Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Information
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
History & Culture
NPS Photo
Quarry pit
Archeological traces of prehistoric Indians homes, workshops, and campsites dot the entire Canadian River region of the Texas Panhandle but few sites are as dramatic as Alibates Flint Quarries. Distinctive for its many bright colors, this flint comes from a 10-square mile area around the Monument. Unweathered flint was obtained by digging just below the surface and these layers are up to 6 feet thick. Tools made from Alibates Flint have been found in many places in the Great Plains and Southwest. It's use dates from 12,000 years ago to about 1870.
NPS Photo
Ruins
Between 1150 and 1500, Indians identified as the Plains Village Indians, ancestors of Pawnee or Wichita Indians, lived here in large permanent villages and smaller, outlying farming and and gathering communities. Villages were built of rock-slab houses from one to 100 rooms. Most were single-unit dwellings although some rooms were connected. Architecture of this period featured rectangular, semi-circular rooms with funneled entranceways and stone enclosures. It is believed that extensive severe drought, coupled with raids from aggressive tribes to the west drove these indians out of this region by the end of the 15th century.
