Archaeological Monitoring of a Sidewalk Construction Project in Landa Park, New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas

In February 1996, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted monitoring for the construction of a handicap ramp in Landa Park, New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas. The work-required by the Texas Historic Commission-was performed under contract with the city of New Braunfels Parks and Recreation Department. The excavation of the footings for the handicap ramp covered an area roughly 2 x 5 m and was less than 70 cm in depth. Over 2,600 prehistoric artifacts were uncovered including bone, fIre-cracked rock, mussel shell, numerous platform and nonplatform flakes, cores, unifaces, several bifaces, and diagnostic projectile points. The diagnostic artifacts included Gower, Uvalde, Frio, Ellis, and Marcos projectile points as well as a Clear Fork biface and two Guadalupe bifaces. These diagnostics indicate at least three temporal assignments ranging from the Early Archaic to the Late Transitional Archaic periods. The artifacts were found in good archaeological and geological contexts despite the fact that the project area was in the midst of a heavily developed recreation area. The site has been assigned trinomial 41CM221

Archaeological Investigations at the Landa Park Golf Course Pro Shop, New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas

In December 1996, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by the city of New Braunfels to conduct testing and monitoring to determine the impact of planned renovation on the cultural resources on the Landa Park Golf Course. The planned renovation called for extensive modifications and additions to the existing Pro Shop constructed by the WPA in the 1930s. Modifications and additions included subsurface excavations required for additional foundation footings and utility lines. Shovel testing was performed within the footprint of the proposed addition and utility trenching was monitored. Evaluation of the shovel test results called for the further excavation of a 1-x-1-m unit by CAR archaeologists. Testing and monitoring uncovered various prehistoric and historic artifacts, including chert flakes, cores, bifaces, two projectile points (one Angostura point and another of unknown type), mussel shell, and fire-cracked rock. Historic artifacts included glass (colored and clear), one coin, aluminum pull tabs, nails, machine screws, metal fragments, one bottle cap, Bakelite fragments, and one condom wrapper. The results of the testing and monitoring confirmed the findings of previous investigations on and adjacent to the Landa Park Golf Course which concluded that a long history of human occupation-starting from the Late Paleoindian period, through the Archaic, and into the Historic-occurred along the first terrace (T1) of the upper Comal River. However, this investigation also concluded that previous construction and landscaping, as well as erosion of the T1 by the Comal River, had significantly impacted the cultural remains within the project area

Archaeological Monitoring of a Parking Lot Construction Project in New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas

In August 1996, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by the city of New Braunfels to conduct archaeological investigations prior to planned development of vacant city property. The plan called for the construction of a parking lot in close proximity to site 41 CM25, an Archaic-period cemetery. The investigation was to determine whether the proposed construction would impact site 41CM25 or other prehistoric and/or historic features. CAR staff conducted a pedestrian survey of the project area, shovel tested in the footprint of the proposed parking lot, and monitored tree stump removals and subsurface grading necessary for the parking lot construction. In addition, two backhoe trenches were excavated and one geological profile was described. The testing and monitoring uncovered various prehistoric and historic artifacts in good archaeological and geological contexts. Most of the artifacts were prehistoric and included chert flakes, cores, mussel shell, and fire-cracked rock. One diagnostic artifact-a Pedemales point-was uncovered, tentatively assigning the site to the Middle Archaic period. The results of the geological profile, in conjunction with background research, suggest that the project area is located on the edge of a distinctive geological zone in which the burial site of 41CM25 is located. The testing and monitoring concluded that numerous buried cultural deposits are located in the project area and that the presence of buried cultural features is also highly probable. However, due to the relatively shallow depth required for the footings of the parking lot, these deposits and features will not be significantly impacted by the construction process. In addition, the close proximity of the project area to the existing site 41CM25, combined with the geological evidence, suggests that this area is one contiguous site. Therefore, we recommend that the boundaries of site 41CM25 be extended to include the project area and that any future development of 41CM25 and/or the project area be closely monitored and evaluated by archaeologists

An Archaeological Survey of the New Braunfels Little League Project, Comal County, Texas

In February 1997, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by the city of New Braunfels to conduct an archaeological investigation of an area to be impacted by the proposed construction of Little League baseball fields. CAR staff conducted a pedestrian survey of the project area along the Dry Comal Creek and monitored backhoe trenching operations. Two sites were recorded and assigned trinomials: Site 41 CM220 lies on an active floodplain and probably represents an open prehistoric campsite with a Late Paleoindian period component. The site is in a previously disturbed setting and no additional investigations are recommended. Site 41CM219 lies on the adjacent hillside and has dense concentrations of historic and prehistoric artifacts. There is a historic stone wall bounding one side of the site, and one course of dressed field stones arranged in a rectangle reminiscent of a small family cemetery plot is located in another part of the site. The historic artifacts are consistent with ceramics associated with the early European-primarily German-settlement of the area. 41CM219 is outside the planned impact area. CAR recommends that any future impacts to the site be preceded by archival research and archaeological testing to determine the site\u27s significance

Archaeological Investigations at the Landa Park Golf Course, New Braunfels, Texas

In April 1996, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by the city of New Braunfels to perform monitoring and testing to determine the impact of planned construction on cultural resources in Landa Park. The work was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 1682. The planned development called for the construction of a golf cart bam, and subsurface excavations for one electrical line and two waterlines to supply the bam with power and water. Shovel testing was performed on the proposed site of the golf cart bam and along transects for the utility lines. Monitoring was also conducted when the utility transects were trenched. The testing and monitoring operations uncovered various prehistoric and historic artifacts, including platform and nonplatform flakes, mussel shell, fire-cracked rock, glass, nails, and wire. The prehistoric material also included bifaces, unifaces, diagnostic projectile points (Scottsbluff, Hoxie, Montell, and Marcos), two Clear Fork tools, and one grooved grinding stone of ferruginous sandstone. In addition, a burned rock featurepossibly a large hearth-was discovered along one of the utility transects. Geological observations confirmed the contextual integrity of the artifacts. This new data expands the site boundaries of a previously recorded site, 41CM175, along the flanking edge of the T1 terrace. The results of the testing and monitoring concluded that there is a long history of human occupation in the project area-starting from the Late Paleoindian period, through the Archaic, and into the Historic-and that cultural materials exist in good geological as well as archaeological contexts. The site, 41CM175, is recommended as eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places