Test Excavations and Monitoring at 41BX1598 A Multicomponent Historic Site in Bexar County, Texas

From September through December of 2003, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio performed archaeological testing and monitoring at site 41BX1598, the location for the proposed San Fernando Community Center. The site is adjacent to Military Plaza in downtown San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The work performed by CAR was done under contract with the San Antonio Archdiocese, and was conducted in accordance with and under the jurisdiction of the City Preservation Ordinance (Article VI, Historic Preservation and Urban Design, City of San Antonio, Unified Development Code). Dr. Steve Tomka served as the Principal Investigator and Antonia Figueroa was the Project Archaeologist. The proposed San Fernando Community Center will consist of a City Public Service (CPS) vault for utilities, two parking areas, and one large Community Center building. The initial phase of construction work consisted of excavations associated with the construction of the CPS vault. CAR’s involvement in the project was initiated after that excavation was complete and it became evident that the vault excavation cut through what appeared to be Colonial-age deposits. Using a variety of methods, including archival research, backhoe trenches, shovel tests, and hand excavations, CAR archaeologists sampled two Colonial-age middens, recorded a variety of wall segments, including one which may be Colonial in age, and documented use of the location from the 1700s through the early 1900s. Our work at the site recovered over 1,400 ceramics, 174 pieces of metal, 181 fragments of glass, 291 pieces of chipped stone debitage, two projectile points, six gun flints, more than 13,000 fragments of animal bone, and numerous pieces of burned rock. The remains of several domesticated and wild taxa, including bison, antelope, and fish, were recovered from the middens. Flotation analysis of matrix from one of the middens produced charcoal from a variety of different locally available woods, and while several carbonized mesquite seeds and nut shell fragments (pecan) were recovered, no domesticated species were present in the ethnobotanical samples. Analysis of the faunal material from the middens suggests the possibility that subsistence changed during the Colonial period. Faunal remains from the earliest deposits are dominated by small body sized animals, while later deposits reflect an increased emphasis on large and very large mammals. The stratified nature of selected midden deposits also allowed us to question some of the commonly assumed date ranges for selected ceramic types. Following the completion of field work, CAR obtained site trinomial 41BX1598 for the location from the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory in Austin. After analysis, the bone and the burned rock were discarded in conformance with Texas Historical Commission guidelines and in agreement with the City of San Antonio Historic Preservation office. The remaining artifacts, along with all associated field and laboratory notes, project maps, photos, and other documents, are curated at the Center for Archaeological Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio under this trinomial

Data Recovery Excavations at 41PR44, Fort Wolters, Parker County, Texas

During the spring of 2004, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted data recovery excavations at site 41PR44 on Fort Wolters. The site had been surveyed and tested by the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (Brownlow 2001; Brownlow et al. 1999). The results of that testing suggested that the site contained a high density of burned rock features, chipped stone, and bone that dated to the Late Prehistoric period, with additional material possibly dating to the Late Archaic. Based on the testing, site 41PR44 was recommended as eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D. The site has been directly impacted by military traffic, and secondary erosion associated with a dirt road that cut through the center of the site has further damaged 41PR44. As continued use and maintenance of the road would result in continued erosion of the significant deposits, and as avoidance of this site area was not possible, CAR was contracted by the Adjutant General’s Office of the Texas Military Forces to develop a data recovery plan that targeted critical data from the Late Prehistoric, and potentially earlier, occupations. That plan was produced in early 2004, and field work was undertaken in March and April. The work was conducted under a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Texas Military Forces and the Texas Historical Commission. CAR personnel excavated 46 shovel and hand-auger tests, 24 1-x-1-m units, and cut four backhoe trenches. We defined 12 thermal features in the field, but subsequent analysis reduced this number to three. A variety of artifacts were collected, including large quantities of sandstone and limestone rock, a variety of lithic tools, 883 pieces of chipped stone debitage, sediment samples, and small quantities of bone, charcoal, and mussel shell. We identified several occupation periods at the site, including use of the location during the Late Prehistoric and Late Archaic periods, as well as earlier Archaic use. The distribution of projectile points, as well as the assessment of context by the project geoarchaeologists, demonstrated that several areas of the site were mixed. Nevertheless, we were able to isolate Late Prehistoric, Late Archaic, and Archaic age deposits that were used to explore a variety of research areas, including aspects of subsistence, chipped stone technology, and feature technology. While limited by less than ideal temporal resolution and low recovery rates, the analysis of the 41PR44 data provides a basic description of archaeological material for this understudied portion of Texas. Following laboratory processing and analysis, and in consultation with both the Texas Military Forces and the Texas Historical Commission, selected samples and certain classes of materials collected from 41PR44 were discarded. This discard was in conformance with Texas Historical Commission guidelines. Material disposed of included all sandstone and limestone rock collected from non-feature contexts, as well as roughly 75% of all feature rock. All sediment samples not associated with features were discarded as were all metal items. All remaining archaeological samples collected by CAR, along with all associated documents, notes, and photographs, were prepared for permanent curation at the Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory in Austin

