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2010
August 12
Clint McKenzie
Three Years in a Hole: An Overview of the Excavations and Findings from Fool's Rockshelter
The Southern Texas Archaeological Association (STAA) performed archaeological investigations at 41CM294 from April of 2007 through June of 2009. The presentation will focus on the site and its setting as well as the various cultural deposits and notable features. The rockshelter lies above Indian Creek in Comal County and is part of the Cibolo Creek drainage. The site?s location well above the floodplain, coupled with the fact that it is a perennially dry shelter, resulted in the deposition of nearly four meters of cultural material. The majority of the talus slope of the site, and portions of the interior of the shelter, were heavily looted for many years prior to the STAA salvage excavations. Despite the nearly wholesale destruction of 90% of the site, it still evidenced discrete occupational events from the historic period through the Middle Archaic, and possibly earlier. Of particular note were very well preserved Frio period occupations with intact hearth features and numerous discarded Frio points. Radiocarbon assays indicate a date range of 60 to 390 AD. Obsidian from this horizon was sourced to the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. Another feature associated with the Frio occupation included a rabdotus dump with in excess of 30,000 snails. These and other features as well as artifacts will be presented and discussed.
July 8
Members' Slide Show
The 2010 Texas Archeological Society Field School
June 10
No meeting
May 13
Douglas G. Mangum, Moore Archeological Consulting, Inc.
Metal Detecting and Archeology at the San Jacinto Battlefield
Since 2003 Moore Archeological Consulting, in cooperation with members of the Texas Archeological Stewards Network and a group of volunteer metal detectorists, has conducted a series of investigations in and around the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site. These investigations have provided us with a new window through which to view the brief but intense conflict that took place on this site in 1836. This presentation will focus on recent discoveries and how they have added to, and in some cases altered, the overall picture of the battle.
April 8
Eske Willerslev, Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, and the Centre for Ancient Genetics, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen
The Importance of DNA Evidence
Dr. Willerslev and his colleagues are interested in understanding what caused the decreases in diversity of megafauna after the last ice age and are also working to develop techniques to recover DNA primarily from ice-preserved specimens, such as DNA from sediments in ice cores and fossil bones found in permafrost. In 2010, a team led by Dr. Willerslev sequenced the genome of a man from the 4,000 year old Saqqaq culture of Greenland from his hair, finding that the man was from an early migration group that did not seem to have intermixed with later inhabitants. It appears that the individual was neither a direct relative of Inuits or Native Americans, with his closest relatives being a population currently living in Siberia.
March 11
Linda Ellis, PBS&J
Ground, Battered, and Polished Stone Tools From the Ear Spool Site (41TT653)
The Ear Spool site was a Late Caddo Titus Phase domestic farmstead located just north of the Cypress Creek/White Oak Creek watershed boundary. A total of 109 ground, battered, and polished stone tools were recovered from the site. Detailed analysis of the assemblage identified a variety of tool types indicative of a diverse range of activities, providing a unique opportunity to link recovered artifacts with actual resource utilization of the Caddo peoples that lived at the site.
February 11
Ron Ralph, TPWD (retired) and Cave Archeologist
Eagle Bluff: The 2010 TAS Field School
Next June, the Texas Archeological Society Field School will be held in northern Medina County between Hondo on Highway 90 and Tarpley. The hill country setting is about 50 miles west-northwest of San Antonio and features a multitude of prehistoric sites to investigate, several hundred acres to survey, and a Yankee garrison in Castroville for the historically-minded. Camping under live oaks at the Medina County Fairground and gathering in the large livestock barn for meetings and lab -- what could be better?! And you can always cool off in beautiful Hondo Creek with the adult beverage of your choice . . . .
January 14
Organizational meeting
2009
November 12
Michael Pool, Austin Community College and St. Edwards University
Modeling the Mogollon Early Pithouse Period Settlement System
Because cultigens, pithouses, and ceramics are found in Mogollon pithouse sites, these people have been traditionally been considered to be sedentary, village agriculturalists. However, over the last 35 years, various researchers have suggested that at least the early part of this period was characterized by a mobile or semi-sedentary settlement system based on mixed foraging and agriculture. The Western Apache provide a useful model of how a semisedentary group with a mixed horticultural and foraging subsistence system exploits the seasonal and spatial variability of food resources in the Southwest inhabited by the Mogollon.
