Ceramic Sherd Assemblage from the Cherokee Lake Site (41RK132), Rusk County, Texas

The Cherokee Lake site (41RK132), also called the Tiawichi Creek Burial site, was discovered by Buddy Calvin Jones in 1956, on a terrace area along Tiawichi Creek at its confluence with Mill Creek, inundated by the construction of Lake Cherokee in 1947, that had been graded for the construction of fish hatcheries there. Tiawichi Creek is a tributary stream in the mid–Sabine River basin. Jones identified a single burial and a large storage pit in Area A at the southern end of the terrace, where there was a shallow (0–30 cm bs) midden deposit. The burial in Area A is an Historic Nadaco Caddo grave that probably dates to the early 18th century based on the recovery of 15 blue glass beads. This strand of beads was placed near the legs of the deceased individual. The Caddo person had been placed in an extended supine position in a pit that was 1.83 m long and 0.76 cm in width, with the head facing towards the west. The estimated depth of the grave was 0.76 m, and its fill was a dark charcoal–stained midden. In addition to the strand of glass beads, three ceramic vessels had been placed as funerary offerings in the grave along with a Fresno arrow point by the upper left leg. One Simms Engraved vessel was on the left side of the body, near the foot of the grave, while a second Simms Engraved vessel had been placed by the individual’s right foot, along with a Maydelle Incised jar. A plain clay elbow pipe had been placed inside the jar. A storage pit excavated by Jones in Area A at the Cherokee Lake site appears to have been primarily associated with a pre–A.D. 1200 Caddo occupation, based on the recovery of Hickory Engraved and Dunkin Incised pottery sherds, long–stemmed Red River clay pipe sherds, and Catahoula, Alba, and Bonham arrow points. This occupation probably created the midden deposits found in Area A. In this article, I discuss ceramic sherds collected by Jones from Area A at the Cherokee Lake site. Some of the sherds were surface collected in March 1956 from the midden deposits, but it is not clear if this ceramic sherd assemblage is part of the sample of 300 sherds discussed by Jones from an Area A surface collection. The present ceramic sherd assemblage is curated at the Gregg County Historical Museum (GCHM).

Documentation of Archaeological Materials from the Cherokee Lake Site (41RK132), Rusk County, Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2012.1.20 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula

Keyword(s):

Supine Position ◽

18Th Century ◽

Glass Beads ◽

The Body ◽

The West ◽

Archaeological Materials ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

Lake Site ◽

Early 18Th Century ◽

Deceased Individual

The Cherokee Lake site was discovered by Buddy Calvin Jones in 1956, after a terrace area along Tiawichi Creek, inundated by the construction of Lake Cherokee in 1947, had been graded for the constmction of fish hatcheries there. Jones identified a single burial and a large storage pit in Area A at the southern end of the terrace, where there was a shallow (0-30 em bs) midden deposit. The burial in Area A is an Historic Nadaco Caddo grave that probably dates to the early 18th century based on the recovery of 15 blue glass beads. This strand of beads was placed near the legs of the deceased individual. The Caddo person had been placed in an extended supine position in a pit that was 1.83 m long and 0.76 em in width, with the head facing towards the west. The estimated depth of the grave was 0.76 m, and its fill was a dark charcoal-stained midden. In addition to the strand of glass beads, three ceramic vessels had been placed as funerary offerings in the grave along with a Fresno arrow point by the upper left leg. One Simms Engraved vessel was on the left side of the body, near the foot of the grave, while a second Simms Engraved vessel had been placed by the individual's right foot, along with a Maydelle Incised jar. A plain clay elbow pipe had been placed inside the jar. Two of the vessels from this burial have been recently documented in the collections of the Gregg County Historical Museum in Longview, Texas; the Maydelle Incised vessel is no longer in the collection.