An Archaeological Survey of Twin Buttes Reservoir, Tom Green County, Texas, Volume III

From December of 1998 through November of 1999, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR), at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) conducted a Class III archaeology survey of 10,195 acres (4125 ha) within Twin Buttes Reservoir, a flood control and irrigation facility near the city of San Angelo in west-central Tom Green County, Texas. The 100 percent pedestrian survey, conducted for the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), was primarily a section 110, of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), effort. The survey was conducted in conjunction with repair of existing seepage at Twin Buttes Dam. The repair, conducted under the Safety of Dams program, involved the construction of several borrow pits. Since the Safety of Dams repair required BOR to inventory several areas of the reservoir lands under Section 106 of the NHPA, it was decided to expand the section 106 work, and do the entire Section 110 survey of the reservoir. CAR recorded 178 new archaeological sites, and revisited 21 previously recorded sites, within the reservoir. On these 199 sites, 19 historic components were identified, reflecting primarily farming and ranching activities. The prehistoric sites reflect occupation from the early Paleoindian period through the Late Prehistoric period. While recommendations regarding the eligibility of sites to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) were not required by the survey, based on the survey results CAR recommends that 13 of the 19 historic components have moderate or high research potential. Within the prehistoric data set, 48 sites have high research potential, 33 have moderate research potential, and 111 sites have limited research value

An Archaeological Survey of 90 Acres at Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas

In February, March, and May of 2001, personnel from the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR), The University of Texas at San Antonio, conducted a cultural resource inventory survey, involving pedestrian survey and shovel testing, of an approximately 90-acre (364,060 m2) tract of land in a plowed field on Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas. A total of 104 shovel tests were systematically placed within the 90-acre area. The survey identified three prehistoric sites, all lithic scatters defined by surface material. Twelve additional shovel tests were placed on these three sites. An arrow point fragment, collected from the surface of 41BR499, suggests a Late Prehistoric affiliation for this site. Dart points collected from 41BR500 suggest a Late Archaic use of this area. Finally, an arrow point, collected from 41BR501, suggests a Late Prehistoric component at this site. In addition, a single whole mano was collected from the surface of 41BR500. Based on the results of the pedestrian survey and the overall condition of the sites, CAR suggests that two of the sites (41BR499 and 41BR501) lack data of sufficient quality or quantity to address regional research questions. In the case of both 41BR499 and 41BR501, the sites appear to be primarily surface phenomena that have been impacted by plowing and are not recommended for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, or for designation as State Archeological Landmarks. In the case of 41BR500, while much of the site appears to be disturbed by plowing and trenching activities, a portion of the site situated along the edge of the field has not been disturbed. Subsurface deposits are present in this unplowed area and shovel test results, supported by high soil susceptibility values, suggest the presence of a buried feature. In addition, 41BR500 contains both high artifact density and variety, and the recovery of diagnostic projectile points suggest a Late Archaic temporal placement. As such, CAR recommends that 41BR500 is potentially eligible for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places, and designation as a State Archeological Landmark. Further testing of this site in the undisturbed portion is recommended to determine final eligibility status

Archaeological Testing of Four Sites on Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas

In August of 2002, a crew from the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio tested four sites at Camp Bowie in Brown County Texas. Three sites, 41BR471, 41BR500, and 41BR522, were prehistoric and one site, 41BR392, had both historic and prehistoric components. This work was done under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 2926 for the Adjutant General’s Department of Texas. Testing at these sites was done based on recommendations made for 41BR500 by Mauldin and Broehm (2001) and recommendations made for 41BR392, 41BR471 and 41BR522 by Greaves (2002). Testing at 41BR392 centered on a prehistoric burned rock midden. Excavations took place in and around the midden. A few bifaces and a considerable amount of lithic debris were recovered. The size, location and density of burned rock within the midden were examined as a means of investigating the internal midden structure. Analysis of these data suggest that the midden represents an earth oven. Ethnobotanical recovery revealed the presence of geophytes. Radiocarbon dates place the feature within the Late Prehistoric period. Testing at 41BR471 involved surface collection and excavation. Excavations confirmed that the site is deflated with sub-surface deposits being shallow and very minor. What remains of this site is a moderate to dense surface scatter of unmodified debitage and a few lithic cores. Testing at 41BR500 centered on a suspected buried burned rock feature discovered during the spring 2001 survey. Excavations recovered unmodified lithic debitage, biface fragments and a scraper. Excavations in a separate area of the site where high debitage density was noted recovered a Nolan dart point dating to the Middle Archaic along with a number of bifaces and a considerable amount of unmodified lithic debitage. This additional testing uncovered a single charcoal stain, and radiocarbon dates place this feature within the Late Prehistoric period. Our analysis of the distribution of the diagnostic points, the distribution of debitage, and the radiocarbon date, suggest that much of this material is in secondary context. Test excavations at 41BR522 showed very little debitage in or around the prehistoric burned rock midden. This small midden is nearly a perfect ring of burned rock surrounding a central hearth depression. Preservation was excellent for the recovery of both charred botanical remains and for examination of the midden structure. A Montell dart point, dating to the Late Archaic was recovered. As with 41BR392, the size, location and density of burned rock within the midden was examined as a means of investigating the internal midden structure. Analysis revealed the midden to be a central hearth/earth-oven type burned rock midden. Ethnobotanical recovery revealed the presence of geophytes. Radiocarbon dates place the feature within the Late Prehistoric period. Based on the results of this testing, it is recommended that sites 41BR471 and 41BR500 are not eligible to the National Register of Historic Places and do not warrant status as State Archeological Landmarks. The sites have data that are of questionable integrity, and CAR’s testing work has effectively exhausted any remaining research potential. Sites 41BR392 and 41BR522 are recommended as eligible to the National Register of Historic Places and do warrant status as State Archeological Landmarks. Both recommended sites have data with good integrity. In addition, both sites have charcoal present, and good recovery of ethnobotanical material. Data from these sites can be used to consider a variety of research questions that are significant for understanding the prehistory of the region

Archaeological Testing to Determine the National Register Eligibility Status of 18 Prehistoric Sites on Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas Volume 1

Between the fall of 1999 and the summer of 2001, archaeologists from the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted National Register Eligibility testing on 18 prehistoric sites within Camp Bowie in Brown County, Texas. The work was conducted for the Texas Army National Guard. The sites were recommended for testing during an inventory survey of Camp Bowie conducted between 1993 and 1998 (Wormser and Sullo-Prewitt 2001). Sixteen of the 18 sites tested contained burned rock middens. It was on the basis of that feature type that these sites were recommended for testing. Two sites (41BR261 and 41BR276) lacked burned rock middens, but Wormser and Sullo-Prewitt (2001) recommended these sites for testing based on the presence of diagnostic projectile points and the potential for buried features. As burned rock middens were a major element of the recommendations, much of this report focused on understanding those feature types. In all, 19 middens were tested. On the basis of these testing efforts, CAR recommends that 12 sites (41BR65, 41BR87, 41BR228, 41BR246, 41BR250, 41BR253, 41BR420, 41BR433, 41BR473, 41BR478, 41BR492, and 41BR493) should be considered eligible for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places and warrant designations as State Archeological Landmarks. Either avoidance of these locations, or some form of mitigation on portions of these sites, will be necessary. Our testing suggests that the remaining sites either lack clear evidence of significant data (41BR261 and 41BR276) or have data of questionable integrity (41BR415, 41BR441, 41BR474, and 41BR480). In these cases, CAR recommends that these sites are not eligible for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places and they do not warrant designation as State Archeological Landmarks

Archaeological Testing to Determine the National Register Eligibility Status of 18 Prehistoric Sites on Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas Volume 2

