The Pine Tree Mound Site and the Entrada of the Hernando De Soto Expedition of 1542

The entrada into Texas of the Hernando de Solo expedition in July 1542, which was led by Luis de Moscoso after de Soto\u27s death in June of that year, is relevant to the Pine Tree Mound site (4IHS15) because it appears that the site was occupied at that time, and the entrada likely followed a path that brought it very close to the site. In fact, we hypothesize that the Pine Tree Mound site, along with associated villages nearby, is specifically mentioned in entrada accounts as the province of Nondacao. These may have been the forebears of the Nadaco (Anadarko) Caddo, who apparently lived in this same area through the first quarter of the 19th century before moving west to north-central Texas and then to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. The three components of this hypothesis deal with the age of the site, the route of the entrada, and the persistence of Nadaco settlements in this area long after the time of the entrada, and these are addressed in tum below. The Pine Tree Mound site is a Middle to Late Caddo period ceremonial and civic center in central Harrison County, Texas. It occupies a broad upland surface between Potters and Starkey creeks, about 7.3 km north of where Potters Creek flows onto the floodplain of the Sabine River. The site is large, covering an area 800 m cast-west by 720 m north-south. Its most conspicuous features are three earthen mounds that stand 0.4 to 2.4 m above the modern land surface. The three mounds are within an area measuring 210 m east-west by 150 m north-south. These mounds are associated with a possible buried mound, at least five areas with off-mound structures, a plaza, and at least one cemetery. Together, these constitute the core of the site, measuring about 360 m both east-west and north-south and covering 27 acres. This core area is owned by The Archaeological Conservancy. Test excavations in 2004 identified eight possible associated village areas ringing the core on the west, and Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted intensive excavations at three of these in 2006-2007 under a contract with the Sabine Mining Company. These excavations uncovered the remains of dozens of houses, as well as outside activity areas, middens, and 27 human burials. Analysis of the wealth of data recovered from the site is ongoing and will not be finished for several years. This article provides a preview of one of the topics that the analysis will address

The George C. Davis Site, Cherokee County, Texas: Spring 1980 Archeological Investigations

The results of archeological investigations in portions of the George C. Davis Site are presented in this report prepared by Ross Fields and J. Peter Thurmond . Stringent contract requirements and the provisions of Texas Antiquities Permit No. 237 dictate that this report be brief and descriptive in nature. Requirements such as inclusion of a detailed site investigation history and environmental data were excluded and extensive excavations were stressed in preference to detailed analyses and comparisons. Field investigations were limited by contract to 20 working days and the analysis/write-up to 10 working days. The governing research design was prepared by the Texas Antiquities Committee staff to reflect agreements between the Committee and the Texas Forest Service. Sighificant findings include the general delineation of extensive, and in places intensive, Archaic and Late Prehistoric occupations. Of primary importance is the lack of an identifiable Alto Focus occupation within the northern portion of the Davis Site. This suggests that the small left bank tributary to Bowles Creek existed during Alto Focus times and served as a natural boundary for the village area during that period of site usage. There are hints that significant variations in the selection and use of lithic resources through time are identifiable. It is indeed ! unfortunate that time limitations precluded pursuit of this line of investigation. Ross and Pete have successfully accomplished a most challenging task under less than ideal conditions. They and their field crew are commended for their outstanding work at the Davis Site

Recent Archeological Investigations at the Jewett Mine, East-Central Texas

The Jewett Mine is a ca. 21, 000-acre lignite mine in the post oak savannah of Freestone, Leon, and Limestone counties, Texas. The project area straddles the divide between the Navasota River valley on the west and the Trinity River valley on the east and lies at the western margin of the Caddoan area . Although residential use of the area by the Caddo has not been documented, many sites have yielded small quantities of Caddoan pottery, and it is likely that cultures indigenous to the region were affected by the development of Caddoan culture not far to the east. For reference, the George C. Davis Site (41CE19) lies only 95 km to the east-northeast. In addition to contributing information about the interaction between Caddoan and neighboring groups in the central part of East Texas, the Jewett Mine sites, by virtue of their location in the Eastern Woodlands but outside of the Caddoan area proper, have the potential to shed light on such topics as regional Caddoan settlement systems and the origins of Caddo culture

Why We Don\u27t Know Much About the Archaic Period in Northeast Texas

While there have been a few studies in recent years that have offered some interesting ideas about the lifeways of the Native Americans that occupied Northeast Texas during Archaic · times, most of what we know (or think we know) about the subject is based on limited data, and much of that data really is not of very good quality. For example, we think that Archaic peoples were nomadic hunter-gatherers who roamed the landscape, staying in one spot only for a few weeks or less until they had collected all the hickory nuts or hunted all the deer they could find there. In general, this notion is probably correct, but it does not present a very complete picture of their lifeways, and when you get down to it, it is not really based on much hard archaeological evidence

