Results of Significance Testing at 41DW269 Dewitt County, Texas

Site 41DW269 was tested by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) archeologists in July of 1997. The investigations were conducted in the right-of-way of a proposed bridge replacement project on DeWitt County Road 122 at its crossing of Clear Creek. The investigations at Site 41DW269 consisted of mechanical trenching for archeological prospection and stratigraphic evaluation of the site, and the manual excavation of two 1 x 1 m test units and two shovel tests. Site 41DW269 is a multi-component terrace site with cultural deposits ranging in age from the Early Archaic through the Late Archaic. Two discrete alluvial fills, both containing cultural material, underlie the terrace. Unit 1 forms the core of the terrace and consists of a dark brown, sandy to silty loam to clay loam containing abundant secondary calcium carbonate. Unit 2 consists of a very dark grayish brown to black loam that represents a veneer of more recent overbank deposits that is approximately 1.0 to 1.2 m thick. In addition, two younger alluvial fills (Units 3 and 4) are present across the stream and at the base of the cutbank forming the northern site boundary. Testing of the site revealed two clearly distinct prehistoric cultural strata within deep alluvial deposits, and a single pit-like feature. The first cultural deposit is associated with Unit 1, and consists of a sparse assemblage of mineralized bone and lithic material extending from approximately 120-180 cm below the present ground surface. On the basis of a single radiocarbon age and a diagnostic Guadalupe tool, this component is believed to date to the Early Archaic. The second cultural deposit is associated with the upper veneer, and extends from approximately 10 cm to 110 cm below the surface. Although this deposit could not be subdivided based on the limited excavation data, it contains a cultural debris associated with Late Archaic and possibly Middle Archaic occupations Due to the deep and stratified nature of the deposits and the diversity of artifactual assemblages at the site, 41DW269 is considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and for designation as a State Historic Landmark

Farm-to-Market (FM) 116 Improvements from US 84 to Cactus Lane, Coryell County, Waco

On March 17 and 25, 2015, archeologists from the Texas Department of Transportation Archeological Studies Branch conducted an archeological survey that included mechanical trenching along FM 116. The project Area of Potential Effects (APE) begins at United States Highway (US) 84 in Gatesville to the north and continues southward approximately 18.8 miles to Cactus Lane. All construction would occur in the existing right of way which is typically 100-feet-wide. The project would add sections of passing lanes and turn lanes at select locations and would replace the existing bridge at Cowhouse Creek with a new structure. The typical depth of impact is from 1 to 3 feet along the passing lane and approaches and up to 60 feet deep where shafts would be drilled for support columns. The potential impacts from the proposed project were greatest and Cowhouse Creek and field investigations and records research determined that this crossing at Cowhouse Creek was the only location in the APE with potential to contain intact archeological deposits. Mechanical Trenching was conducted at Cowhouse Creek along the west side of FM 116 with James T. Abbott, TxDOT staff geoarcheologist and Eric Oksanen, TxDOT District Archeologist conducting excavations. Four trenches were excavated and no archeological deposits were observed

Geoarcheology in North-Central Texas: A Framework for Archeological Investigation, and Cultural Resource Management in the Fort Worth Highway District

This document represents an examination of geoarcheological issues affecting a nine– county area in and around Fort Worth, Texas. The study area includes Tarrant, Wise, Jack, Parker, Palo Pinto, Erath, Hood, Somervell, and Johnson Counties (Figure1–1), which collectively make up the Fort Worth District, a regional administrative entity of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). This study represents the second phase of a district– focused geoarcheological program being implemented at TxDOT. A similar study of the Houston District was published previously (Abbott 2001a), and studies of other districts are planned. The current study is intended to familiarize archeologists, planners, and transportation professionals working in the region with relevant geoarcheological issues, thus serving as a resource for those involved in prospection, assessment, and interpretation of prehistoric archeological sites. Readers of the previous Houston study are warned that the overall organization of the document and some of the text may seem familiar, as a certain degree of self–plagarism was practiced, particularly in the discussion of geomorphic and soil processes in Part II. Although the focus of investigation is on the nine counties making up the Fort Worth District, many of the issues addressed are equally applicable to adjacent areas of north–central Texas

