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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.

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.

A multisensor geophysical investigation of portions of the Pine Tree Mound site (41HS15) located in Harrison County, Texas, was conducted prior to large-scale block excavations there. The investigation included electrical resistance, magnetic field gradient, and ground-penetrating radar surveys. The geophysical survey and subsequent excavations were undertaken in an effort to mitigate the effects of coal mining operations on the site. This article presents the results of our geophysical investigations and describes an online data analysis tool created with the intention of simplifying interpretation of these complex multivariate data and making these data available to a broad audience. The article also compares the geophysical signal response with excavation results from the site. Sources of uncertainty in both data sets are discussed, and possible reasons for observed incongruities between the geophysical and excavation data are explored. We end by making recommendations for innovative ground tru...

This report describes archeological efforts done under six work orders for the development of Yanaguana Garden at HemisFair Park in downtown San Antonio, Texas. All of the projects were done by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI), for Adams Environmental, Inc. (AEI), and the City of San Antonio, Transportation and Capital Improvements (CoSA-TCI), under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 6846 (issued April 14, 2014). As described below, the Yanaguana Garden project is the first phase of a planned redevelopment of HemisFair Park for mixed-use purposes. Planning for how to deal with cultural resources during this redevelopment began in 2012 when PAI prepared two reports summarizing known archeological and historical resources and providing recommendations for future work (Dase 2013; Fields and McWilliams 2012). Almost all of the subsequent work reported here dealt strictly with the permitted archeological investigations, with limited effort going toward historical resources under a single work order.

Register of Historic Places and State Antiquities Landmark testing of 11 prehistoric sites that will be impacted by construction of the proposed U.S. Highway 271 relief route around Mount Pleasant in Titus County, Texas. The work was done in 2005 for the Texas Department of Transportation’s Environmental Affairs Division under Contract No. 575XXSA006, Work Authorization No. 57501SA006. This research design provides support for a scope of work for testing, prepared as a separate document. The primary relevant historic context for future work on this project is The Development of Agriculture in Northeast Texas Before a.d. 1600 (Kenmotsu and Perttula 1993). Significant information on all nine study units defined for that context (chronology and typology, settlement systems, subsistence systems, social and political complexity, demographic change, mortuary practices, local and extralocal trade and exchange, technological change, and material culture) may be recovered. The overall project goal is to identify and explore Caddo community structure, with an emphasis on behavior and how people interacted and organized space at different spatial scales, including within single houses, on individual house lots, within villages, between one or more contemporaneous villages, and as villages and other components of the settlement system (e.g., field houses, mounds, cemeteries, agricultural fields, ceremonial centers).

The entrada into Texas of the Hernando de Solo expedition in July 1542, which was led by Luis de Moscoso after de Soto's 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.

This document constitutes the final report of work done by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI), under a contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to provide archeological services in four TxDOT districts—Abilene, Brownwood, Fort Worth, and Waco. Under this contract, PAI completed Impact Evaluations and Surveys to assist TxDOT in meeting the requirements of their Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Historical Commission and a Programmatic Agreement between the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Historical Commission, and TxDOT. The contract began on 26 September 2003. A total of 77 projects were conducted. The 77 projects consisted of 25 Impact Evaluations and 52 Surveys. Combined, these entailed efforts at 52 bridge replacements, 14 road realignment or widening projects (many also involving bridge replacements), 1 new road construction project, 1 hike-and-bike trail construction project, 5 projects involving upgrading or replacing existing culverts, 1 project involving construction of drainage improvements, 2 unspecified road maintenance or improvement projects, and 1 project involving replacement of an interstate highway interchange. Of the 25 Impact Evaluations done, 8 led to recommendations that survey could be needed before construction. In 4 cases, the need for survey depended on whether new right of way would be acquired, which was unknown when the Impact Evaluations were done. The other 17 Impact Evaluations resulted in recommendations that no survey be required before construction based on the limited potential for sites with good integrity. Of the 52 Surveys done under this contract, 9 investigated six newly recorded and four previously recorded sites; eight of the sites are prehistoric, and two are of historic age. Four prehistoric sites were recommended for testing to assess eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and designation as State Archeological Landmarks, and one historic site was recommended for archival and oral history research. The other 43 Surveys did not find any archeological sites. All artifacts collected and records generated by projects done under this contract are curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL), The University of Texas at Austin. Artifacts were collected from five sites (41BQ285, 41CV1636, 41HM53, 41LT307, and 41SV4). Those from 41HM53 and 41SV4 are from State-owned lands and thus are curated in a held-in-trust status at TARL. The artifacts from 41BQ285, 41CV1636, and 41LT307 are from private lands and are curated in a non-held-in-trust status.