The Prairie Caddo Model and the J.B. White Site

This article summarizes an hypothesis—called the Prairie Caddo model—presented in a research module published in 2006 to help explain some obvious connections in material culture between Caddo sites in east Texas and sites in central Texas. Harry J. Shafer prepared this module, entitled People of the Prairie: A Possible Connection to the Davis Site Caddo, as an outgrowth in part of excavations that Prewitt and Associates, Inc., performed at the J. B. White site in 2002 for the Texas Department of Transportation. Following the summary of the hypothesis is a synopsis of the results of the excavations at J. B. White and an assessment of the utility of that model for interpreting those results. The excavation data are not consistent with the idea that the people who lived on the Blackland Prairie at the east edge of central Texas between A.D. 1000 and 1300 were Caddo groups who served as a supporting population for the ceremonial center at the George C. Davis site, as the Prairie Caddo model would suggest. Rather, they appear to have been local hunter-gatherers who interacted regularly with the east Texas Caddo. This interaction included providing the Caddo with arrow points and knives, which apparently were highly prized by elites who lived, died, and were buried at the Davis site

Cultural Resources Investigations along Whiteoak Bayou, Harris County, Texas

In 1986, cultural resources investigations were carried out to prepare a synthesis of the archeology of the Whiteoak Bayou area in western Harris County, Texas, and to conduct subsurface testing at prehistoric sites that may be affected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Upper Whiteoak Bayou Flood Damage Reduction Project. The tasks undertaken during these investigations are: (1) background research into the environment and archeology of the area; (2) historic/archival research and reconnaissance survey to summarize the historical development of Whiteoak Bayou and to identify any important sites in the project area; (3) intensive survey of Vogel Creek, a tributary to Whiteoak Bayou, to assess the potential for intact cultural remains; (4) National Register testing and assessment of nine aboriginal sites; (5) geoarcheological investigations to establish the geological context of the archeological remains, to identify the depositional environments represented, and to establish an alluvial sequence for the project area; and (6) analysis of a large collection of artifacts from 46 Whiteoak Bayou sites made prior to 1986 by members of the Houston Archeological Society, as well as the materials recovered during 1986. The nine archeological sites tested during this project are 41HR241, 41HR259, 41HR273 , 41HR278, 41HR279, 41HR283, 41HR290 , 41HR298, and 41HR541. The testing showed that only three -- 41HR259, 41HR273, and 41HR541 -- have substantial, intact cultural deposits . Two of these -- 41HR273 and 41HR541 -- are judged to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and for designation as State Archeological Landmarks . One site, 41HR259, is currently listed on the National Register, although the remaining part of this site is judged to have a limited potential to yield additional information . The other seven sites are judged to be ineligible for listing

Archeological Survey For The Proposed Extension Of State Highway 249 In Montgomery And Grimes Counties, Texas, CSJ 0720-02-072 and CSJ 0720-02-073

In May 2014, personnel with Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted an intensive pedestrian archeological survey along portions of the proposed route of the extension of State Highway (SH) 249 in Montgomery (CSJ 0720-02-073) and Grimes (CSJ 0720-02-072) counties under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 6798 for Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., and the Texas Department of Transportation, Houston District. The project area extends 14.9 miles northwest from existing SH 249 just southeast of Pinehurst in Montgomery County to Farm to Market Road (FM) 1774 about 1.8 miles north of Todd Mission in Grimes County. The project will consist of construction of a four-lane, controlled-access toll road with auxiliary lanes on mostly new location, typically within a 400-foot-wide right of way. The horizontal Area of Potential Effects for the road route is approximately 720 acres, of which 676 acres will be new right of way. The project also may require up to 98 acres for as many as four runoff detention ponds. Thus, the Area of Potential Effects for the entire project could encompass up to approximately 818 acres. Project personnel consisted of Ross C. Fields (principal investigator), Aaron R. Norment (project archeologist), and Rob Thrift and Jennifer Anderson (archeological technicians). Fieldwork was conducted on May 5–9 and 19–23, 2014, and entailed approximately 24 person-days of effort. The pedestrian survey with shovel testing succeeded in covering 2.8 miles (127 acres) of the 14.9-mile route. Lack of right of entry prevented coverage of 4.3 miles and a 31-acre potential detention pond. Very dense vegetation and debris from the 2011 Magnolia wildfire prevented pedestrian coverage of the remaining 7.8 miles of the road route and three potential detention pond sites totaling 67 acres. Four archeological sites were recorded in the segments surveyed. Three sites (41GM464, 41MQ319, and 41MQ320) are low-density scatters of Native American lithic artifacts; the fourth site (41GM465) is a historic house site probably dating to the mid twentieth century. Artifacts recovered from them and records of the project will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin. The eligibility of these four sites for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and designation as State Antiquities Landmarks is considered undetermined, pending completion of the survey and inventory of sites that potentially will be affected by the project. The results of the survey done to date, observations made of areas that could not be surveyed, and results of the background research indicate that the original plan for fieldwork in the remaining unsurveyed areas should be modified. Based on the low likelihood of either Native American or historic sites, it is recommended that survey is not warranted along about 4.7 miles of the road route and on 20 acres in one potential detention pond. Of the remaining unsurveyed lands, about 7.2 miles of the road route and 78 acres in four potential detention ponds should be surveyed with shovel testing, and 0.2 miles of the road route should be surveyed with backhoe trenching. This additional survey should be done after sufficient clearing of vegetation and wildfire debris has been done to enable systematic and safe pedestrian coverage

