When Bison Roamed the Blackland

Paul Napper, 2015

Hiking at Oak Point in Plano is something Cindy and I enjoy. In March this year we were hiking part of the trail that gets close to the bank of Rowlett Creek. I noticed a place where we could climb down the bank and explore a small gravel bar. As we slowly walked through the gravel looking for interesting rocks or arrowheads I noticed a tooth and picked it up. It felt heavy and I thought this is a fossil. Cindy said, no it’s just a cow tooth. Of course I put it in my pocket. Soon after, I noticed a small bone maybe six feet from where the tooth was found. The bone was muddy and covered with algae. It also felt heavy and again I thought this is a fossil.

After cleaning these up I asked Deborah Canterbury to take a look at them. She asked an experienced fossil hunter Mac to look at them. What a surprise to learn they are fossils.

The tooth is the second molar and the bone a lower leg bone, metatarsal or metacarpal. They are common fossils of an extinct Ancient Bison that lived during the late Pleistocene period until around 10,000 years ago. National Park Service says the ancient bison was taller, had longer horns, and was twenty-five percent more massive than living American Bison. It was roughly seven and a half feet tall and fifteen feet long, weighing approximately 3500 lbs.