George McJunkin (1856–1922) was an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaqu ...

, amateur

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

and historian in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. He discovered the

Folsom site Folsom site or Wild Horse Arroyo, designated by the Smithsonian trinomial 29CX1, is a major archaeological site about west of Folsom, New Mexico. It is the type site for the Folsom tradition, a Paleo-Indian cultural sequence dating to betwee ...

in 1908.

Born to

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

s in

Midway, Texas Midway is a city in Madison County, Texas, United States at the junction of the La Bahía Road (now Texas State Highway 21) and the Old San Antonio Road in northeastern Madison County. Midway was the birthplace of George McJunkin, who was born a ...

, McJunkin was approximately 9 years old when the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

ended. He worked as a

for

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

ers. He reportedly learned how to read from fellow cow punchers. McJunkin taught himself to read, write, speak Spanish, play the fiddle and guitar, eventually becoming an amateur archaeologist and historian. In 1868, McJunkin arrived in

and became a foreman on the Thomas Owens Pitchfork Ranch. McJunkin became a buffalo

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and worked for several ranches in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, New Mexico and Texas. He was also reported to be an expert

bronc A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

rider and one of the best ropers in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. He became foreman of the Crowfoot ranch near

Folsom, New Mexico Folsom is a village in Union County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 56 at the 2010 census, down from 75 in 2000. The town was named after Frances Folsom, the fiancée of President Grover Cleveland. History Folsom gives its n ...

. In 2019, he was inducted into the

Hall of Great Westerners The Hall of Great Westerners was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1958. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of more than 200 men and women of the American ...

of the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Am ...

Discovery of Folsom site

After the flood of August 27, 1908 which killed 18 people in Folsom, McJunkin assessed damage at the Crowfoot Ranch. While patching fence, McJunkin entered an arroyo where he discovered remains of several giant prehistoric

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North A ...

, exposed where the flood had deeply eroded the arroyo bed. Among the bones of the bison was a distinctive type of stone tool, now called a Folsom point. Recognizing the significance of the find, McJunkin left the site undisturbed, except for recovering a few sample points. For several years he tried to interest archaeologists, with little success. In 1918 he sent sample bones and a lance point to the

Denver Museum of Natural History The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is a municipal natural history and science museum in Denver, Colorado. It is a resource for informal science education in the Rocky Mountain region. A variety of exhibitions, programs, and activities help mus ...

, who sent

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Harold Cook during the following spring, and he and McJunkin did some exploratory digging. But a thorough excavation did not occur until 1926, after McJunkin's death. Giant Bison of the type McJunkin found had gone extinct at the end of the last Ice Age; proof of a human kill established the antiquity of North America's native cultures. McJunkin's discovery of the

changed New World archaeology, as it showed that people had inhabited North America since at least 9000 BCE, some 7000 years earlier than previously thought. At his death, McJunkin was buried at the Folsom Cemetery in Folsom, New Mexico."Cowboy George McJunkin,"
Folsom Museum. Retrieved 10/18/07.

References

Bibliography

* Folsom, F. ''The Life and Legend of George McJunkin, Black Cowboy.'' * Hillerman, T. "Othello in Union County", ''The Great Taos Bank Robbery,'' (1973); . * Kreck, C. (1999) "Out of the Shadows: George McJunkin was the forgotten man at the center of the century's most startling archaeological find", ''The Denver Post, Empire: Magazine of the West,'' Feb. 25, 1999. p. 14. {{DEFAULTSORT:McJunkin, George 20th-century archaeologists 1851 births 1922 deaths African Americans in the American Old West Amateur archaeologists American cattlemen Bison hunters Cowboys People from Madison County, Texas People from Union County, New Mexico African-American equestrians