Ceramic Sherds from the Millsey Williamson Site (41RK3), Rusk County, Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2016.1.87 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

18Th Century ◽

Glass Beads ◽

The Body ◽

East Side ◽

Alluvial Terrace ◽

Unknown Number ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

Reducing Environment ◽

Sabine River

The Millsey Williamson site (41RK3) is an 18th century Nadaco Caddo settlement and cemetery situated on an alluvial terrace on the east side of Martin Creek in the Sabine River basin. Some portions of the site are now covered by the waters of Martin Creek Lake, constructed in the 1970s. The site was first investigated in the 1930s, when at least 11 historic Caddo burials were excavated in the cemetery at the western end of the landform. Buddy Calvin Jones excavated a disturbed historic burial at the site in 1955, and also occasionally collected glass beads from the surface of the site. The funerary offerings placed with this disturbed burial were not clearly enumerated by Jones, as his description of artifacts from the site included artifacts he examined in several other collections. He did note 275 sherds from the surface of the site and 12 whole or restored ceramic vessels from an unknown number of burials. Most of these sherds were recorded by Jones as being grog– (52 percent) or bone–tempered (43 percent), but 4 percent were tempered with shell. Perttula and Nelson recently documented 11 vessels from the Millsey Williamson site in the collections of the Gregg County Historical Museum (GCHM). These vessels include a Emory Punctated–Incised (shell– tempered) collared jar; a Maydelle Incised jar; a Bullard Brushed jar; a jar with brushing only on the body; a Ripley Engraved, var. unspecified carinated bowl; Simms Incised carinated bowl; two unidentified engraved carinated bowls with a continuous stepped rectilinear scroll design; a carinated bowl with a sprocket rim with a continuous negative scroll design; a carinated bowl with diagonal opposed and cross–hatched engraved lines on the rim; and a plain olla. The ceramic vessels are of diverse manufacture, form, and decorative methods. Most are carinated bowls and jars tempered with grog and bone, and fired in a reducing environment, and the former are decorated with engraved lines, while the latter are decorated incised, punctated, or brushed utility wares. On their own stylistic merits, none of these vessels in the GCHM collections is that of a recognizable Historic Caddo type, such as Natchitoches Engraved, Simms Engraved, var. Darco, or Keno Trailed, and in fact, most of these vessels cannot be identified as examples of specific types. The vessels that can be typed include Emory Punctated–Incised, Maydelle Incised, and Bullard Brushed jars and a Ripley Engraved, var. unspecified carinated bowl; one vessel has been dubbed Simms Incised because it is of a form and decorative style that matches Simms Engraved, except the motif is executed with incised lines. Also recovered from the site were clay and limonite pipes, ochre and vermillion, animal teeth, glass beads, metal gun parts, gun flints, iron knives, iron arrow points, and awls in the Millsey Williamson collection. There were also a variety of brass objects: a brass tinkler, coils, hawk bells, and unworked pieces of sheet brass.

Glass Beads from Kinsloe Focus Sites in Gregg, Harrison, and Rusk Counties, Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2014.1.54 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula ◽

Robert Z. Selden

Keyword(s):

18Th Century ◽

Glass Beads ◽

Large Measure ◽

Chipped Stone ◽

Late 18Th Century ◽

Wide Range ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

European Trade ◽

Sabine River ◽

European glass beads are one of the most common artifact categories found on historic Caddo sites in the middle reaches of the Sabine River basin in East Texas on what Jones had dubbed Kinsloe focus sites. Several thousands beads were found by Jones in his investigation of burial features at these sites, along with other European trade goods and Caddo ceramic vessels, pipes, and chipped stone tools. In Jones’ description of the beads from the Kinsloe focus sites, he relied on the analytical and chronological interpretations of John Witthoft, then of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, although he did seek the advice of R. K. Harris, a notable glass beads expert who had worked on numerous historic Caddo and Wichita sites in eastern and northern Texas. Witthoft’s interpretations of the age of the beads from the sites tended to suggest that the Kinsloe focus sites dated to the early 17th century—when beads of such types tended to date in aboriginal sites in the Northeast U.S.—while Harris suggested that the glass beads on the Kinsloe focus sites dated from no earlier than the early 18th century, and likely dated in several cases after ca. A.D. 1750. Given the likely late 17th to late 18th century ages of the engraved ceramic vessels found on the Kinsloe focus sites, based in large measure on their occurrence on a wide range of Historic Caddo sites, Harris’ temporal interpretations of the glass bead assemblages are consistent with these ceramic temporal ranges, and thus the Kinsloe focus sites are seen as indicative of Caddo settlements postdating the beginning of intensive contact between Europeans and Caddo peoples that began after A.D. 1685.