Between the fall of 1999 and the summer of 2001, archaeologists from the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted National Register Eligibility testing on 18 prehistoric sites within Camp Bowie in Brown County, Texas. The work was conducted for the Texas Army National Guard. The sites were recommended for testing during an inventory survey of Camp Bowie conducted between 1993 and 1998 (Wormser and Sullo-Prewitt 2001). Sixteen of the 18 sites tested contained burned rock middens. It was on the basis of that feature type that these sites were recommended for testing. Two sites (41BR261 and 41BR276) lacked burned rock middens, but Wormser and Sullo-Prewitt (2001) recommended these sites for testing based on the presence of diagnostic projectile points and the potential for buried features. As burned rock middens were a major element of the recommendations, much of this report focused on understanding those feature types. In all, 19 middens were tested. On the basis of these testing efforts, CAR recommends that 12 sites (41BR65, 41BR87, 41BR228, 41BR246, 41BR250, 41BR253, 41BR420, 41BR433, 41BR473, 41BR478, 41BR492, and 41BR493) should be considered eligible for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places and warrant designations as State Archeological Landmarks. Either avoidance of these locations, or some form of mitigation on portions of these sites, will be necessary. Our testing suggests that the remaining sites either lack clear evidence of significant data (41BR261 and 41BR276) or have data of questionable integrity (41BR415, 41BR441, 41BR474, and 41BR480). In these cases, CAR recommends that these sites are not eligible for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places and they do not warrant designation as State Archeological Landmarks

The Medio Creek Site (41BX1421): National Register Test Excavations, Bexar County Texas

During April 2001, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted National Register of Historic Places eligibility testing for archeological site 41BX1421, located in southwest Bexar County, Texas, under contract with the Texas Department of Transportation. The investigations were conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit Number 2569. The Phase II testing fieldwork consisted of excavation of five test units across the site to investigate cultural deposits encountered during the previous survey phase. A single sheet midden consisting of burned limestone cobbles was encountered across the majority of the site. In concert with the archeological field investigations, the following special analyses and studies were performed to aid the determination of site integrity and eligibility: radiocarbon, lithic, aboriginal ceramic, vertebrate faunal. and magnetic sediment susceptibility. The synthesis of these analyses has provided adequate data to determine 41BX1421 ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places. It is therefore recommended that the Loop 1604 improvements proceed without further cultural resources investigations

Millican Bench (41TV163) A Multicomponent Site in Travis County, Texas

Between September of 1970 and February of 1971, the Texas Highway Department, now the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), carried out extensive hand and mechanical excavations at 41TV163, the Millican Bench site. The highway maintenance crew was ably directed by Frank Weir. Millican Bench represented the first archeological site excavated by the then Texas Highway Department (THD) under their archeological program. In 2001, TxDOT contracted with the Center for Archaeological Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio to provide an assessment of the documents and data and develop research topics that may be successfully pursued with the materials from the site. Based on the assessment it was determined that dependent on data types, four broad analytical units could be defined (Late Prehistoric, and Late, Middle and Early Archaic), and two diachronic and one synchronic research topic would be pursued: changes in subsistence strategies and lithic technological organization, and the evaluation of Feature 3, a possible structure noted at the site. The analysis of the faunal material from the site and comparison with other archeological collections indicates that hunter-gatherers may have pursued a broad-spectrum adaptation, even when bison were present in the region. The lithic assemblage, characterized by predominantly expedient and minimally retouched tool forms, supports this contention. The percentages of what we think are nonlocal raw materials increases through time. This increase hints at changes in the level or scope of mobility. Patterns in projectile point discard and replacement strategies suggest some premium on preventive tool replacement. Although the photographic documentation strongly supports the likelihood of Feature 3 representing a structure, we have little surviving direct data in support of this possibility. The artifactual data that we can investigate suggests, however, that the circular area may have at least represented some type of maintained space. All artifacts retained, in consultation with the Texas Historical Commission and TxDOT, and all site documentation are permanently curated at the Center for Archaeological Research. The remains of the single skeleton recovered from the site are also permanently curated at the Center

Archaeological Investigations within San Pedro Springs Park (41BX19), San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