Archeological Testing of Sites 41WB437 and 41WB438 Webb County, Texas

Archeological sites 41WB437 and 41WB438 are two prehistoric sites situated on opposing terraces of San Idelfonso Creek at the crossing of U.S. Highway 83, approximately 7.5 km south of Laredo, Texas, and 0.6 km upstream from the confluence of the stream and the Rio Grande River. Site 41 WB438 is characterized by a relatively dense accumulation of lithic debris and occasional groundstone fragments scattered across a broad alluvial terrace on the south side of the stream. Site 41WB437 is characterized by a much sparser scatter of cultural material on the north terrace. Both sites, but in particular 41WB438, have been heavily modified at the surface by historic activity. Archeological significance testing of the portion of these two sites in the R-O-W of US Highway 83 was conducted by TxDOT personnel in late March and early April, 1997, using a combination of mechanically-excavated and hand-excavated units. The results of testing indicate that site 41WB437 is underlain by thick, silty late Holocene alluvial unit that contains a number of ephemeral, relatively high integrity cultural strata to depths of at least 2 m below the ground surface. While the cultural material associated with these occupations is not particularly abundant, the presence of preserved burned rock features with associated charcoal, bone, shell, and lithic debris suggests that the site has the potential to yield important subsistence and technological information relevant to discrete, short term episodes of cultural activity. Therefore, the site is considered eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places and for designation as a Texas State Archeological Landmark. Because avoidance is impractical, a mechanically-assisted block excavation focused on exposure and documentation of one or more broad occupation surfaces in the upper 1.5 m of the deposit is recommended to mitigate impacts to the site. Site 41WB438, in contrast, consists of a thin veneer of the same late Holocene alluvial fill resting on a much older, culturally sterile alluvial fill. Cultural material is lightly dispersed through the upper 50 cm of the terrace fill, but appears to be in poor stratigraphic context. However, it is possible that intact deposits are preserved in the unexamined portion of the site, which lies to the west of the R-O-W. Therefore, while the site cannot be ruled ineligible, no significant impact to the site\u27s data potential will occur as a result of planned construction activities, and no further archeological work is recommended within the R-O-W

Summary of Archeological Investigations Conducted Under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4207 for the Texas Department of Transportation, Gonzales, Caldwell, Williamson, Bastrop, and Hill Counties, Texas

