An Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Retama/Selma Monopole Project

The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted an archaeological survey of the proposed Retama/Selma Monopole Project for Southwestern Bell Wireless. The investigations included two backhoe trenches, four shovel tests, and a 100-percent pedestrian survey of the project area and access road. The backhoe trenches and shovel tests did not encounter any subsurface artifacts or features, but the pedestrian survey discovered a lithic scatter in the access road. This site, designated 41GU39, contains an Early Archaic component as evidenced by a Gower point. The artifacts appear to be confined to the surface and a 10-cm-thick plow zone. CAR recommends that the proposed project will have no adverse effect and that the sponsor be allowed to proceed as planned

An Archaeological Survey of 35 Acres Near Eagle Pass, Maverick County, Texas

On April 22 through 24, 1998, staff archaeologists from the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) conducted a 100 percent pedestrian survey with limited shovel and backhoe testing on two parcels near Eagle Pass, Texas (Figure 1). The archaeological investigation was conducted at the request of the Eagle Pass Independent School District as part of a plan to construct two new elementary schools on the parcels (Figures 2 and 3). The purpose of the survey was to identify archaeological sites visible on the surface as well as areas where sites are potentially buried. CAR archaeologists recorded 27 isolated finds on the 20-acre parcel south of the city. On the 15-acre parcel north of the city they discovered and recorded one archaeological site, with an additional nine isolated finds (Figures 2 and 3). The site has been heavily disturbed due to natural and artificial causes; therefore CAR recommended that the planned construction should be allowed to proceed with no further consultation with the State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO) or the Texas Historical Commission (THC)

Late archaic settlement systems in the northern Rio Grande

Last year at these meetings I proposed a possible seasonal transhumance pattern for the Late Archaic in the northern Rio Grande region. This pattern involved the movement of groups from the lowland juniper-savanna grasslands in the early summer, to the upland ponderosa pindmixed conifer forests in the mid to late summer, and then back down to the piiion-juniper woodlands during the fall. The Rio Grande Valley was also used for winter habitation sites. Following on this research, I take the next step by studying the inter-assemblage variability represented in a sample of open-air sites located within each of these vegetation communities. The results indicate that there are significant differences in reduction tactics represented between valley habitation vs., upland campsites, and that these site sites are linked together by obsidian procurement patterns

41MV120: a stratified late archaic site in Maverick County, Texas

Archaeological survey report No. 25

The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition: The view from Southwest Europe and the American Southwest

The transition from foraging to farming is certainly one of the most dramatic processes in human history. The use of domesticated plants and animals spread widely across Southwest Europe from the Near East. By contrast, domesticated plants solely moved across the American Southwest from Mexico. Research in Western Europe has traditionally focused on the movement of farming communities across the region which displaced or subsumed local foragers. Recently various aspects of this process have been debated including Mesolithic and Neolithic subsistence packages, continuity versus replacement, regional mobility and sedentism, the nature of early Neolithic villages, and the forager to farmer transition. We will explore this dynamic and varied process through studies conducted in Southwest Europe and the American Southwest. Although these two regions seem quite different, researchers in both areas are grappling with similar research issues. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Another possible source of archeological maize found in Chaco Canyon, NM: The Tohatchi Flats area, NM, USA

Understanding the linkage and relationship between Chaco Canyon and its residents to surrounding communities has been a primary research question for several decades. This research has focused on identifying the Chacoan road systems, similar architectural designs, and the sourcing of economic and non-economic goods to outlier communities of origin. Extensive fieldwork has been completed to identify potential source regions of Chacoan corncobs, but the San Juan Basin and surrounding regions are vast and many potential agricultural features remain uninvestigated. One such region is the Tohatchi Flats, located near modern day Gallup, New Mexico. This paper uses 87Sr/86Sr ratios from synthetic soil waters, rabbit brush, and modern maize to investigate if this region is consistent with ratios obtained from archeological cobs from Chacoan great houses. Data results demonstrate that Tohatchi flats 87Sr/86Sr ratios are consistent with ratios from Pueblo Bonito cobs prior to AD 1130 but not after. Additionally, this study demonstrates that rabbit brush can serve as a modern proxy for maize, despite a small 87Sr/86Sr ratio offset, which this study concludes requires additional biogeochemical modeling and investigation to understand