Michael B. Collins
Michael B. Collins grew up on the Southern Plains of Texas and has migrated a nascent interest in archaeology, first manifest at age 5 or 6 years, from naivete to avocationalism through formal education (BA, UT-Austin 1965, MA, UT-Austin 1968, PhD U Arizona 1974) to professional teaching and research appointments, 1967-presnet. His areas of professional interest include prehistoric archaeology especially of the Americas, lithic studies, peopling of the Americas, Paleoindian studies, and geoarchaeology. His field work has transpired in North, Central, and South America, and Israel and has resulted in some 200 articles, papers, monographs, and books.
Harry Miller
Harry Miller first met Mike Collins when he became a member of the Midland County Archeological Society in 6th Grade. He graduated from Midland High School in 1963 and began his studies at Tarlton State University in the fall. Graduating from Tarlton with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, he was accepted to the School of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University. He graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1970. From 1970 through 1973, he was a Captain in the United States Army Corps of Veterinary Medicine. In 1973, Harry moved to Austin and became the owner of Westgate Pet and Bird Hospital. In September of 1993, Harry, his clients, and their exotic pets at Westgate Pet and Bird Hospital were featured on a National Geographic Monthly Special “Born Wild”. Harry was also a Staff Veterinarian for the San Antonio Zoo and the Austin Zoo. Between 1995 and 2005, he was an Adjunct Professor of Zoo Animal Medicine for the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine. He was awarded The Texas Exotic Animal Veterinary for the year 1997. Harry retired in 2006. He is currently on the Board of Gault School of Archeological Research, the Board of Capital Area Master Naturalists and a volunteer at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Jon Lohse
Dr. Jon Lohse received his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001, and has been involved in research at the Gault Site since 1991. Professionally, his interests include prehistoric technologies, archaeological chronologies, and stable isotope-based paleoecological reconstructions. Dr. Lohse has supervised multi-disciplinary research into Archaic and Early Paleoindian adaptations, including at the Gault site, in Texas, Belize, Mexico, and Guatemala; and has directed large-scale projects investigating Classic Maya settlements and culture history in northern Belize. Among his current research projects are an ongoing effort to construct a directly dated chronology of the presence of bison in the far Southern Plains of North America, a collaborative investigation of the early mid-Holocene Calf Creek Horizon, and a long-term examination of preceramic adaptations in Mesoamerica. He currently works as Regional Division Director for Coastal Environments, Inc. and is Vice President of Moore Archaeological Consulting, Inc., in Houston. He is also an affiliated researcher with the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Elton Prewitt
Elton Prewitt gained an interest in archaeology at an early age when he accompanied the Wizard Gandalf and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins to retrieve the treasure under the Lonely Mountain, which was guarded by the dragon Smaug. Upon completion of the successful mission, the treasure prompted Elton to wonder about his ancestors who had created such artifacts. He soon realized that the dragon had removed the treasure form its original context by amassing it into a pile to sleep on. This greatly reduced the interpretive value of the treasure, spurring Elton into a life of archaeology. The most famous artifact of the assemblage, the Eltonstone, is named after Elton Prewitt.
Nancy Velchoff Williams
Nancy Williams is the Director and Lab manager for the Gault Project and is currently a Board officer with the Gault School of Archaeological Research. She is a lithic analyst specializing in Clovis debitage and has a MPhil in Archaeology from the University of Exeter. Years of working in both medical and legal fields and a lifelong curiosity in rocks (cultural and geological) led her to the Texas Archaeological Society and ultimately an opportunity to volunteer full-time at the Gault site. Under the careful direction of Dr. Collins and Dr. Clark Wernecke, Nancy eventually managed and directed the excavations at the Gault site for 4 years (2008-2012) before joining The Gault School of Archaeological Research as a staff member.
Marvin Gohlke, Jr.
Marvin Gohlke, Jr. grew up in DeWitt County, Texas, graduating from Yorktown High School in 1974. Afterwards he studied Anthropology and Archeology at San Antonio College and the University of Texas at San Antonio before starting a family and embarking on a career in design and engineering at chemical plants along the Texas coast. After retiring from this endeavor, Marvin resumed following his passion of archeology, especially after moving to the Texas Hill Country ten years ago and buying land with major archeological sites on it. Since that time, the Hill Country Archeological Association, of which he is a member, and has served on their board of directors, has been excavating out at Marvin’s place, called Kemosabe by his son Trei. Kemosabe will be the site of the 2020 Texas Archeological Society field school, possibly extending into 2021. Paleo Indian artifacts have been recently discovered at Kemosabe. Marvin is a life member of the Hill Country Archeological Association, a life member of the Gault School of Archeological Research, a member of the South Texas Archeological Association, and a Texas Historical Commission Archeological Steward. Another passion of Marvin’s is photography, which has led him from winning photo contests, to now judging them. He has photographed archeological sites from Eagles Nest Cave and Bonfire Shelter with Texas State University in Val Verde County, Texas, to Hall’s Cave in Kerr County, Texas, with archeologists from Texas A&M University. Marvin, who has been nicknamed “the armadillo” by his archeological group because his “enthusiastic digging” which never wanes, is married and has three children and eight grandchildren.
Eric A. Schroeder, Ph.D. RPA
Dr. Schroeder was raised in a small rural west Texas farming and ranching community, and it was this experience that instilled in him a deep respect for the rural landscape and the people who lived on it both in the past and the present. He spent his weekends as a youth on his grandparent’s farm in Concho County exploring the surrounding natural areas and imagining about the Indians and the early European explorers who once lived and passed through the area. He began his academic career studying geology at Angelo State University, but then moved on to study anthropology at Texas Tech University, where he earned a BA in anthropology and a master’s degree in environmental science. He worked as a consulting archeologist for 27 years and later continued his graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin where he received a doctorate degree in anthropology in 2019. He currently works as an archeologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and is an Affiliate Research Archeologist at UT’s Texas Archeological Research Laboratory. Dr. Schroeder’s research interests include complex hunter-gatherers, prehistoric craft production, trade and exchange, conflict and violence, emergent status and inequality, and ethnohistory. He is a retired Army colonel with 34 years’ service in the Texas Army National Guard, and currently lives in Bastrop County with his wife Susan.
Steve Stoutamire
Steve Stoutamire is a retired petroleum geologist. He received a BA in Anthropology (1972) from Florida State University and an MS in Geology (1975) from Texas Tech University. During a 32 year career in the petroleum industry he held technical, business and managerial positions in both domestic and international operations. Since retirement (2007) he and wife Nancy have lived near Kerrville, Texas. He is an active avocational archeologist and regularly works to educate the public through teaching classes and giving archeology lectures. He works with private land owners, by their invitation, to help them understand archeological sites on their property. He is also a member, past president, and current field committee chairman of the Hill Country Archeological Association, a member of the Texas Archeology Society, The Gault School of Archeological Research and The Center For The Study Of First Americans. He serves as a director on the board of the Gault School of Archeological Research at the University of Texas, Austin. He also serves as a Texas Archeology Steward for the Texas Historical Commission.