In July 2006, the Texas Department of Transportation contracted TRC Environmental Corporation to conduct four surveys without geological evaluation under Contract #575XXSA008. All four investigations were subsumed under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4207, with J. Michael Quigg serving as Principal Investigator. Fieldwork for all four investigations was performed by Dana Anthony and David O. Brown. All field work was conducted between July 2006 and October 2006. The projects were located in Gonzales and Caldwell County, Williamson County, Bastrop County, and Hill County. Final preparation of this report was performed by Marisol Espino and James Abbott, based upon drafts provided by TRC Environmental, with James T. Abbott assuming the role of Principal Investigator. Task 1 – This project consisted of improvements to US 183, from IH10 to a point 0.29 miles north of Business 183 in Gonzales (Gonzales and Caldwell County). The project would widen the roadway to construct an auxiliary lane at five locations. The completed project would provide three 12-foot travel lanes with 10-foot shoulders. A 100% survey of the seven bridge crossings and the 3,000-foot section was conducted, and 10 shovel tests, 6 auger tests and 18 backhoe trenches were excavated, during this project. A total of 28.52 acres were examined between July 26, 2006 and August 4, 2007. Six new archeological sites were recorded. These include one site each at the Plum Creek tributary (41CW102), Mule Creek (41GZ213), the 3000-foot section at the unnamed creek (41GZ216), and Canoe Creek (41GZ217), and two sites (41GZ214 and 41GZ215) at the Artesia Creek crossing. None of the sites was judged to retain sufficient integrity to merit additional work. The SHPO concurred with this recommendation on September 28, 2006. Task 2 – This project entailed replacing the bridge and approaches on FM 619 at Dry Brushy Creek in Williamson County. The existing bridge would be replaced by a longer and wider bridge aligned several m to the east of the existing roadway, and the approaches would be reworked to meet the new bridge. About 4.6 acres of new ROW would be required. A total of 12 acres were examined between August 17, 2006 and August 31, 2006 by Dana Anthony and David O. Brown. The pedestrian survey did not identify any intact cultural materials on the surface or in the cut banks of Dry Brushy Creek. No further work was recommended. The SHPO concurred with this recommendation on October 12, 2006. Task 3 – This project entailed replacing a bridge and approaches on County Road 143 (also known as Stockdale Ranch Road) at West Yegua Creek in Bastrop County, Texas. The existing bridge was replaced by a longer and wider bridge that was aligned several m to the east. A total of 2 acres were surveyed on October 24, 2006 by Dana Anthony and David O. Brown. The surface inspection of the project area was negative as were the four trenches excavated. No prehistoric or historic archeological remains were identified. Based on the negative survey, the project was placed on TxDOT’s weekly list of projects requiring no further work on December 7, 2006. Task 4 – This project entailed improvements to 8.7 mi of SH31 in Hill County, including constructing a new 5.4 mi bypass south of the town of Hubbard on new location. The overall project consisted of 277 acres of ROW. TxDOT identified four areas totaling approximately 50 acres with reasonable potential to contain archeological sites with sufficient integrity to qualify as historic properties under NHPA or for listing as a State Archeological (now Antiquities) Landmark (SAL). A total of 50 acres were examined between September 27 – 29, 2006 and then again between October 5 – 6, 2006 by Dana Anthony and David O. Brown. No prehistoric archeological remains were identified. Historic archeological remains consisting of some standing farm outbuildings were recorded as site 41HI295. No associated subsurface deposits were located at the site, and aerial photography suggested that the farmhouse was outside the project area of potential effect (APE). Accordingly, the portion of the site in the APE was judged to require no further work. The SHPO concurred with this finding on November 3, 2006

Archaeological Testing for a Proposed Landfill Expansion (Phase II) City of Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas

During September 1989, a pedestrian survey was conducted within a I~S-acre tract acquired by the City of Del Rio, Val Verde County, for a landfill expansion project. The surface reconnaissance recorded one prehistoric site, 41 VV 1251. As a result, recommendation was made for Phase II subsurface testing. The Phase II subsurface testing, which included a geomorphic study, was accomplished during February 1990. Cultural resources were recovered indicating presence at site 41 VV 1251 from the Late Paleo-Indian period to the Late Archaic period. However, the site was determined to be almost totally deflated. The geomorphological tests verified this assessment and indicated no deeply buried deposits. Site 41 VV 1251 is not deemed potentially eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places or for designation as a State Archeological Landmark

