Garza Points
Post, Garza County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Thin, triangular arrow points 2 to 4 centimeters long. Of fine workmanship, with central basal notch and deeply serrated edges. Discovered and named here, site 41GR40, an archeological highway salvage dug in 1959 by South Plains Archeological Society. With these fine, thin arrow points, left near 6 hearths for cooking, were found 238 stone and bone artifacts: awls, wolf teeth pendants, tubular bone beads, chipped stone knives, scrapers, drills, choppers and 3 types of arrow points. The Garza People, roving hunters, lived here before 1500 A.D. (1965)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Excavated in a 1959 highway salvage dig, this archeological site gave its name to the Garza point—a thin, finely worked triangular arrowhead with a notched base and serrated edges. Alongside the points, archeologists found more than two hundred artifacts around ancient cooking hearths: bone awls, wolf-tooth pendants, tubular beads, knives, scrapers, and drills. The Garza people who left them were roving hunters who camped here before 1500 A.D.
Why it matters
Sites like this preserve the deep Indigenous history of the Southern Plains, reminding us that people hunted, cooked, and crafted fine tools here for centuries before any European arrived.
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Themes & tags
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