October 8
Karen Bell, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Summer in Peru Program, Austin Community College
Peruvian Coastal Archaeology
Dr. Bell showed slides of archeological sites of coastal Peru (non Inka) and her introduction to Peruvian coastal archaeology during the summer of 2008. She also made a short presentation about the ACC study abroad program in Peru.
September 10
Ron Ralph, Cave Archeologist and retired TPWD Archeologist
Chiquihuitillos Pictographs
There is a brilliant, vibrant rock art style in Mexico straddling the boarder of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon. Chiquihuitillos pictographs are characterized by red and orange angular geometric designs placed in fine-lined rectilinear, subrectangular, oval or multi-sided box outlines. The nested zigzags, pendant triangles, saw-toothed lines and spoked or rayed circles are known from nine locales in the Sierra Madre Oriental between Monterrey and Monclova. Found usually in shallow overhangs and rock shelters, this distinct polychrome motif appear to be ritually placed and may date to 2000 or more years ago. Below the pictographs at the base of the talus slope are fallen sandstone blocks with older petroglyphs. The pecked patterns are usually concentric circles, lines and overlapping diamond patterns. A few stone artifacts may occasionally be found amongst the boulders.
August 13
Leslie Bush, Macrobotanical Analysis, Manchaca, Tx
Assessing Seasonality through Archeological Plant Remains
Using carbonized remains of food plants to determine at what season a feature or site was used can be difficult. Beyond the taphonomic issues that are usual in archeology, many plants can be easily dried and stored, resulting in a potential lag of several months between the time of plant harvest and the time of plant consumption. This can be a significant problem in assessing the season of plant consumption by sedentary people. Among mobile groups, timing of consumption of short-season fruits can be relatively straightforward, but even mobile peoples preserved some fruits and nuts for later consumption. Resources such as bulbs and tubers are available more or less year-round, although they may be more palatable at some times than others. Unlike food plants, burs presumably came to archeological sites unintentionally, clinging to human clothing or the fur of prey animals. Because their presence reflects the immediate disposal of nuisance plants, burs can be extremely useful indicators of seasonality. Results of a four-year study of specimens collected in southern Indiana show which burs can be expected at which seasons. Implications for Texas and possibilities for future research are also discussed.
July 9
Members' Slide Show
The 2009 Texas Archeological Society Field School
The 2009 TAS Field School took place June 13-20 in the Panhandle near Perryton, Texas. Archeological excavations and survey took place at several sites, including the large, ceramic period village of Chill Hill (41RB132) and Evans' 1868 military supply depot (41RB111). Excavators uncovered housefloors, hearths, midden, and at least one bison processing area (at the Eastview site). Chipped stone tools and debitage were common. Pottery and obsidian were less common but not rare. Two pipes were found at Chill Hill, one ceramic and one ground from red stone. Metal detecting crews recovered at least one metal arrow point and many, many other objects. For those camping at Wolf Creek/Lake Fryer, the weather provided additional thrills. TCAS members who survived the hail and wind (or wisely stayed in Perryton hotels) showed their photos at the July meeting.
June 11
no meeting
May 14
Nick Trierweiler, Director of Cultural Resources, Ecological Communications Corporation
The Zilker Park Dig (41TR1364)
In December 2008, EComm was awarded a contract by the City of Austin to conduct archeological data recovery at the Vara Daniels Site (41TV1364) in Zilker Park. Earlier testing showed that the site has deeply buried archeological deposits that date to the earliest period in Texas' prehistory & the Paleoindian period of about 10,000 years ago. These very early deposits are rare and of considerable significance. Although the entire site covers nearly 60 acres between Barton Creek and the Colorado River, only a very small portion will be excavated. Under the direction of EComm's Principal Investigator Dr. Nick Trierweiler, the excavation will focus on the deposits under the Zilker rugby fields. Within a pit braced by steel shoring, EComm's archeologists will dig more than 16 feet down below the modern ground surface. Because the site is expected to generate high public interest, the site will be open for public viewing five days per week, and live video will feed to the City's website. In addition, EComm archeologists will give tours of the site to schools and youth groups and the public will be invited to help screen for artifacts on weekends. The excavations will take place during April and May. Archeology is always a "discovery science" and there is no telling what may be found deeply buried. However, EComm is confident that the dig will be an unparalleled opportunity to reach out to the Austin public, to involve them in helping to preserve Texas's past, and to educate Austin young people about archeology and the importance of historic preservation.