Data Recovery at 41MI96 in Mills County, Texas

Prehistoric site 41MI96 in Mills County, Texas was subjected to archeological data recovery excavations by staff archeologists from the Archeological Studies Program of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in May 1999. This work followed an initial environmental review by TxDOT personnel that concluded that a proposed bridge replacement and associated realignment of a county road (CSJ: 0923- 23-011) had a high probability to impact previously unrecorded archeological sites. Subsequently, an archeological impact evaluation was conducted by TxDOT staff archeologists, under the direction of Dr. G. Lain Ellis. TxDOT investigations were conducted under Texas Antiquities Committee Permit No. 2193 to perform data recovery efforts at 41MI96 prior to development impacts. In 2012, TRC Environmental Corporation (TRC) of Austin was contracted by the Environmental Affairs Division of TxDOT through Work Authorization 57-109SA003 to conduct analysis on the recovered remains and complete a technical report of TxDOT’s field investigations and TRC’s laboratory findings in fulfillment of TxDOTs’ Antiquities permit. Data recovery excavations consisted of the excavation of four mechanical trenches across two creek terraces (T1 and T2) and hand-excavations in two small blocks (Blocks 1 and 2) within the TxDOT right-of-way on the northwestern side of the project area. Hand-excavations in both blocks were initiated to target newly discovered burned rock concentrations encountered in the bottom of backhoe scrapings. A total 5.5 m3 of manualexcavation was completed, which was comprised of 16 total 1-by-1 m units, 11 in Block 1, and 5 in Block 2. Cultural materials were dominated by ca. 602 burned rocks and 2,846 pieces of lithic debitage, 89 informal and formal tools, but lacked diagnostic artifacts and faunal material. Six small, intact burned rock features were identified in Block 1 and were the focus of laboratory analyses. The scattered burned rocks and debitage from Block 2 were only tabulated and discussed in a general way, as TxDOT personnel believed they were in mixed context. The six small burned rock features ranged in size from 33 to 100 cm in diameter and represented four intact heating elements (two with basins and two without), plus two small burned rock discard piles. Radiocarbon dating of organic residues in nine burned rocks from five intact features indicates multiple occupations over a span of roughly 700 years from 820 to 1450 B.P. (cal A.D. 560 to 1270). The lack of recorded depth measurements for cultural materials, combined with limited sediment deposition between the successive occupations, prevented isolation of individual occupational episodes. The lack of discernible vertical separation in the prehistoric occupations reflects slow soil aggregation during this period, likely lengthy surface exposure and possible erosion between events, and soil conditions which may also account for a near absence of charcoal and other organic materials such as vertebrate remains. Four technical analyses (radiocarbon dating, starch grain, lipid residue, and high-powered usewear) focused on a limited suite of chipped stone tools, associated lithic debitage, and burned rocks collected from five of the six intact features in Block 1 in the T2 terrace. Starch grain analysis on fragments of 20 burned rocks from five features and 20 chipped stone tools from around the features in Block 1 yielded positive results from 47.5 percent of the specimens. Of considerable interest is the documentation, in addition to multiple grass species, of grains of the tropical cultigen maize (Zea mays) on two burned rocks each, from Features 2 and 3, plus on two edge-modified tools in the vicinity of those two features. One specific burned rock with a gelatinized maize starch grain on it was directly AMS dated to 980 ± 30 B.P. or cal A.D. 1020 to 1150. Some identified maize starch grains had been damaged through grinding, heating, and/or boiling, evidence of processing as a food resource. This indicates use of maize as a food resource in central Texas a number of centuries earlier than previously suspected. Lipid residue analysis on portions of the same 20 burned rocks from those five features yielded residues in 100 percent of the samples. The results indicate that both plant and animal products were present on all the rocks, with large herbivore lipids (likely bison or deer) present on at least one rock, and oily seed lipids present on at least three rocks. Residues from conifer wood products, here likely juniper trees, were present on 60 percent of the rocks, and indicate at least one specific wood species used to heat the rocks. High-powered microscopic use-wear analyses on 15 chert tools (11 edge-modified flakes, 2 biface fragments, and 2 complete choppers) revealed their use in processing wood, plants, bone, and hide as well as unspecified soft and hard materials. The sparse frequency of formal chipped stone tools likely reflects the limited area investigated and also the possibility that these occupations reflect low-intensity and short-term camps that focused on preparing and cooking a few food resources in heating facilities and the manipulation of other perishable resources. The lipid and starch analyses of the burned rocks provides important information concerning the resources cooked by the rocks in these small burned rock features, most significantly the presence of maize and wild native grasses. These resources would have gone unidentified without these specialized analyses. Continued use of these two analytical techniques on suites of burned rocks from other features/sites in and around central Texas will provide an empirical basis for identifying changes in subsistence patterns over time and across geographical space. It is also notable that direct radiocarbon dating of organic residues contained within the porous sandstone burned rocks here has succeeded in providing satisfactory chronological control for the features and site, strongly indicating that this technique can be beneficially employed in the future in cases where other organics such as wood charcoal, charred seeds/nuts, and/or bone are unavailable for absolute dating. In 1999 the Texas Historical Commission accepted TxDOT’s field investigations as sufficient and concurred with TxDOT’s recommendation that no further work was necessary under Texas Antiquities Committee Permit No. 2193. Parts of site 41MI96 outside the current TxDOT right-of-way have not been fully evaluated. Based on the present findings and the excavated intact features in Block 1, it appears that potentially eligible deposits may be present beyond the current right-of-way. If TxDOT further expands this county road, it is recommended that those areas at 41MI96 be evaluated prior to surface modifications related to that project

