Development of ultraviolet lasers

The pulsed electron accelerator selected for use in the development of ultraviolet laser capability suitable for use in photoexcitation and photoionization studies of the upper atmosphere is reported. Performance figures, installation specifications, and total cost of the equipment are briefly shown, and plans for further studies are outlined

Woodland and Caddo Period Sites at Toledo Bend Reservoir, Northwest Louisiana and East Texas

Toledo Bend Reservoir is one of the largest artificial lakes in the United States and the largest reservoir in the South. The lake is approximately 65 miles long and contains over 1200 miles of shoreline in both Louisiana and Texas. Construction began in 1964 with completion of the power plant, with the subsequent filling of the lake in 1969. Archaeological investigations at Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Sabine River and tributaries in both Louisiana and Texas took place primarily took during the 1960s, with survey and excavations, sometimes of a very limited nature by the University of Texas (UT) and Southern Methodist University (SMU). Girard has continued archaeological investigations along the Louisiana side of the reservoir, however, focusing particularly on work at the James Pace site. In this article we review the nature of the material culture assemblage of the Woodland and Caddo sites at Toledo Bend Reservoir based on the collections at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin (TARL). This consists of ceramic and/or lithic artifacts from 76 different sites in Louisiana and Texas. We have also examined ceramic vessels from Woodland and Caddo burial features at several Toledo Bend Reservoir sites. Our purpose in re-examining the TARL collections from the Toledo Bend Reservoir is to better understand and characterize the material culture assemblages (primarily decorated ceramic sherds) from sites that date between ca. 2500 years B.P. and the late 17th-early 18th century A.D., particularly in light of questions concerning the cultural affiliation and cultural taxonomic relationships of the ancestral Caddo sites in this part of East Texas and western Louisiana

Caddo Ceramic Vessels from the Womack Site (41LR1), Lamar County, Texas

The Womack site (41LR1) is an ancestral Caddo settlement situated on an alluvial terrace in a horseshoe bend of the Red River in north central Lamar County in East Texas. Harris completed the analysis and study of their 1938-mid-1960s investigations at the site, but the findings from the earlier archaeological investigations conducted at the site by the University of Texas (UT) in 1931 have only been recently published

Analysis of the 19th Century Historic Archaeological Material Culture Remains from the Browning Site in Smith County, Texas

The Browning site (41SM195A) is located on a 3800 m2 alluvial terrace that overlooks the Auburn Creek floodplain in eastern Smith County, Texas. This setting is near the headwaters of a stream system in the Harris Creek drainage; Harris Creek meets the Sabine River ca. 34 km to the north. In the vicinity of the Browning site, the valley, being narrow with steep valley walls, offers few locations suitable for either prehistoric or historic occupations. Soils here arc Entisols; they vary in depth from 30-70 em across the landform, terminating at a sandstone C-horizon. These arc soils that formed mostly under forest vegetation and are dominantly sandy or loamy. The Browning site falls within the Pineywoods vegetation area and represents the western extent of the pine and deciduous forests of the Southeastern U.S. coastal plain. Archaeological investigations at the Browning site have been carried out intermittingly for several years by the junior author. That work has led to the recognition that it is a stratified site with two very distinct occupations, an early to mid-19th century assemblage of historic artifacts primarily in an upper zone (0-20 em bs) overlying a buried (20-50 em bs) Late Woodland period occupation. The historic occupation is in the center of the terrace, covering approximately 500m2• The historic artifacts arc found primarily in the upper sediments, but due probably to pedoturbations, they have been found as deep as 50 em in the underlying prehistoric archaeological deposits. Excavations at the Browning site have consisted of 41 1 x 1 m units (with a total excavated volume of 20.4 m3) and 22 shovel tests. Surface collections were obtained from the site in 1996 and 2002. The 22 shovel tests excavated at the site were conducted first to better ascertain the limits of the site and identify areas of concentrated cultural activity; ST 4, 8-9, 12, and 19 contained 19th century historic artifacts. Once a buried prehistoric occupation zone was identified, units were placed primarily in cardinal directions to better define the occupation zone\u27s boundaries and levels of occupational intensity, and also sample the overlying 19th century component. The I x 1 m units were excavated in arbitrary l 0 em levels and the soil was dry-screened for artifacts through I /4-inch hardware cloth except for a fine screen sample from Unit I that was water-screened through I /32-inch mesh. A level sheet was completed at the end of each level. Profiles were drawn of one wall of each unit or a common wall when several units were joined. The shovel tests followed the same procedures, except they were excavated in arbitrary 20 em levels. One feature had four refined earthenware sherds (as well as two prehistoric artifacts) and 15 small pieces of animal bone. This was a shallow pit with a very dark grayish-brown sandy loam fill (with charcoal flecks) and a rounded bottom that was 63 em in diameter and extended from 22-29 em bs