Nick Morgan, Texas Historical Commission Archeological Steward
Excavations at Joyful Horse (41BP691)
Priliminary Findings at the Joyful Horse Site, 41 BP691 . . . . After a little more than two and half years of excavations at the Joyful Horse Site in central Bastrop County, a nice chronology is becoming evident. So far, artifacts ranging from the mid archaic to the late prehistoric are presenting evidence that the site was occupied over a period of time that extends well back into the archaic, though just how far back is yet unknown. Two of four excavation blocks have been completed, and lab work/analysis has begun. These blocks yielded evidence of occupation during the late prehistoric, Toyah and Austin phases. Perdiz and Scallorn points, ceramic sherds, bison processing tools, features, and faunal remains have been recovered and promise to increase our understanding of these cultural manifestations. Ongoing excavations of block "D" have yielded Ensor and Marshall points, sparse faunal material, ceramic sherds, and evidence of at least one intact feature.
April 9
Charles Hixson, Archeological Steward for the Llano Uplift Archeological Society in Llano County
Dstretching the Pictographs at Painted Indian Cave (41BC1)
The 41BC1 pictographs are presumed to have been painted within a narrow time frame, perhaps in a single episode. Radiocarbon analysis on one of the pictographs indicates that they were painted around 800 years ago at the beginning of the Late Prehistoric. The site was recently revisited and found to contain many faint pictographs that were previously unnoticed. These were photographed and later digitally enhanced using Dstretched software. The enhancement brought out unseen details and has allowed the identification of the subject matter of most of the faint pictographs. We now know our assumptions as to the contemporaneity and age of the pictographs are incorrect and at least one and possibly more of the paintings are Historic.
March 12
Dr. Harry J. Shafer, Texas Ex and Professor Emeritus, Texas A&M University
Woodland Cultures of East Texas and Their Central Texas Connections
East and southeast Texas cultures were socially connected to the Woodland Cultures of the Eastern United States from ca. 500 BC to 900 CE. Each Woodland culture maintained respective territories that contained concentrated resources. The groups are archaeologically identified on the basis of distinctive material items within a milieu of shared similarities. In Texas, Woodland cultures have been or are provisionally identified as Fourche Maline, Mill Creek, Upper Trinity, Mossy Grove, and Allens Creek. Central and southeast areas are directly connected to these Woodland groups through social interaction and exchange of exotic artifacts, especially large bifaces of Edwards chert and conch shell artifacts. Like the Woodland pattern in the Midwest, these exotic artifacts were probably obtained by direct access rather than down-the-line exchange.
February 19
C. Andrew Hemmings, Research Associate, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL)
Searching for the Early Occupation of the Northeast Gulf of Mexico
Dr. Hemmings will lead an underwater archeological expedition July 30 to Aug. 12 in the Gulf of Mexico to search for submerged evidence of the first Americans. Hemmings and James Adovasio, director of the Mercyhurst College Archaeological Institute in Erie, Pa., who serves as co-principal investigator of the project, will study ancient submerged coastlines in the northeastern Gulf to determine where early Americans, known as the Clovis culture, might have lived more than 12,000 years ago when the underwater terrain was dry land.
January 15
Myles Miller, Principal Investigator, Geo-Marine, Inc.
