scholarly journals Data Recovery at Justiceburg Reservior (Lake Alan Henry), Garza and Kent Counties, Texas: Phase III, Season 1

1992 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Data Recovery ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
Petrographic Analysis ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
National Register ◽  
Channel Current ◽  
Climatic Regime

Phase III data recovery investigations at one historic and three prehistoric sites, augmented by additional survey and off-site geological investigations, were conducted at Lake Alan Henry (formerly Justiceburg Reservoir) on the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River in Garza and Kent counties, Texas, during the fall and winter of 1990-1991. Descriptive data from this first of three field seasons of data recovery are presented here in anticipation of a final synthetic report that will relate all the investigations to a series of research design hypotheses. Analysis of surface distributions at 41KT42, a late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century ranch line camp known locally as the Ed Scott Cabin, groups the artifacts into material and functional categories that demonstrate primary and secondary refuse accumulations adjacent to the cabin. The distribution of primary refuse shows kitchen artifacts are spatially distinct from other types that include architectural, firearm, ranching, clothing, and personal items. The primary discard pattern is obfuscated by redistribution attributed to secondary refuse discard. The uppermost of two superimposed hearths at 41GR484, the Grape Creek Bench Site, is radiocarbon dated to 260 B.P. and yielded charcoal identified as Carya sp. Excavations were halt~d at this Late Prehistoric II site because of extremely low artifact recovery. Geoarcheological investigations demonstrate that most of the site has been destroyed by cut bank erosion associated with the meanderings of Grape Creek. At 41KT33, the Late Prehistoric I South Sage Creek Site, stone-lined hearth features dated to 1005 B.P. are surrounded by clusters of artifacts. Petrographic analysis of brownware ceramics suggests affiliations with the local Palo Duro Complex and nonlocally with the Pecos River valley. The Gobbler Creek Bridge Site, 4IGR383, spans the late Archaic and Late Prehistoric I periods. Intact· and dispersed stone-lined hearths radiocarbon dated to 1865-1215 B.P. are surrounded by artifact clusters. Both of the sites appear to have been multifunctional campsites, and repeated occupations are likely. Dense concentrations of fire-cracked rocks at these sites may represent secondary refuse disposal. Lithic analysis indicates extensive use of nonlocal materials derived from Cretaceous formations that occur in the Callahan Divide and Edwards Plateau to the south. Freshwater mussels are the only faunal remains recovered from either of these sites. The meat is presumed to have been consumed as food, while the shells sometimes were made into ornaments. An additional 440 acres of land were surveyed for cultural resources; 360 of these acres were subsequently acquired by the City of Lubbock for use as wildlife mitigation lands. Nine prehistoric archeological sites and one isolated find were documented and evaluated for their eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Five of these sites are considered to be ineligible for listing on the National Register, and five are potentially eligible for listing. Avoidance is recommended at these five sites, with testing recommended to determine their National Register eligibility if avoidance is not possible. Geological investigations provide information about depositional environments in and near the archeological sites. Two soils buried in the Double Mountain Fork floodplain are radiocarbon dated to 8~00 B.P. and 1700-1300 B.P.; fluvial sediments extend as much as 15 m below these soils in portions of the floodplain. An older terrace previously was identified 18 m above the modem river channel. Current work obtained a terminal date of 8690 B.P. from a buried soil that caps this older terrace. Another radiocarbon date of 3320 B.P. was obtained from fill in a gully that is eroded into the older terrace. These dates bracket an erosional episode when the older terrace was heavily dissected. The erosion coincides with the Altithermal, a period believed to have been characterized by a hot and dry climatic regime.

scholarly journals Data Recovery at Lake Alan Henry (Justiceburg Reservior), Garza and Kent Counties, Texas: Phase III, Season 3

1994 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Data Recovery ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Protohistoric Period ◽  
Wood Frame ◽  
Plant Processing ◽  
Processing And Storage