This document constitutes the final report of work done by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI), under a contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to provide archeological services in seven TxDOT districts—Abilene, Austin, Brownwood, Bryan, Fort Worth, Waco, and Yoakum. Under this contract, PAI completed Impact Evaluations and Surveys to assist TxDOT in meeting the requirements of their Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Historical Commission and a Programmatic Agreement among the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Historical Commission, and TxDOT. The contract began on 21 September 2001, and the last work authorization was issued on 15 September 2003. During those two years, fieldwork was done under 96 work authorizations. The 97 work authorizations consisted of 94 Impact Evaluations, 74 Surveys, and 14 Surveys with Geoarcheological Evaluation. Combined, these work authorizations entailed efforts at 128 bridge replacements, 40 road realignments or widening projects (many also involving bridge replacements), 5 new road construction projects, 4 hike-and-bike trail construction projects, 4 rest area construction projects, 3 projects involving upgrades to 9 existing bridges or culverts, 2 projects where new borrow pits are planned, 2 projects involving relocation of historic bridges to public parks, 1 project involving construction of 2 new bridges, 1 project involving replacement of an interstate highway interchange, and 1 project involving establishment of a wetland mitigation area. During completion of these work authorizations, 43 newly discovered or previously recorded archeological sites were investigated, although in the case of 14 previously recorded sites, no archeological remains were observed in the areas that will be affected by the proposed Transportation Activities. Twenty-three of the Impact Evaluations led to recommendations that survey could be needed before construction, in some cases depending on whether new right of way would be required. Based on the limited potential for sites with good integrity, the other 71 Impact Evaluations resulted in recommendations that no survey be required before construction. Twenty-two of the Surveys investigated a total of 17 newly recorded and 9 previously recorded sites. Of these 26 sites, 6 were recommended for testing to assess eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and designation as State Archeological Landmarks. The other 82 Surveys either did not find any archeological sites or investigated sites that could be assessed as ineligible for National Register listing and State Archeological Landmark designation using the survey data. All artifacts collected and records generated by projects done under this contract are curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL), The University of Texas at Austin. Artifacts were collected from four sites. Those from 41GM3 are from state-owned lands and thus are curated in a held-in-trust status at TARL. The artifacts from 41BU51, 41BU54, and 41LE325 are from private lands and are curated in a non-held-in-trust status.

This document constitutes the final report of work done by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI), under a contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to provide archeological services in four TxDOT districts—Corpus Christi, Laredo, Pharr, and San Antonio. Under this contract, PAI completed Impact Evaluations and Surveys to assist TxDOT in meeting the requirements of their Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Historical Commission and a Programmatic Agreement between the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Historical Commission, and TxDOT. The contract began on March 17, 2003, and the last work authorization was issued on February 17, 2005. During those two years, fieldwork was done under 33 work authorizations. The 33 work authorizations consisted of 53 Impact Evaluations, 33 Surveys, and 2 Surveys with Geoarcheological Evaluation. Combined, these work authorizations entailed efforts at 47 bridge replacements, 4 bridge rehabilitation projects, 2 locations where new bridges will be built, 20 road rehabilitation or widening projects (many also involving bridge replacements or upgrades), 1 interstate highway rest area replacement, 3 drainage improvement projects, 2 curve realignment projects, 3 projects involving construction of new roads, 1 project involving construction of a railroad grade separation, 1 pedestrian bridge construction project, 1 project involving construction of a water taxi landing, 1 project involving construction of a hike-and-bike trail, 1 project involving modification of a highway interchange, and 1 project involving documentation of an archeological site disturbed by placement of a buried utility line. During completion of these work authorizations, 26 newly discovered or previously recorded archeological sites were investigated, although in the case of 9 previously recorded sites, no archeological remains were observed in the areas that will be impacted by the proposed Transportation Activities. Three of the Impact Evaluations led to recommendations that survey could be needed before construction, in some cases depending on whether new right of way would be required. The other 50 Impact Evaluations resulted in recommendations that no survey be required before construction based on the limited potential for sites with good integrity. Thirteen of the Surveys investigated a total of 3 newly recorded and 12 previously recorded sites. Of these 15 sites, 1 was considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and designation as a State Archeological Landmark, and 1 was recommended as needing testing to assess eligibility. The other 33 Surveys either did not find any archeological sites, or they investigated sites that could be assessed as ineligible for National Register listing and State Archeological Landmark designation using the survey data. The records and artifacts generated by the project are curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory.