National Register Testing at 41LT307, on CR 153 at the Navasota River, Limestone County, Texas

Archeological test excavations at 41LT307 were completed by Prewitt and Associates, Inc., in 2005 in conjunction with Texas Department of Transportation road improvements on County Road 153 in northwestern Limestone County. The site is situated on the active floodplain in Holocene alluvium adjacent to the Navasota River. Excavations revealed sparse lithic artifacts and no cultural features. No organic remains were recovered, and the age of the cultural occupation is unknown. The portion of 41LT307 inside the new right of way is considered ineligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or designation as a State Archeological Landmark. All artifacts were generated through a state-sponsored project and collected on state-owned property. All artifacts and records generated by this project are curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin

Current Research in the Sabine Mine’s Rusk Permit, Rusk County, Texas

In 2014–2015, Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted test excavations at seven Native American sites—41RK674, 41RK680, 41RK693, 41RK695, 41RK703, 41RK704, and 41RK729—in northeast Rusk County, Texas. These sites are in Area W of the South Hallsville No. 1 Mine’s Rusk Permit, which is operated by North American Coal Corporation–Sabine Mine. The excavations consisted of 92 m2 (80.7 m3) of hand-dug test units and 63 backhoe trenches (702 m2). Testing determined that the sites have components dating as early as the Middle Archaic period (ca. 3500 B.C.) and as late as the Late Caddo period (late A.D. 1400s), with Late Archaic, Woodland, Early Caddo, and Middle Caddo components represented as well. Four sites have moderate to high densities of cultural materials representing substantial Native American occupations, although none have middens indicating especially prolonged use. Sites 41RK674 and 41RK693 are interpreted as Late Caddo and Middle Caddo farmsteads, respectively, albeit briefly occupied ones. Site 41RK703 has prominent Middle Archaic and probably Late Archaic components representing repeated use as a campsite, with lesser Woodland and Early Caddo components indicating non-residential use. The primary component at 41RK704 represents repeated use during the Woodland period as a special-purpose campsite, and a secondary Early Caddo component reflects less-intensive use as a procurement/processing location or short-term campsite. The other three sites were used less intensively, with 41RK680 having a Woodland component, 41RK695 having a Late Caddo component, and 41RK729 having an unidentified Caddo component; these sites likely were used as procurement or processing locations or short-term campsites

Two Archeological Surveys In The Texas Department Of Transportations Atlanta District: FM 450 At Little Cypress Bayou, Harrison County (CSJ 0843-02-012), And County Road 4114 At Brutons Creek, Morris County (CSJ 0919-20-030)

Prewitt and Associates, Inc., was contracted by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to perform two intensive archeological surveys in TxDOT’s Atlanta District under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 6385. This work was completed prior to replacement of a bridge and realignment of approaches on Farm-to-Market Road (FM) 450 at Little Cypress Bayou in Harrison County (CSJ 0843-02-012) and replacement of a bridge and improvement of approaches on County Road 4114 at Brutons Creek in Morris County (CSJ 0919-20-030). The Area of Potential Effects (APE) for the FM 450 project is 50 acres and includes existing and new TxDOT right of way; approximately half of the APE was surveyed in 2010 (McKee 2010). The APE for the County Road 4114 project is 1.2 acres and includes a short segment of existing right of way and 0.9 acres of temporary construction easements. Prewitt and Associates archeologists surveyed the remaining 25 acres of the FM 450 APE and the County Road 4114 APE in December 2012 and January 2013. These investigations required a total of about 11 person-days of effort. The FM 450 survey included the excavation of 50 shovel tests and 11 trenches. This effort identified a small amount of modern trash on the upland margin at the north end of the project area and prehistoric site 41HS973 on the floodplain near Little Cypress Bayou. Site 41HS973 consists of a diffuse scatter of seven pieces of lithic debitage identified on two sandy rises on the Little Cypress Bayou floodplain. The investigation indicated that the archeological deposits in the investigated part of the site lack both integrity and significance. Thus, Prewitt and Associates recommends that the recorded portion of 41HS973 is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D (36 CFR 60.4; 36 CFR 800.4, 5) or designation as a State Archeological Landmark (13 TAC 26.2, 8). The County Road 4114 survey included the excavation of 15 shovel tests and 4 trenches in and adjacent to the temporary construction easements. No archeological materials or deposits were identified during this investigation. Both surveys were conducted under no artifact collection policies. Identified artifacts were noted, briefly described, and returned to the point of recovery