The Modern Mississippi: Provenance Indicators and Human Impact

Given the significant degree to which the modern Mississippi River and its tributaries have been altered through dams, levees, and diversions, it is important to understand how sediment is transported from source to sink. The objective of this dissertation is to explore how the modern Mississippi River transports sediment from its tributaries to its delta using three independent proxies. Provenance indicators have traditionally been an effective way with which to characterize sediment transport in large river systems. First, detrital U-Pb zircon dating is used to investigate modern flux and possible anthropogenic influences on coarse-grained sediment within the modern Mississippi River. Overall, results indicate that samples taken from the modern river show regional flux and possible repercussions of the Red River diversion into the Atchafalaya basin. Secondly, apatite geochemistry is used to determine its viability as an independent provenance indicator when used on detrital populations with large samples sizes. In the end, it is concluded that when quantitative analysis is used to enhance variability between samples, these results compare closely with detrital zircon U-Pb spectra. Finally, Nd and Sr samples are evaluated from a core taken within the modern Mississippi River delta. From this data, it is concluded that εNd values from the Mississippi River remain relatively stable until modern human alterations shift the geochemical signature in the top of the core

Examining the Change in Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Conceptions and Effectiveness of Social Justice Content

This study examined preservice teachers\u27 perceptions of teaching mathematics using social justice topics to make mathematics accessible to all students. Situated at a large, public, predominantly White institution in the southeast United States, where preservice teachers are not required to take a course on teaching diverse populations, participants were asked to respond to questions surrounding their experience with a mathematical social justice activity adapted from Gutstein and Peterson (2005). Using a mixed methods approach in analyzing data from pre-and post-surveys, researchers could compare preservice mathematics teachers\u27 initial views of teaching mathematics for social justice after participating in an intervention/activity on world wealth and population disparity. Results showed that although preservice teachers\u27 attitudes shifted from more general statements to somewhat more concrete ideas surrounding the classroom environment, these students are still apprehensive about using this form of pedagogy in the future

Archeological And Geoarcheological Investigations For The New Baylor University Football Stadium In Waco, Mclennan County, Texas

Between May 21 and 31, 2012, Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted archeological and geoarcheological investigations over a 93-acre area proposed for construction of the new Baylor University football stadium in Waco, Texas. The work included visual assessment of the project area, excavation of 63 trenches, and collection of 4 Geoprobe sediment core samples. Deep trench excavations were hampered by an elevated water table. As a result, most observations were limited to deposits at depths of 3 m or less, though the sediment cores did provide information to depths of 5.5–11.0 m. The investigations determined that all but the northern edge of the project area is on a lower alluvial surface that was created by a series of Brazos River flood events over the last 200–300 years and that has a very low potential for prehistoric archeological sites. The higher alluvial surface at the north edge of the project also is blanketed with these recent deposits, with a buried soil found through coring at a depth of 7.5 m suggesting that deep burial of cultural material of Holocene age is possible here. The survey identified a single historic archeological site, 41ML301, consisting of a railroad bed that was abandoned between 1957 and 1970; it is not considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The potential for the project to impact undiscovered archeological resources is low to nonexistent because of the recent age of the deposits, the fact that the area never saw much historic development, and the fact that much of it has been disturbed. Prewitt and Associates, Inc., recommends that the project be allowed to proceed without additional archeological work

