Leander Man Thinks He May Have Found Fossilized Human Skull In Backyard

LEANDER, TX — A Leander man thinks he may have found a fossilized skull on his property, according to a published report.

Donald Johnson has always been fascinated by the interesting rocks in his backyard, and he recently found some that looked like fossils, the Austin American-Statesman reported. After police and an anthropologist checked them out though, they turned out to be just rocks, according to the report.

But then there's one that looks like a human skull. The jury is still out on that one, pending additional testing.

The prehistoric mystery casts a spotlight on an area ripe with prehistoric artifacts that is Williamson County. As the Statesman reported, “Leanderthal Lady” was unearthed during a construction job in Leander in 1982 — the ancient remains of a woman who died somewhere between 10,000 to 13,000 years ago.

At the time of the discovery, Leaderthal Lady's site was one of the earliest intact burial sites in the United States, according to officials. Here's what that dig looked like back in the day that unearthed Leanderthal Lady:

According to information found on the website for the Williamson County Historical Commission, the location of the dig was discovered in 1973, when the Texas Highway personnel were in the process of conducting an archaeological survey for a proposed extension of Ranch Road 1431, from Highway 183 to Highway 1-35, north of Round Rock, Texas. Evidence showed the ground littered with burned rocks, flint flakes, snail shells and other evidence of cultural habitation, officials noted.

The archaeologists immediately knew they were looking at a site that was occupied during prehistoric times, county officials noted. The site is located on a terrace above Brushy Creek, which is a part of the Brazos River Drainage System.

Investigating further, archaeologists also unearthed a compelling, if tragic, narrative surrounding Leanderthal Lady. The human skeleton was that of 30-year-old woman, buried with her arms cradling her head and her knees drawn upward. She was approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall with a full set of teeth who had, at one point broken her collar bone. The bone healed, incorrectly, fusing to her upper rib. This was believed to have been very painful and probably limited the use of her left arm.

On Jan. 9, 1983, Leanderthal Lady's skeleton was removed from the pit grave to a lab where, we assume, she's being studied by top men. Top men.

The find is commemorated on a historical marker installed along Highway 183 in Cedar Park. Here's what that marker looks like (it's the one on the left):

If this story has awakened the Indiana Jones in you, you might be interested in attending next month's Texas Archeological Month Fair hosted by The Texas Archeological Research Laboratory. The event is scheduled Oct. 14 at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus in Austin.

>>> Image by Anagoria via Wikimedia Commons