This document constitutes the final report of work done by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI), under a contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to provide archeological services in four TxDOT districts—Bryan, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and Yoakum— in east-central and south-central Texas. Under this contract, PAI completed Impact Evaluations and Surveys to assist TxDOT in meeting the requirements of their Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Historical Commission and a Programmatic Agreement between the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Historical Commission, and TxDOT. The contract began on 8 February 2000 and concluded on 8 February 2002. During these two years, 46 work orders were completed. The 46 work orders consisted of 71 Impact Evaluations, 20 Surveys, 5 Surveys with Geoarcheological Evaluations, and 1 work order to produce this report. Combined, these work orders entailed efforts at 58 bridge replacements, 16 projects involving primarily road widening or realignment, and 1 project consisting of creation of a wetland mitigation area. During completion of these work orders, five newly discovered or previously recorded archeological sites were investigated. Fifteen of the Impact Evaluations led to a recommendation that an archeological survey be completed before construction. The remaining 56 Impact Evaluations resulted in a recommendation that no survey be required based on the extent of disturbance and the limited potential for sites with good integrity. Three of the Surveys investigated sites that were recommended for testing to assess eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and designation as State Archeological Landmarks. The other 22 Surveys either did not find any archeological sites or investigated sites that could be assessed as ineligible for National Register listing and State Archeological Landmark designation using the survey data.

This document constitutes the final report of work done by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI), under a contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to provide archeological services in five TxDOT districts—Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, Paris, and Waco—in northeast, north-central, and central Texas. Under this contract, PAI completed Impact Evaluations and Surveys to assist TxDOT in meeting the requirements of their Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Historical Commission and a Programmatic Agreement between the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Historical Commission, and TxDOT. The contract began on 31 August 1998 and concluded on 31 August 2000. During these two years, 41 work orders were completed. The 41 work orders consisted of 119 Impact Evaluations, 21 Surveys, 3 Surveys with Geoarcheological Evaluation, 1 work order for a quality control meeting with TxDOT, and 1 work order to produce this report. Combined, these work orders entailed efforts at 151 bridge or relief structure replacements, 14 projects involving primarily road widening or realignment (most with bridge replacements as well), and 1 project consisting of construction of an exit ramp. During completion of these work orders, 16 newly discovered or previously recorded archeological sites and 1 possible site were investigated. Fourteen of the Impact Evaluations resulted in a recommendation that an archeological survey be completed prior to construction. In 69 additional Impact Evaluations for which specific constructions were not available, survey was recommended if areas outside the existing right of way, or below the zone of disturbance within the existing right of way, will be disturbed substantially. The remaining 36 Impact Evaluations resulted in a recommendation that no survey be required based on the extent of disturbance and the limited potential for sites with good integrity. Three of the Surveys investigated sites that were recommended for testing to assess eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and designation as State Archeological Landmarks. On two other surveys, it was recommended that charcoal recovered be radiocarbon dated to aid in making the decision about whether testing is needed. The other 19 Surveys either did not find any archeological sites or investigated sites that could be assessed as ineligible for National Register listing and State Archeological Landmark designation using the survey data.

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.

This report summarizes and synthesizes the results of cultural resources efforts sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, at Cooper Lake in Delta and Hopkins Counties, Texas. The work described was carried out between 1951 and 1994 and involved numerous projects aimed at inventorying the resources, assessing their eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, and further investigating those found to contain important data. The report consists of four chapters and four appendixes. Chapter 1 describes the environmental setting and summarizes the history of the cultural resources efforts. Chapter 2 describes the prehistoric site database. Chapter 3 is a topically organized synthesis of the information from the prehistoric sites. The appendixes contain an inventory of all known sites at Cooper Lake, a list of all radiocarbon dates from the project area, a discussion of additional dates obtained during this project, and an analysis of the human remains from the project area.

This booklet provides an overview of what was learned as a result of cultural resources investigations funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, at Cooper Lake in Delta and Hopkins Counties, Texas. It is aimed at the general public and is intended to highlight some of the more interesting aspects of the prehistoric and historic archeology.

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. Significant 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.

Stockton and Pomme de Terre lakes are located in Cedar, Dade, Hickory and Polk counties, Missouri. This project involved intensive survey of approximately 630 acres at Pomme de Terre Lake and 1,960 acres at Stockton Lake, constituting 38.63% and 35.49% samples of the Fish and Wildlife management lands. The purpose of this project was to identify and record all archeological sites within the areas examined and to conduct investigations as appropriate for evaluation of these resources under the National Register of Historic Places criteria of eligibility. The survey located 68 archeological and historic sites. This report provides information concerning the environmental setting and culture history of the project areas and summarizes previous cultural resources investigations undertaken in the project vicinity. Keywords: Ozark uplands, Environmental study.

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.