Barrett Site (41MM382) Assessment, Milam County, Texas

The Bryan District of Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) proposes to replace the existing bridge at the San Gabriel River along a farm-to-market road and expand the width of the existing two-lane roadway in Milam County (CSJ: 0590-05-027). In response to that proposed development, TxDOT staff archeologists from the Archeological Studies Program in Austin reviewed the Texas Historical Commission (THC) Archeological Sites Atlas, a database which contains previously documented cultural resource sites, and conducted an intensive archeological field survey with mechanical trenching along the proposed area of potential effect (APE) in February 2012. During that survey a buried prehistoric site (41MM382), named the Barrett site, was discovered in Backhoe Trench 7 at the northern end of the APE and on the western edge of the existing roadway. The 1.75 meter (m) deep trench revealed multiple levels/zones of cultural material, which included chipped stone debitage and tools, freshwater mussel shells, and burned rocks. These same types of cultural materials were also observed on the disturbed surface in the spoil from the right-of-way fence posts and a recently installed waterline through the length of the site. Subsequently, TxDOT, through the Environmental Affairs Division, Archeological Studies Program, contracted with TRC Environmental Corporation (TRC) (Scientific Services Contract No. 57- 1XXSA003) to conduct site eligibility assessment to determine if this prehistoric site was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). TxDOT issued Work Authorization 57-111SA003 to TRC to conduct the fieldwork, subsequent analysis, report the findings, and make recommendations concerning the site’s eligibility for the NRHP and for designation as a SAL. The TRC fieldwork was conducted in May 2012 under Texas Antiquities Committee Permit No. 6244 issued to J. M. Quigg (Principal Investigator). Site eligibility/assessment investigations, directed by P. M. Matchen (Project Archeologist), consisted of excavation of 4 mechanical trenches (ca. 42 linear meters) plus 11.4 m3 of hand-excavations in 9 test units (1.00-by-0.5 m) to a depth of roughly 1.6 m below surface across the APE as defined by TxDOT, plus initial geoarcheological assessment of the deposits in the APE. The excavations yielded a sample of 3,123 artifacts, dominated by lithic debitage (49 percent), burned rocks (38 percent) and fragments of freshwater mussel shells (8 percent), as well as 8 formal chipped stone tools that include 3 diagnostic projectile points. Twelve radiocarbon dates from noncultural materials (humates and Rabdotus shells) indicate that the cultural materials represent a roughly 1,500-year period from about 2500 to 3900 B.P. Culturally, this relates to the general Late Archaic I period within the cultural chronology proposed by Johnson and Goode (1994) and supported by Collins (2004). The vertical distribution of materials in the 1.6 m thick target zone revealed three primary peaks that likely represent different occupational episodes. The horizontal distribution of multiple material classes indicates unique task areas were in use across the APE at different periods. This supports the conclusion that the peaks represent separate episodes of occupation rather than the operation of some sort of post-abandonment site formation process. Based on the results of the geoarcheology, the results of the hand-excavations combined with the analyses of materials, it is apparent the cultural deposits within the APE contain a rare opportunity to investigate a site dated to the Late Archaic period in alluvial deposits on the Blackland Prairie. Based on the projected yield, the Barrett site has the potential to contribute to a greater understanding of the population movements, paleoenvironment, technology, land use, and a number of other important issues centered on the use of the Blackland Prairie region of Texas. Therefore, TRC recommends the Barrett site (41MM382) eligible for listing on the NRHP under Criterion D and for designation as a SAL. The following report documents the 2012 eligibility investigations and geoarcheological observations at the Barrett site (41MM382), reports the findings and analyses of the materials, and suggests a research design for data recovery. The final reporting of the assessment of the Barrett site was conducted under Work Authorization 57- 306SA004 issued by TxDOT in November 2013 (Scientific Services Contract No. 57-3XXSA004)

Long View (41RB112): Data Recovery of Two Plains Village Period Components in Roberts County, Texas, Volume 1