Madera Quemada: New Insights from a 14th Century Jornada Pueblo
Madera Quemada is an early 14th century Jornada Mogollon pueblo located in south-central New Mexico. The majority of the room block, consisting of 13 rooms, was burned and deposits of roofing material and structural supports were present in several rooms. Floor and subfloor features were in an outstanding state of preservation and intact floor assemblages were present in several rooms. The excavation and study of Madera Quemada has been generously funded by the Fort Bliss Environmental Division and has provided an exceptional opportunity to investigate the technological, social, economic, and ritual aspects of a 14th century Jornada Mogollon pueblo settlement. Ongoing analysis of the excavation data is providing new insights into Jornada pueblo social organization, the potential roles of ritual economies in social integration, ritual abandonment of pueblos, and several other issues regarding the nature pueblo settlements in west Texas and southern New Mexico. The place of Madera Quemada and El Paso phase puebloan cultures in the larger picture of Southwestern population movements and other social and ritual developments of the early Pueblo IV period will also be discussed.
2008
December 11
Holiday Social
November 13
Dr. Solveig Turpin, University of Texas at Austin, Founder of the Borderlands Archeological Research Unit and former director of the Texas Archeological Survey
The Rock Art of Coahuila
Dr. Turpin will give two Powerpoint presentations on the rock art of Coahuila. The first is an overview of Coahuilan rock art from the earliest paintings in the north to the thousands of Archaic petroglyphs in the south, including examples of portable art as well. The theme of the presentation is Trance and Transformation in the Indigenous Rock Art of Coahuila and attempts to show the various ways in which religion is evidenced in all of the prehistoric art forms. The second presentation, The Clash of Cultures as Represented in the Rock Art of Coahuila, surfs through the various historic paintings and petroglyphs with an emphasis on the transition from hostility to Christian assimilation. Both are excerpts from her forthcoming book, The Indigenous Art of Coahuila (El Arte Indigena de Coahuila), which she says will be published in Mexico -- whenever.
October 9
Steve D. Hoyt, MA, State Marine Archeologist, Archeology Division, Texas Historical Commission
Indianola: Rediscovering the Ruins of a Lost Port City
In a little over forty years beginning in the early 1840s, the town of Indianola, Texas, grew from an empty sandy beach to a major port city and returned to an empty beach. By 1887, the town was gone, destroyed by successive hurricanes of 1875 and 1886. Numerous sailing vessels and at least three steamships are known lost at the port, due to storms, accidents and abandonment. The Texas Historical Commission conducted the Indianola Project to locate and document previously unidentified historic shipwrecks, wharves and other aspects of the maritime landscape at Indianola. The presentation will cover the fascinating history of Indianola and a summary of the archeological investigations conducted thus far.
September 11
Ron Ralph, cave archeologist and retired Texas Parks and Wildlife resource specialist
Fort Jefferson: Gibralter of the Gulf, Dry Tortugas National Park
Located 70 miles due west of Key West, the Dry Tortugas are a series of keys scattered like loose pearls on the green breast of the gulf of Mexico. Discovered and named by Ponce de Leon in 1513, 7 islands or keys contained an abundance of sea turtles and an absence of fresh water. Once purchased by the United States, first a lighthouse, then a brick masonry fort was begun on Garden Key. Construction continued throughout the Civil War resulting in Fort Jefferson, the largest masonry structure in the western hemisphere. This is the story of that remote and isolated shore.
August 14
Douglas K. Boyd, Vice President, Prewitt and Associates, Inc.
History and Archeology of the First Capitol of the Republic of Texas
In conjunction with the proposed development of a historical park by a local nonprofit group, archeological and historical investigations were conducted on the site of the first capitol of the Republic of Texas in West Columbia, Texas. The work focused on Lot 4, Block 2 of the old Columbia townsite because it once contained a wooden structure used by the House of Representatives during the First Congress from October to December 1836. Archeologists from Prewitt and Associates, Inc. and the Brazosport Archaeological Society completed a week of field investigations at the site in December 2007. Mechanical and hand excavations exposed a brick-lined cistern filled with twentieth-century debris, several pit features containing nineteenth-century artifacts, numerous postholes, and scattered nineteenth- and twentieth-century artifacts. Following the field investigations, archival research was undertaken to define the legal history of this property and identify its historic uses. This work is revealing part of the story behind one of Texas' most important historical places -- the First Capitol of the Republic of Texas.
July 10
Members' update on TAS Field School.
