Words on Lick Creek Indicate 'A Slight Bias'

Dear Editor,
   In your current article on Lick Creek ["The Showdown at Lick Creek," News, July 2] you refer to the age of the Levi Rockshelter as being tens of thousands of years old. This wording implies it must be at least 20,000 years old. Making it the oldest by far in America.
   The real age of course is 10,000 years plus or minus 175. I think your choice of words indicates a slight bias. I think sticking to the truth here would have been just as effective.

   [Amy Smith responds: I think your choice of words indicates a slight bias, too. At any rate, I did err regrettably when I wrote that the Levi Rockshelter was tens of thousands of years old. According to the National Register of Historic Places, the rock-shelter served as a Paleo-Indian campsite between 9000-10999BC. The point is, this is an archeological site of historic significance that is at risk of being wiped out by development in western Travis County. As of late last week, the Fort Worth office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was still investigating the extent of damage that may have already occurred to this area along Lick Creek.]