This archeological data recovery investigation in Roberts County in the northeastern panhandle of Texas was necessitated by the proposed widening of State Highway 70 (CSJ: 0490-04-037) by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Amarillo District. This proposed highway rehabilitation program will directly impact a roughly 10 meter (m, 30 ft.) wide north-south section of prehistoric site 41RB112, the Long View site. This site consists of two horizontally distinct Plains Village period occupations shallowly buried along a linear interfluvial ridge between two small tributary creeks to the Canadian River in the midslope of this broad, dissected valley. This site was initially discovered by TxDOT archeologist, Dennis Price in June 2004 during an archeological inventory of the proposed 9.7 kilometer (6 mile) section north of the Canadian River in response to the planned highway rehabilitation program. Based on Mr. Price’s discovery of multiple artifact classes in buried context he recommended this site be assessed for its eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under criterion d and possible designation as a State Archeological Landmark (SAL) per the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and other related legislation. Following the Texas Historical Commissions concurrence with that recommendation, TxDOT through the Environmental (ENV) Affairs Division, contracted to TRC Environmental Corporation (TRC) under an existing Scientific Services Contract No. 57XXSA006 and issued a Work Authorization to TRC of Austin to conduct the site eligibility assessment. During a site visit by TxDOT geoarcheologist James Abbott and TRC archeologist Mike Quigg in February 2005, the site boundaries were expanded to nearly 300 meters (m) along the proposed area of potential effect (APE). Investigative strategies were devised to assess the Long View site. In May 2005, TRC’s archeologists from Austin conducted archeological testing for a NRHP and SAL eligibility assessment investigation at 41RB112. The assessment along the 10-m-wide by 300-m-long APE was accomplished by hand-excavating 28 1-by-1 m units (totaling 16.8 m3), hand-excavating four narrow ca. 30 centimeter (cm) wide trenches (two in each area totaling nearly 32 linear meters), as well as cleaning and inspecting 28 m of existing road cut exposures. These investigations determined that cultural materials clustered at the northern and southern ends (Areas A and C respectively) of the site with nearly 120 m of noncultural bearing deposits (Area B) between the two concentrations. A 4-m-wide mechanically bladed fireguard paralleled the existing fenceline throughout the length of the APE and disturbed much of the near surface materials in that zone. The opposite, eastern side of the highway was investigated through the excavation of six 50-by-50 cm shovel tests, surface, and road cut inspection. Based on the results from the hand-excavations and various collections conducted during the site assessment, it became apparent that the two ends (Areas A and C) of the Long View site in TxDOT’s proposed APE contained well-defined cultural components in the top 50 cmbs. Each end appeared to represent habitation remains from single occupation episodes with potential structures, restricted to a narrow time period of less than 100 years between uncalibrated 630 and 710 B.P. of the Plains Village period. Rodent and natural disturbances had vertically displaced some small cultural objects within the sandy deposits, but the restricted period of occupation to roughly a 100 year period reduces this impact. TRC recommended the site was eligible for listing on the National Register and as a State Landmark. The Texas Historical Commissions concurred with that recommendation, and subsequently the ENV Affairs Division of TxDOT, again contracted to TRC under an existing Scientific Services Contract No. 575XXSA008 and issued a Work Authorization to TRC Austin to perform the mitigation of the proposed impacts. Data recovery investigations were conducted during August through November 2006 along the western side of the existing highway. The previously identified northern-Area A and southern–Area C areas with high concentrations of cultural materials were targeted. These investigations began with a thorough geophysical survey that employed three noninvasive electrical detective instruments across Areas A and C anticipating to detect the locations of subsurface cultural features to target by hand-excavations. Some excavations targeted the detected anomalies, whereas others targeted previously identified features. In the end, hand-excavated blocks were completed in Areas A and C. The excavations totaled 128 m2 in Area A and 93 m2 in Area C for a grand total of 221 m2 or 103.4 m3. In conjunction with the archeological excavations, geoarcheological investigations focused on defining the age and development of the natural Holocene sediments that contained the cultural materials. The geoarcheological assessment included detailed stratigraphic documentation of site and near site deposits, sediment texture characterization, soil thin sections, magnetic susceptibility, multiple chemical analyses (organic, calcium, and phosphorus). Detailed stratigraphic data was also collected at two rare pithouse structures to pursue construction and filling episodes. The excavations yielded significant and diverse cultural assemblages from the two occupations assigned Component A and C. Both components are attributed to the Plains Village period with two discrete occupations dating to uncalibrated 460 to 535 B.P. (cal A.D. 1398 to 1447) in Component A and 530 to 700 B.P. (cal A.D. 1280 to 1437) in Component C. The two assemblages are significant not only in their diversity and quality of materials but also in the information they yielded. This report represents one of the first complete documents to present the entire cultural assemblage from a single site for this time period and region. The total recovered assemblage includes 157 formal chipped and ground stone tools, 226 informal tools, 3,414 pieces of lithic debitage, over 6,400 faunal fragments (1.4 kg), some 1,541 ceramic sherds, 1,790 burned rocks, at least 116 macrobotanical samples that includes 16 maize cobs, two human burials, and remains of a third, juvenile scattered along a previously bladed fireguard, 32 intact cultural features that include two rare pithouses, and other cultural debris related to these two campsites. The human remains and associated artifacts will be repatriated in accord with the requirements of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). A suite of 10 technical analyses directed at mostly the cultural assemblages included; use-wear, phytolith, diatom, petrography, macrobotanical, starch grain, instrumental neutron activation, bison bone isotopes, obsidian sourcing, radiocarbon and optical stimulated dating. This data was used to address 11 specific research questions concerning these Plains Village period occupations. Not only does the cultural debris contribute to our understanding of the time period but the geoarcheological information obtained explains the conditions and how the materials were preserved, and inform us concerning the past depositional environment in this immediate area. The combined information contributes to a significant understanding to a specific part of the Plains Village cultures in the Texas panhandle. Following the acceptance of the final report by the TxDOT and the Texas Historical Commission these cultural materials and all the documentation from the combined investigations will be permanently curated at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. The curated materials will provide important data that can be researched by interested parties in the future

National Register Testing At Sites 41BP585, 41BP594, And 41BP595 Three Oaks Mine, Bastrop County, Texas