Archaeological Investigations Under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4925 for the Texas Department of Transportation, Fort Bend, Galveston, and Harris Counties, Texas

In May 2008, PBSJ (now Atkins North America, Inc.), was contracted by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), to conduct archaeological impact evaluations and surveys for the Houston and Beaumont Districts under Contract 578-XX-SA004. This contract was for on-demand services, with specific work defined by individual work authorizations. However, all investigations were subsumed under a single Texas Antiquities Permit (No. 4925) for the contract, with Michael Nash serving as Principal Investigator during fieldwork. Four work authorizations were issued, but only three surveys were conducted due to a refusal of Right-of-Entry on one job. All fieldwork was conducted between October 2008 and April 2010. Projects were located in Fort Bend, Galveston, and Harris Counties. Following completion of the fieldwork and the majority of reporting, the permit was transferred to TxDOT, with James T. Abbott serving as Principal Investigator. Final preparation of this report was performed by Abbott, based upon a draft provided by Atkins. WA 1 authorized survey of a planned detention pond adjacent to Farm to Market Road (FM) 2978, between 0.065 and 0.145 south of Bogs Road in Harris County. An intensive survey of the 4.13-acre site was conducted on October 2, 2008 by Rebecca Sager and Ephriam McDowell. Four shovel tests were excavated during the survey, all of which were negative for cultural material. No cultural resources were encountered during the survey, and Atkins recommended that no further investigations were warranted and the project receive archaeological clearance. WA 2 authorized a survey prior to construction of beach stabilization structures along a 4.7- mile length of SH 87 in Galveston County. The archaeological project area designated in the scope of work consisted of 35 acres of existing right-of-way (ROW) within an overall 70.0 acres of existing ROW. A visual inspection of the project area and excavation of one shovel test was conducted on February 4 and 5, 2009, by Damon Burden and Joe Craig. No cultural resources encountered during the survey, the survey area was found to be heavily disturbed, and Atkins recommended that no further investigations were warranted. WA 3 was a proposed realignment of Conroe-Hufsmith Road at FM 2978 in Montgomery County. The project would have required 2.0 acres of new ROW, and the APE would have included the new ROW as well as any existing ROW along the project length. However, permission to conduct archaeological investigations was denied by the affected landowner, and the Work Authorization was cancelled. WA 4 was issued for an intensive survey in advance of improvements to FM 1464 at New Home Cemetery in Fort Bend County. An initial survey was conducted at the location, but due to a contractual dispute between Atkins and TxDOT regarding the scope of services, not all work associated with the project was completed by Atkins. This report describes the work that was completed under this permit

Stabilization of a dynamically unstable opto-thermo-mechanical oscillator

We theoretically and experimentally examine thermal oscillations in a calcium fluoride whispering-gallery-mode resonator that lead to strong mode-frequency oscillations. We show that these oscillations arise from interplay among thermal expansion, the thermo-optic effect, and Kerr effects. In certain regimes we observe chaotic behavior and demonstrate that the threshold for this behavior can be predicted theoretically. We then demonstrate a self-stabilization technique that suppresses the oscillations and delivers high temperature and frequency stability without reference to external standards

Running Gauge Couplings and Thresholds in the Type II Superstring

A distinctive feature of string unification is the possibility of unification by a non-simply-laced group. This occurs most naturally in four dimensional type~II string models where the gauge symmetry is realized by Kac-Moody algebras at different levels. We investigate the running coupling constants and the one-loop thresholds for such general models. As a specific case, we examine a $\rm SU(3)\times U(1)\times U(1)$ model and find that the threshold corrections lead to a small $6\%$ increase in the unification scale.Comment: 12 pages, IFP-432-UN