing small creatures such as snakes, rats, fish, and rabbits, and a wide variety of seeds and nuts, indicating a diversified diet.
[1] The recovery of a complete Golondrina point established Paleo-Indian residence in Baker Cave.
The people at Baker Cave had an archaic life and lived off small game and foraging.
The site was named after the Baker family, who owned the land and allowed archaeological research in the shelter.
The first fieldwork began in April 1962, by archaeologists from the University of Texas at Austin's Archaeology Research Lab, who designated the shelter 41 VV 213.
James H. Word directed the majority of the archaeological investigation together with University of Texas archaeologists E. Mott Davis and T.N.
The earliest deposits were late Paleo-Indian projectile points of the Plainview Golondrina type.
[1] The bones in the hearth included snakes, rats, fish, rabbits, and other small animals, which showed that people used everything possibly available.
In the northernmost part of the shelter, on a large roof spall, a datum point was set up.
All flint, bone, shell, and wood were kept; only samples of vegetal matter were retained because the amount to keep was too large.
At first, units were dug in 6-inch levels (15 cm), until strata and deposits became more clear and easy to follow.
However, towards the back of the shelter, zone one contained a third stratum that was distinguished by a sterile line of deposits.
Small flint scrap, quids, prickly pear leaves, mescal beans, pecans, walnuts, and acorns were also present.
Fibrous and lithic artifacts were found along with an increase in rodents and birds and a decrease in deer.
The upper two strata have high charcoal levels and these layers feel greasy.
This lens has ashy tan soil and a great deal of fibrous materials.
The lithics in this zone are mainly fire-fractured, and deer, rodent, and fish bones have been found also.
Fiber artifacts were more numerous than the other artifacts found, such as fire-cracked rock, mesquite beans, mescal beans, leaves, pecans, walnuts, persimmon seeds, pods of sotol, sacahuista, and lechuguilla.
The pear internodes were stacked in layers and bundled 5.0 inches (13 cm) northwest of the unused pit; they were located in zone five.