Between October 2012 and July 2013, Atkins conducted National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility testing at historic sites 41BP585 and 41BP594 and prehistoric site 41BP595, located within the Three Oaks Mine in Bastrop County, Texas, which is owned and operated by Luminant. Impacts to all three sites are anticipated as a result of planned mine development. This work was conducted under the direction of Principal Investigator David L. Sherman. This report of investigations was written at Atkins and is being finalized by Blanton & Associates, with David L. Sherman remaining as the Principal Investigator. This work demonstrated that significant archeological deposits that may contribute to the overall NRHP eligibility statuses of the two historic sites are absent at both sites. Standing architecture at 41BP594, however, has previously been determined to be eligible for listing on the NRHP (Martin 2001). Archival research conducted as part of the current investigation into the histories of the historic sites remains inconclusive with respect to the identity of their 1870s and earlier occupants. Testing at prehistoric site 41BP595 indicated it resulted from multiple occupational episodes during the period from the late Paleoindian to the Late Prehistoric. Shovel testing and mechanical trenching revealed the presence of an expansive buried anthrogenic A soil horizon, or midden, replete with preserved subsistence remains. Mechanical trenching also exposed a variety of burned rock cooking facilities partially surrounding the midden area. Radiocarbon assays of burned nut shells recovered from feature contexts, along with the assemblage of diagnostic lithic artifacts, suggest the site was most intensively occupied from the Late Archaic to the early Late Prehistoric. A suite of special studies was conducted on burned rock samples recovered from four of the better-preserved burned rock features. These studies, which include residue, starch, and phytolith analysis, suggest that the burned rock features were used in part to process tubers/roots and grass seeds for subsistence. Macrobotanical analysis of flotation samples recovered from feature contexts identified spent fuel remains including oak and hickory wood and subsistence remains including oak, hickory, black walnut, and acorn burned nut shells. A small amount of burned bulb, possibly representing wild onion, was also recovered through flotation. These findings suggest that significant archeological deposits important to understanding the Late Archaic to early Late Prehistoric period have been preserved at 41BP595

Data Recovery Investigations: Murvaul Creek Site (41PN175), Panola County, Texas

This report summarizes the archeological findings of the 2011 data recovery investigations at the Murvaul Creek site, 41PN175, in far northeastern Texas in Panola County. The site is located along Farm-to-Market Road (FM) 10 approximately 1 mile north of Gary, Texas (Figure 1). Geo-Marine, Inc. (GMI), performed this work under contract to the Texas Department of Transportation, Environmental Affairs Division (TxDOT ENV) under the Texas Antiquities Permit Number 5879 (Work Authorization [WA] 579 06 SA005; WA 590 08 SA005; CSJ:1222-01-014; Geo-Marine project numbers 22005.00.06 and 22005.00.09). The fieldwork for this project was conducted in advance of the planned widening of FM 10 that was to replace three bridges and a culvert over Murvaul Creek with a larger structure and shift the road approximately 26 meters (m; 85 feet [ft]) to the east. Since the planned improvements of FM 10 would result in the loss of information at the Murvaul Creek site—a site that was recommended eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL; formerly State Archeological Landmark)—the current data recovery investigations were initiated. The data recovery investigations were conducted between February 7, 2011, and April 3, 2011. During this period, the fieldwork was conducted in several stages: site clearing, geophysical survey, 50-x-50-centimeter (cm) excavations, block excavations, and mechanical site scraping. With the exception of the site clearing stage, the results of each of the fieldwork stages are reviewed individually in this report. The investigations resulted in the documentation of numerous features that appeared to have been the remains of a small Middle-to-Late Caddo settlement or farmstead situated on the edge of an interfluve south of the Murvaul Creek floodplain. Additionally, materials pertaining to the Archaic period were documented across the site. Although the site has been intensively studied within the TxDOT right-of-way (ROW), both the current investigations and previous work were limited to the ROW (cf. Cliff and Perttula 2002). Hence, the site is very likely larger than has been adequately documented

Brain arteriolosclerosis

Brain arteriolosclerosis (B-ASC), characterized by pathologic arteriolar wall thickening, is a common finding at autopsy in aged persons and is associated with cognitive impairment. Hypertension and diabetes are widely recognized as risk factors for B-ASC. Recent research indicates other and more complex risk factors and pathogenetic mechanisms. Here we describe aspects of the unique architecture of brain arterioles, histomorphologic features of B-ASC, relevant neuroimaging findings, epidemiology and association with aging, established genetic risk factors, and the co-occurrence of B-ASC with other neuropathologic conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE). There may also be complex physiologic interactions between metabolic syndrome (e.g. hypertension and inflammation) and brain arteriolar pathology. Although there is no universally applied diagnostic methodology, several classification schemes and neuroimaging techniques are used to diagnose and categorize cerebral small vessel disease pathologies that include B-ASC, microinfarcts, microbleeds, lacunar infarcts, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). In clinical-pathologic studies that include consideration of comorbid diseases, B-ASC is independently associated with impairments in global cognition, episodic memory, working memory, and perceptual speed, and has been linked to autonomic dysfunction and motor symptoms including parkinsonism. We conclude by discussing critical knowledge gaps related to B-ASC and suggest that there are probably subcategories of B-ASC that differ in pathogenesis. Observed in over 80% of autopsied individuals beyond 80 years of age, B-ASC is a complex and under-studied contributor to neurologic disability