June 12
No meeting. Texas Archeological Society excavations near Perryton, Texas.
May 8
Dr. Elliot Richmond, Professor of Astronomy at Austin Community College
Archaeoastronomy in Texas: Possibilities for the Future
I have always been interested in archaeoastronomy. Around the world, archaeoastronomy typically involves measuring the azimuths between standing stones, buildings, windows, walls, and similar structures. Few of those are applicable in Texas, so this talk will explore a few areas where archaeologists and astronomers might productively search for astronomical connections, if any exist.
April 10
Jonathan H. Jarvis, TexSite and Atlas Coordinator, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory
Cemetery, Cementerio: Architectural and Cultural Trends Evident in the Grave Markers at the Merrelltown Cemetery and Cementerio Guadalupe
Tombstones and other grave markers reflect broader patterns of architectural and cultural history. This presentation identifies diachronic trends evident in grave marker morphology at two historic cemeteries in central Texas: the Merrelltown Cemetery (41TV1716), a Protestant Anglo cemetery, and Cementerio Guadalupe (41CW108), a Mexican-American cemetery.
March 13
Dr. George Staff, Professor and Department Head, Environmental Science and Technology, Austin Community College
Carbon footprints
February 14
Mariah F. Wade, Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin
Missions for Hunter-Gatherers: Successes and Failures
January 10
Billy Atkins, City of Austin Office of Emergency Management
The 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic in Austin
2007
December
Holiday Social
November 8
Elizabeth Pintar, PhD, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Austin Community College
Archaeological Investigations at Salamanca Cave in the South Central Andes
October 11
Dr. D. Clark Wernecke, Research Associate, Texas Archeological Research
Forgotten Heroes of the Republic: A Grave from the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, May 9, 1846
In 1967 construction work exposed a mass grave of Mexican soldiers from the second battle of the Mexican War, Resaca de la Palma. Ongoing research is trying to discover the identities of these soldiers, what their life had been like and what that final day was like. The Mexican War has been overshadowed in our histories by the Civil War and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma has often been addressed in an offhand way. In fact, the battle was a pivotal one whose outcome could have dramatically changed history.
September 13
Joanne Carpenter
The Olmec: Through the Portable Portal and Beyond
Ritual objects held in the hands of Olmec statues, images, cave paintings, and many other depictions have not been identified as anything, except that useful archaeological catch-all, "ritual objects." I propose that these objects are more than just symbols, but served as subliminal portals thought to give access to other worlds to whomever possesses them. There are many examples of these "Portable Portals," but they have not been studied together as a group. I hypothesize that these hand held objects carry all the way through to the Maya and recent developments or findings suggest that these symbols may have been expressed in a syntax on a large stone slab found of Olmec origin.
Elliot Richmond, Ph.D
Astronomical alignments at Stonehenge and the purpose of the original structure
Most people view the standing stones an Stonehenge and step over the interesting and most ancient part of the structure. Several archaeoastronomers have detected alignments with important astronomical events among the standing stones, but I contend that it is not very useful for that purpose and has little practical value as an almanac or astronomical calculator. On the other hand, the original, 3500 year-old bank and ditch may have served as the basis for a system of precise "horizon astronomy" measurements that could have been used to predict the cycles of the seasons reliably and would have served as an almanac for the builders.
August 9th
Elliot Richmond, PhD. Adjunct Professor Astronomy, Austin Community College
Stonehenge and Astronomy
A brief look at the origin and evolution of the world's most famous megalithic monument and its possible astronomical connections.
July 12th
Members' update on TAS Field School.
June 14th
No meeting. Texas Archeological Society excavations at Presidio San Saba, Menard, Texas.
May 10th
Carly Whelan, University of Texas at Austin
Modeling the Coastal Migration Hypothesis
A new computer model of Pleistocene human migration down the west coast of the Americas is presented and discussed.
