Recent investigations at a multicomponent archaeological site (41DL270
) along Denton Creek in Denton and Dallas Counties, Texas, yielded a s
eries of mussel shell features which were sampled for isotopic variati
on in oxygen and carbon. Oxygen values showed a marked trend which may
indicate that delta(18)O can be used as a reliable paleoclimatic indi
cator in small riverine drainage systems such as Denton Creek. The del
ta(13)C values exhibited high variability and were more difficult to i
nterpret meaningfully, but are clearly related to the oxygen values. T
he paleoclimatic patterns inferred from the isotope variation support
several recent interpretations of Late Holocene climatic change in the
north-central Texas region which suggest a possible cooler and/or wet
ter period between 1500 and 2500 years ago, framed by warmer/drier per
iods before and after.