The University of Texas at San Antonio Center for Archaeological Research (UTSA-CAR) contracted with Adams Environmental, Inc. to provide archaeological services to Capital Improvement Management (CIMS) of the City of San Antonio (COSA) related to the archaeological investigation of selected areas of San Pedro Springs Park in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The CAR conducted archaeological testing at this National Register Site, 41BX19, from early December 2013 to mid-January of 2014. The goals of archaeological investigations were to identify and investigate any proto-historic and historic archaeological deposits associated with Colonial Period occupants of the area, including evidence of the first acequia and associated dam, and the location of the first presidio and villa. In addition, CAR was tasked with the investigation of any prehistoric cultural deposits encountered. This project was performed by staff archaeologists from the CAR. It was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 6727, with Dr. Steve Tomka serving as Principal Investigator (PI), and Kristi Nichols and Stephen Smith serving as Project Archaeologists. Dr. Tomka departed from UTSA shortly after the completion of fieldwork. At that time, Dr. Raymond Mauldin of CAR assumed PI responsibilities for the project. One hundred and eleven shovel tests, eleven 1-x-1 m test units, two 50-x-50 cm units, two backhoe trenches, and several auger holes were excavated during this effort. Minimal artifactual evidence of colonial occupants was noted during the archaeological investigations. Several Native American bone tempered sherds that could reflect either Late Prehistoric Leon Plain or Goliad ware were recovered. However, no Spanish Majolicas or lead glazed wares were uncovered, and no gunflints were identified in the lithic assemblage. Due to various utility lines and other obstructions, backhoe trenches to search for the acequia and associated dam could not be excavated. It is likely that areas proposed for investigation of the acequia and associated dam have been disturbed by aforementioned utility lines as well as earlier construction within the park. No evidence of the specific location of the first presidio or villa was located. Shovel testing and test units revealed the presence of historic and prehistoric use of the park, though mixing of historic and prehistoric material, as well as other disturbances (e.g., rodents), was common in the deposits. However, there was an increase in prehistoric material with depth as revealed in shovel testing results. Shovel testing located Feature 1, a burned rock feature that possibly was associated with a sheet midden, as well as several areas with high densities of prehistoric materials. Test excavations, based on these shovel tests, suggest that Feature 1 is a discrete feature that lies below a widespread, low-density distribution of burned rock. Shovel testing also identified a high-density cluster of lithic, bone, and burned rock. The excavation of a 1-x-1 m test unit (TU 4) in this area produced over 4,000 pieces of debitage, with over 50% of this total coming from three levels. Burned rock, a variety of tools, faunal material, and charcoal were present throughout these levels. Temporal placement of deposits relied on artifact typologies (e.g., ceramic types, lithic projectile points, lithic tool types) as well as two charcoal and four bone collagen radiocarbon dates. Artifact typologies suggest occupation as early as the Early Archaic as reflected by a possible Guadalupe tool. A series of Late Archaic Points (Castroville, Frio, Marcos, and Montell) and Late Prehistoric point forms (Edwards, Perdiz, and Scallorn) are present from several areas. In addition, a possible Middle Archaic La Jita point was recovered. The bone tempered Native American wares could date as early as AD 1250, though they could also reflect proto-historic or colonial age materials. Other ceramics primarily suggest a mid-nineteenth- to midtwentieth- century occupation. Using the midpoints of the 1-sigma distribution, calibrated radiocarbon dates show use of San Pedro Park from as early as 100 AD (CAR 345; 1905 +/- 22 Radiocarbon Years Before Present [RCYBP]) to as recently as the early twentieth century. The more recent end of that range is a function of two late dates from two different areas of the park. The first of these is on a bison bone (CAR 344) that returned a date of 158 +/- 23 RCYBP. The second is on a bone consistent with a bison-sized animal (CAR 346) that produced a date of 155 +/- 23 RCYBP. The corrected, calibrated dates for these two samples range from AD 1670 to the early 1940s using the 1-sigma spread. The wide range of these dates is related to the flat calibration curve late in time. However, the most probable date range (ca. 36% probability) for these two dates is between AD 1729 and 1779, with a roughly 48% probability that they date prior to AD 1779. Limited testing suggests that, with a few specific exceptions, the upper 30-40 cm of San Pedro Park is extensively disturbed. However, though some disturbances are present, at least three areas have materials in what appears to be good context. These include material dating to the Late Archaic, Late Prehistoric, and possibly the Proto-historic or Colonial Period. Based on historic maps, previous work, and the current investigation, CAR proposes a series of management areas for San Pedro Park. If work in these management areas follows these suggestions for various limits on subsurface impacts, CAR recommends that renovation activities within the park be allowed to proceed. The Texas Historical Commission (THC), in a letter dated February 4, 2015, agreed with these recommendations. Finally, CAR provides several recommendations for public education facilities within the park. In accordance with the THC Permit specifications and the Scope of Work for this project, all field notes, analytical notes, photographs, and other project related documents, along with a copy of the final report, will be curated at the CAR. After quantification and completion of analysis, and in consultation with THC and the COSA Office of Historic Preservation, artifacts possessing little scientific value were discarded pursuant to Chapter 26.27(g)(2) of the Antiquities Code of Texas. Artifact classes discarded specific to this project included samples of burned rock and snail shell, all unidentifiable metal, soil samples, and recent (post-1950) material