The Millsey Williamson (41RK3), Bead Burial, and L. N. Morwell Farm Sites on Martin Creek: Historic Caddo Settlements along Trammels Trace, Rusk County, Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2014.1.56 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula ◽

Bo Nelson

Keyword(s):

18Th Century ◽

Glass Beads ◽

East Texas ◽

East Side ◽

Historic Sites ◽

Alluvial Terrace ◽

Burial Site ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

Available Information ◽

Sabine River

There are collections of ceramic vessels and other artifacts from the Millsey Williamson (41RK3), Bead Burial, and L. N. Morwell sites in the Buddy Jones collection at the Gregg County Historical Museum. The purpose of this article is to put the documentation of these collections on record, as this documentation provides previously unavailable detailed information on the material content of probable 18th century Nadaco Caddo/Kinsloe phase historic sites in East Texas. Based on the limited available information from the Bead Burial and L. N. Morwell Farm sites, it is probable that all three sites are different names for the same Historic Caddo site situated along the Rusk and Panola County line in East Texas on Trammel’s Trace that was reported on by Jones. The Bead Burial site is reported to be ca. 5 miles south of Tatum along the Rusk-Panola County line, and the Millsey Williamson site is well known for the quantity of glass trade beads found there. The L. M. Morwell Farm site was excavated by C. W. Bailey in 1940, and a tag accompanying two ceramic vessels recovered from a Burial 4 at the site describe it as “Rusk Co. Martin Creek old trading post on Trammels trace.” Jones indicates that the Millsey Williamson site is an 18th century Nadaco Caddo settlement and cemetery situated on an alluvial terrace on the east side of Martin Creek, a northward-flowing tributary to the Sabine River. Some portions of the site are now covered by the waters of Martin Creek Lake, constructed in the 1970s. The site was first known in the 1930s, when at least 11 historic Caddo burials were excavated in the cemetery at the western end of the landform, and there was a habitation/village area on the highest part of the landform, east of the cemetery. Jones excavated a disturbed historic burial at the site in 1955, and also occasionally collected glass beads from the surface of the site. The funerary offerings placed with this disturbed burial are not clearly enumerated by Jones, as his description of artifacts from the site includes artifacts he examined in several other collections. He did note 275 sherds from the surface of the site and 12 whole or restored ceramic vessels from an unknown number of burials (Jones 1968:Table 1). Most of these sherds were grog- (52%) or bone-tempered (43%), but 4% were tempered with shell. There were also clay and limonite pipes, ochre and vermillion, animal teeth, glass beads, metal gun parts, gun flints, iron knives, iron arrow points and awls, and a variety of brass objects: a brass tinkler, coils, hawk bells, and unworked pieces of sheet brass.

Caddo Ceramic Sherd Assemblage from a Hearth Feature at the Cherokee Lake Site (41RK132) in Rusk County, Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2016.1.83 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula

Keyword(s):

18Th Century ◽

Ceramic Sherd ◽

Lake Site ◽

There is a collection of plain and decorated ceramic sherds in the Gregg County Historical Museum from a feature, described as either a fire pit or a hearth, excavated by Buddy Calvin Jones in March 1956 at the Cherokee Lake site (41RK132) on Toawichi Creek in northern Rusk County, Texas. This assemblage is discussed in this article. The Cherokee Lake site is best known for its early 18th century Nadaco Caddo component, but it also has a Middle Caddo period (ca. A.D. 1200–1400) component. In Jones’ discussion of work he conducted at the Cherokee Lake site, he mentions the excavation of an Historic Caddo burial as well as a large “refuse pit” of prehistoric age, both in Area A of the site. The excavation of a fire pit or hearth in any area at the site is not mentioned by Jones, but it seems likely that the “fire pit/hearth” may be the same feature as the aforementioned refuse pit. In any case, this “fire pit/hearth” feature at the Cherokee Lake site contained a considerable number of plain and decorated ceramic sherds, as did the “refuse pit.” According to Jones, the refuse pit had “Hickory Engraved, Dunkin Incised, variant types, unidentified types of punctated and incised wares,” as well as a small Bullard Brushed jar, a fragment of a second Bullard Brushed jar, both from the upper part of the pit, and fragments of a plain bowl from the floor of the pit.