The Jonas Short Site (41SA101), San Augustine County, Texas

The Jonas Short site (41SA101) is one of a few known and investigated Woodland period mounds in the Trans–Mississippi south (i.e., East Texas, Northwest Louisiana, Southwest Arkansas, and Southeast Oklahoma). In fact, the site is one of only four identified mound sites of possible Woodland period age—and Mossy Grove cultural tradition—in the Neches–Angelina and Sabine river basins in East Texas and Northwest Louisiana: Coral Snake (16SA48), Anthony (16SA7), Jonas Short, and Westerman (41HO15). The Jonas Short site was located on an alluvial terrace of the Angelina River. It was investigated in 1956 by archaeologists from the University of Texas and the River Basin Survey prior to its inundation by the waters of Lake Sam Rayburn

The Killdeer Site (41SM379): A Middle Caddo Site in Northern Smith County, Texas

The Killdeer site was reported in July 2007 by Mark Walters, based on a surface reconnaissance of the site area and a small surface collection of artifacts, primarily prehistoric Caddo pottery sherds. The site is situated on a lower upland slope (410 feet amsl) about 190m northeast of Loves Branch, a small stream in the Harris Creek drainage in the Sabine River basin. Soils are a Redsprings very gravelly sandy loam, 8-25% slopes. Darkly-stained sediments and burned animal bone suggest that there is a Caddo midden deposit at the northern end of the site

Ceramic Beads from the Cloud Hammond Site (41SM244), Smith County, Texas

During investigations at the Cloud Hammond site (41SM244) during the 1960s, J. A. Walters recovered Caddo ceramics, two clay beads, Perdiz arrow points, and two Gary dart points. The site is located in northern Smith County, Texas, about 400 m east of the Middle Caddo period Jamestown Mound site (41SM54). Of the artifacts reported to have been recovered from the site, only one clay bead was available for study. No record survives of the extent of investigations at the Cloud Hammond site or if any cultural features such as burials were found during the 1960s work

Prehistoric Sites in the Sabine River Valley in Northeastern Smith County, Texas Timothy K. Perttula and Mark Walters

In the winter of 2003, the junior author completed archaeological survey investigations of a small area of the Sabine River valley in northeastern Smith County in the East Texas Pineywoods. The work consisted of limited surface collections and shovel tests, and four archaeological sites were found during the work. The sites are about 2.4-3.0 km south-southwest of the Early Caddo period Boxed Spring mound site (41UR30) on the north side of the Sabine River. Two of the archaeological sites (41SM307 and 41SM308) are situated on alluvial landforms in the Sabine River valley at elevations of ca. 280-290 ft. amsl. The other two (41SM309 and 41SM310) are on upland landforms at elevations of 310 ft. amsl and 350 ft. amsl, respectively

Titus Phase Ceramic Vessels from the W. L. Willeford Farm, Upshur County, Texas

The W. L. Willeford site (41UR5) is a Late Caddo period Titus phase cemetery of unknown size. It is in the Little Walnut Creek basin, and Little Walnut Creek is a southward-flowing tributary to Little Cypress Creek in the East Texas Pineywoods. Some time prior to 1930, Caddo vessels had been exposed by erosion at the site, and other vessels were plowed up in 1930. University of Texas (UT) archaeologists led by B. B. Gardner excavated at the site in July 1931, but found no burials. The UT archaeologists purchased Caddo vessels from the landowner, along with three elbow pipes, two celts, and two arrow points. Those vessels (n=15) are documented in the remainder of this article. During the UT excavations at the W. L. Willeford Farm site, a sizeable assemblage of plain (n=110) and decorated (n=108) ceramic sherds were recovered from apparent habitation contexts near to the locations where the burial vessels had been reported. The decorated sherds are from Ripley Engraved and Wilder Engraved vessels (n=32), red-slipped fine wares (n=6) and various utility wares. These are from brushed (n=28) and brushed-punctated (n=3) Bullard Brushed vessels, La Rue Neck Banded jars (n=5), as well as sherds from Cass Appliqued (n=3), Belcher Ridged (n=1), Killough Pinched (n=1), Maydelle Incised (n=23), punctated (n=5), and incised-punctated (n=1) vessels. The occurrence of both Cass Appliqued and Belcher Ridged vessel sherds in the assemblage suggests that the site was occupied sometime after ca. A.D. 1500/1550