April 12th
Cynthia Shelmerdine, Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics, and Acting Chair of the Classics Department, University of Texas at Austin
Unearthing the Mycenaeans
Mycenaean Greece has attracted scholars and laymen alike since the work of Heinrich Schliemann in the late 19th century. Better excavation techniques and the decipherment of Linear B, the Mycenaean script, as Greek brought our understanding of this culture into focus during the 20th century. Recently archaeological survey and new ways of reading the Linear B tablets have allowed us to see beyond the Mycenaean elites, with their palaces and monumental tombs, and to form a better picture of the full range of Late Bronze Age society. This lecture covers the evolving study of Mycenaean Greece, including the lecturer's current work on the Iklaina Archaeological Project, directed by Michael Cosmopoulos of the Greek Archaeological Society and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
March 8th
Andrew Malof, archeologist, Lower Colorado River Authority
Data Recovery at 41CM25, the Locke Farm site, New Braunfels, Texas
Surrounding the head of Comal Springs, the Locke Farm Site was the location of
a prehistoric cemetery excavated by locals, the University of Texas and Harvard
University in the 1930s. Recent redevelopment efforts on portions of the site
then owned by LCRA resulted in mitigative work in an area where testing
demonstrated there was good potential for identification of prehistoric
activities. Investigations targeted an apparent sheet midden located about 50
cm below the ground surface that was associated with Middle Archaic dart
points. Underlying deposits appear to date to Early Archaic and perhaps
Paleoindian times. As with many Central Texas sites, data recovery was limited
largely to fire cracked rocks, chert tools and chipping debris. This talk
focuses on the analysis of snails from the recovery column and how they
informed on broad environmental trends, thus providing clues to human adaptive
behaviors.
February 8th
Art Tiemann, Austin Metal Detecting Club
History and Uses of Metal Detectors
A short history of metal detectors and an examination of what metal detectors can do -- and what they can't.
January 11th
Rachel Menegaz, eSkeletons Project, University of Texas at Austin, with Drs. Lauri McInnis Thompson and John Kappelman
Trauma and Death in the Austin Phase
A peak in the use of prehistoric cemeteries within central Texas during the Austin Phase (700-1250 BP) is accompanied by a rise in projectile point-inflicted skeletal traumas. Several individuals from the Loeve-Fox site (41WM230) suffered fatal injuries from associated Scallorn points. Reassessment of Individual 21 from the site, who was not previously thought to suffer point-related trauma, revealed an embedded point in the right inner knee. Additionally, high-resolution computed tomographic (CT) scans show lithic spalls embedded in the right lower leg and heel. We hypothesize that these lithic fragments result from an explosion of an improperly heated chert cobble.
Lana Martin, University of Texas at Austin
Variability in Texas Coastal Hunter-Gatherer Populations: An Analysis of the Crestmont Site (41WH39) Burial Inclusions
In recent decades, archaeological excavations in Central and South Texas have uncovered a rather unusual record of Middle and Late Archaic hunter-gatherer cemeteries. Why these cemeteries were created and what they might say about past social dynamics is unclear--to address these questions, this research explores variability in grave goods at the Crestmont site, a cemetery on the Texas Gulf Coast containing 31 burials.
2006
December
Holiday Social
November
Nick Morgan (Texas Archeological Stewardship Network)
The Joyful Horse Site (41BP691)
Joanne Carpenter (Red River Project)
Raising the Heroine
October
Kark Kibler (Prewitt and Associates)
Data Recovery Investigations at the Higginbotham Site (41ML195): A Late Archaic Site on the North Bosque River
September
Joseph Carter (UT)
The Chersonesos Project, 1992-2006
August
Jay Banner (UT)
Cave Deposits as Paleo-Environmental Records: Problems and Prospects
July
Paris in the Spring: Our Adventures at the 2006 TAS Field School. Program led by Carolyn Spock, TAS President.
June
No Meeting. Texas Archeological Society Field School near Paris, Texas.
May
Constanze Witt (UT)
Hard-Drinking Celtic Women
April
Dan Prikryl (LCRA) The Lower Colorado River Authority's Cultural Resource Program
March
Alan Skinner (AR Consultants) The Past and Future of the 2006 TAS Exploration of the Stallings Site
February
Video presentation: Spadework for History with Mott Davis, episodes IV:The Desert and VI:Salvaging Texas Prehistory
January
Sean R. Nash (UT) 41CM1: Data from the 1963 TAS Field School
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