Archaeological Findings from an Historic Caddo Site (41AN184) in Anderson County, Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2010.1.24 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

18Th Century ◽

Glass Beads ◽

East Texas ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

European Trade ◽

Neches River ◽

This article reports on the archaeological findings from a Historic Caddo site (41AN184)1 in the upper Neches River basin in Anderson County, in East Texas. The site was found in about 1960 by Ron Green (of Rockdale, Texas) when he was a teenager. In 2007, he donated the collection of artifacts to the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, noting that “[n]othing can undo what has been done, but I know that the Caddo Nation will ensure these artifacts are given the proper respect and honor they would get no where else”. The artifacts donated by Mr. Green are from a late 17th to early 18th century Caddo site, and includes European trade goods (glass beads) as well as Caddo manufactured objects (including ceramic vessels and arrow points), which are rarely found on Caddo sites in the upper Neches River basin.

The Sanders Site (41LR2): A Middle to Historic Caddo Settlement and Mound Center on the Red River in Lamar County, Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2015.1.65 ◽

2015 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula ◽

Bo Nelson ◽

Mark Walters ◽

Robert Z. Selden

Keyword(s):

18Th Century ◽

Stone Tools ◽

Red River ◽

University Of Texas ◽

Archaeological Work ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

European Trade ◽

The University ◽

Sabine River ◽

The T. M. Sanders site (41LR2) is one of the more important (although still not well known or intensively studied) ancestral Caddo sites known in East Texas, primarily because of its two earthen mounds and the well-preserved mortuary features of Caddo elite persons buried in Mound No. 1 (the East Mound). Archaeological work began at the site in 1931 by The University of Texas at Austin, with sporadic work by members of the Dallas Archeological Society in the 1940s and 1950s. Archaeological and bioarchaeological interpretations of the findings from this work at the Sanders site began with Krieger’s analyses of the burial features and associated funerary objects (including marine shell gorgets, shell beads, arrow points, and ceramic vessels). These analyses and studies continue to the present day, and rely upon the reanalysis and reinterpretation of the archaeological and bioarchaeological materials recovered in the Pearce and Jackson and Jackson's work. Although the Sanders site is not dated by radiocarbon analyses, the general consensus is that the main Caddo occupation took place around ca. A.D. 1100-1300, contemporaneous with related sites downstream along the Red River near its confluence with the Kiamichi River, and other sites in the Sabine River basin. A late 17th-early 18th century Caddo occupation is also present at the Sanders site, but remains poorly known. Harris and Harris commented that European “trade material is exceptionally scarce” at the Sanders site, but they do note that 478 glass beads had been found at the site. Harris had previously stated that several Caddo burials with European trade goods had been found along Bois d’Arc Creek south of Mound No. 2, the larger or West Mound. According to Edward B. Jelks, an Historic Caddo area investigated by Lester Wilson (an avocational archaeologist from Wylie, Texas) was about 100 m south of the two mounds at the Sanders site. This may be one of the areas identified by Jackson between ca. 90-150 m south of the mounds where he noted concentrations of triangular arrow points, small end scrapers, flint awls, and other stone tools. A 1971 map in the TARL files drawn by Dee Ann Story locates the historic Caddo settlement east of Bois d’Arc Creek and south of Mound No. 2.

