Near Quitaque in Briscoe County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Home for 12,000 Years

Photographed by James Hulse, June 7, 2022

1. Home for 12,000 Years Marker

Inscription.
(Right Panel)
A Land of Plenty People have occupied this rugged country for around 12,000 years. During the late Pleistocene age, small bands of nomadic hunters known as Paleo-Indians were attracted to the Caprock escarpment. Here they found excellent shelter from harsh winters and unique resources including plentiful game, drinkable gypsum-free water and abundant firewood.

In more recent times (between 1000 A.D. and 1541 A.D.), groups of American Indians hunted along the Caprock escarpment and established permanent villages to the north of here along the Canadian River breaks.

Bison Savvy American Indians had an intimate knowledge of bison behavior and adopted many different ways of hunting and butchering their quarry. In the northern United States, archeologists have discovered that bison were often driven off cliffs to certain death. Here along the Caprock escarpment, bison were commonly herded into box canyons or gullies, or else driven into thick mud where they were killed at close range and butchered on site.

Captions
Upper Left: Before the introduction of the horse, Indians used lances and spears to hunt bison along the Caprock escarpment.
Lower Left: The Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is the most widespread and abundant of all large North American hawks.
Lower Middle: Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) are easily identified by their large ears and black-tipped tails.
Lower Right: Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) are easily identified by their long, narrow wings which are tilted upward in a shallow V.

(Left Panel)
Landscape of Change

Sculpting Elements Powerful

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forces of erosion have chiselled away at the eastern edge of the High Plains for the last 3 million years. Every spring and summer, severe thunderstorms produce raging torrents of water that scour canyon walls and etch deeper and deeper into the bedrock. Geologists estimate that the Caprock escarpment is being eroded at the rate of approximately “1/2" each year. The resulting landscape is part of the history and ecology of Caprock Canyons.

Life on the Edge The Caprock escarpment is what biologists call an ecotone; a transitional zone where two habitats come together. These distinct breaks mark the eastern edge of the High Plains to the west and the western edge of the Rolling Plains to the east. Ecotones are often areas of great wildlife diversity. The rugged landscape in front of you provides a rich and diverse habitat for many wildlife species that are well adapted to living in rough, rocky terrain.

Captions
Lower Left: Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) form long-term pair bonds and add to their bulky nests each season.
Lower Middle: The White-throated woodrat or 'pack-rat' (Neotoma albigula) constructs fortress-like dens of sticks and prickly pear cactus pads.
Upper Right: Geological features known as hoodoos are formed when a hard cap of sandstone protects underlying bedrock from eroding as fast as nearby unprotected rock.
Lower Right: Look for raccoon (Procyon lotor) tracks in the soft soils of the canyons.

Erected by Texas

Left Panel - Landscape of Change image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, June 7, 2022

2. Left Panel - Landscape of Change

Parks and Wildlife.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Parks & Recreational Areas.

Location. 34° 26.466′ N, 101° 5.584′ W. Marker is near Quitaque, Texas, in Briscoe County. It can be reached from Caprock Canyons Park Road 4.6 miles north of Farm to Market Road 1065, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located at the entrance to the Upper South Prong Trailhead in Caprock Canyons State Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Quitaque TX 79255, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Texas Panhandle.

It is also on the American Great Plains

and specifically on the Southern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Comanchería,

the Dust Bowl,

the Republic of Texas,

and one of the Confederate States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10

Home for 12,000 Years Marker is right panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, June 7, 2022

3. Home for 12,000 Years Marker is right panel

miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lake Theo Folsom Bison Kill Site (approx. 2.2 miles away); William E. Schott (approx. 2.3 miles away); Natural Disturbance-Lifeblood of the Prairies (approx. 3 miles away); Quanah Parker Trail (approx. 3.7 miles away); a different marker also named Quanah Parker Trail (approx. 5.9 miles away); Resthaven Cemetery (approx. 6½ miles away); Gasoline Cotton Gin (approx. 8.1 miles away); Camp Resolution (approx. 10 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Quitaque.

Also see . . . Paleo-Indians.

Paleo-Indians, Paleoindians or Paleo-Americans were the first peoples who entered, and subsequently inhabited, the Americas during the final glacial episodes of the late Pleistocene period. The prefix "paleo-" comes from the Greek adjective palaios (παλαιός), meaning "old" or "ancient". The term "Paleo-Indians" applies specifically to the lithic period in the Western Hemisphere and is distinct from the term "Paleolithic". Source: Wikipedia

(Submitted on June 21, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The view of the Home for 12,000 Years Marker from the street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, June 7, 2022

4. The view of the Home for 12,000 Years Marker from the street

The view of the rugged landscape from the marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, June 7, 2022

5. The view of the rugged landscape from the marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 22, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 21, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 566 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 22, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.