Caddo Ceramic Vessels from the Eli Moores Site (41BW2), Bowie County, Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2016.1.68 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula

Keyword(s):

18Th Century ◽

Red River ◽

Faunal Remains ◽

East Texas ◽

University Of Texas ◽

Lithic Assemblage ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

The University ◽

Early 18Th Century ◽

Habitation Site

The Eli Moores site (41BW2) is an important ancestral Caddo mound center and habitation site on the Red River in the East Texas Pineywoods, likely part of the Nasoni Caddo village visited by the Teran de los Rios entrada in 1691. The Eli Moores site is situated on a natural levee of the Red River, currently about 2.5 km north of the site. The site, occupied from the 17th to the early 18th century, may have been the residence of the Caddi of the Nasoni Caddo when it was visited by the French and Spanish, and the Xinesi lived in a temple on the mound at the nearby Hatchel site (41BW3). The site was investigated by the University of Texas in 1932, and in one of the mounds and in associated midden deposits, the remains of Caddo structures, midden deposits, features, eight burials (with nine individuals), and a large ceramic and lithic assemblage were recovered, along with well-preserved plant and faunal remains.

The Indian Springs #2 Site(41BW512): A Late 18th Century Kadahadacho Settlement in Northeast Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2005.1.22 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula

Keyword(s):

18Th Century ◽

Ground Surface ◽

Glass Beads ◽

Current Channel ◽

Burned Soil ◽

Late 18Th Century ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

Anglo American ◽

East West ◽

Dark Soil

The Indian Springs #2 site (41BW512) is on a high alluvial terrace or bluff edge (330 ft. amsl), overlooking the Red River floodplain and Hubbard Slough, an old channel of the river. The current channel of the river is ca. 1.6 km north of the site. The site appears to be a late 18th century Kadohadacho settlement with a small cemetery, although there is evidence in the collections known to have come from it that it was also occupied in Archaic and Early Caddo times (ca. A.D. 900-1200) as well as in the early to mid-19'h century. The site was discovered by the landowner, Mr. Julian Cranfill during earth-moving activities associated with construction of a pond. When European glass beads were noted by Mr. Cranfill on the disturbed ground surface, he began a limited excavation of the area where the beads were found, attempting to ascertain their context and what other kinds of artifacts may be associated with them. He excavated a circular area about 3-4 m in diameter along the eastern side of the bluff, on a small knoll. During this work, he documented three obvious cultural features and a dark charcoal-stained patch of burned soil that may represent remnants of a shallowly-buried burned structure. Feature I and II are burials of Caddo people, and both had European glass beads and pottery vessels placed in the grave as funerary objects. Feature III is a pit that contained butchered hog jaws; it may be associated with the later 19tb century Anglo-American farm occupation also present at the site. The Feature I burial pit was oriented east-west, and was the size of a child or subadult burial. The burial pit extended to ca. 66 em bs, and the bottom 2-5 em of the pit fill was a very dark soil. This soil is probably the product of firing episodes associated with Caddo burial ceremonies. There was a large concentration of glass beads at the eastern end of the burial, probably from necklaces of beads that were worn by the deceased. More than 3000 beads came from this area, along with a few preserved teeth, and three ceramic vessels. Feature II was a larger burial pit, probably that of an adult Caddo, oriented almost north-south. According to Mr. Cranfill, there were four ceramic vessels, more than 430 glass beads, and five triangular Fresno arrow points accompanying this individual.

The Ceramic Sherd Assemblage from the C. D. Marsh Site (41HS269) in Harrison County, Texas

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/.ita.2016.1.80 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy K. Perttula ◽

Mark Walters ◽

Patti Haskins

Keyword(s):

Alluvial Terrace ◽

Ceramic Vessel ◽

Marsh Site ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

Ceramic Sherd ◽

The Subject ◽

Sabine River

The C. D. Marsh site (41HS269) is an ancestral Caddo settlement and cemetery on Eight Mile Creek, a southwestward–flowing tributary to the Sabine River in southeastern Harrison County, Texas. It is on an alluvial terrace about 1.6 km from the confluence of Eight Mile Creek and the Sabine River. Buddy Calvin Jones discovered the site in January 1958, and he estimated that the habitation area covered ca. 1–2 acres, with substantial midden deposits. Jones collected a substantial sample of plain and decorated ceramic vessel sherds (n=1736) from the habitation deposits (Jones 1968:96), in addition to a number of ceramic vessels and other funerary offerings from Caddo burial features. A subset of this reported sherd assemblage has been identified in the collections of the Gregg County Historical Museum, and the 2015 analysis of that sherd sample is the subject of this article.