The third and final season of Phase III data recovery at Lake Alan Henry (formerly Justiceburg Reservoir), located on the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River in Garza and Kent counties, Texas, was conducted during the fall of 1992. The work consisted of intensive archeological investigations at one historic site and four prehistoric sites. Subsequent to the Season 3 data recovery fieldwork, a newly discovered rock art site (41KTl64) was documented. The historic component at 41GR474 consists of a dugout depression and the ruins of a wood frame house and related complex of ranching structures. It was the homestead of Jeff Justice, Sr., who platted the community of Justiceburg in 1910. The Justice family lived in the dugout from 1900-1907. Excavations revealed a typical Plains-style half dugout with upper walls of native sandstone, a roof superstructure of juniper logs, and a sandstone fireplace. Artifacts and features on and near the floor include items from the dugout occupation period, but most represent a short episode (ca. 1907-1910) of reuse as a multifunctional workshop. Numerous artifacts in the upper fill are typical of early twentieth-century household debris and indicate use of the abandoned dugout for trash disposal. The Sam Wahl site (41GR29l) yielded an isolated secondary, cairn-covered interment of an adult male radiocarbon dated to A.D. 240-400. The early occupation period, A.D. 600-1050, is interpreted as a seasonal residential base related to the procurement, processing, and storage of plant foods; it may represent the Palo Duro complex. It is characterized by a pithouse, storage pits, hearths/baking pits, bedrock mortars, and an abundance of ground stones. The late occupation period, A.D. 1150-1400, lacks the distinctive features of the earlier period. A decrease in the number of ground stones and an increase in arrow point frequency may indicate a shift toward a hunting-oriented subsistence. Two occupation periods recognized at the Cat Hollow site (41GR303B) approximate those at the Sam Wahl site. The Late Prehistoric 1 period is characterized by baking pits and an abundance of scattered burned rocks, apparently representing use of the site as a specialized plant processing area. The upper deposits, dating to the latter part of the Late Prehistoric 1 period or the early Late Prehistoric II period, lack evidence for intensive plant processing, and increases in some classes of chipped stone tools indicate an increased emphasis on hunting. Two completely excavated rockshelters yielded evidence of Late Prehistoric and Protohistoric occupations. Boren Shelter #1 (41GR546), only 12 m2, yielded few artifacts and three stone-lined hearths, one radiocarbon dated to ca. A.D. 1643. The site saw ephemeral use during the Protohistoric period. Boren Shelter #2 (41GR559), with a sheltered area of 30 m2, contained sparse artifacts and numerous hearths; a midden area in front of the shelter contained a number of clusters of animal bones. The deposits inside the shelter can be separated into two periods of occupation, A.D. 0-1000 and A.D. 1000-1300, during which the site was used infrequently as a short-term campsite. The deposits in front of the shelter, with a single radiocarbon date of A.D. 1500-1660, reflect use of the site as a hunting camp/processing location during the Protohistoric period. Collectively, these sites indicate that significant cultural changes took place around A.D. 1100, when people at the Sam Wahl and Cat Hollow sites changed their economic strategies. The Lake Alan Henry data correspond with other regional archeological data, and there is a growing body of evidence indicating that the Late Prehistoric 1 period (ca. A.D. 1-1100) was radically different from the Late Prehistoric II period (ca. A.D. 1100-1541). Intensive utilization of plant resources seems to characterize the occupations prior to A.D. 1100. Archeological evidence indicates that after A.D. 1100, subsistence strategies shifted away from intensive plant utilization toward more broad-based foraging with a greater emphasis on hunting. This change in subsistence strategies probably was related to regional climatic changes.

scholarly journals Data Recovery Excavations ar the J.B. White Site (41MM341), Milam County, Texas

2006 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Data Recovery ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
East Texas ◽  
River Floodplain ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
Chipped Stone ◽  
State Highway

In summer and fall 2002, personnel with Prewitt and Associates, Inc., undertook data recovery excavations at prehistoric site 41MM341 for the Texas Department of Transportation, Environmental Affairs Division, to address the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the Texas Antiquities Code. Site 41MM341 is in central Milam County, Texas, just southeast of the town of Cameron, on a low rise in the modern floodplain of the Little River. The excavations were necessitated by the planned replacement of the State Highway 36 bridge spanning the Little River floodplain, which will directly affect the archeological deposits at 41MM341. The site, which was tested in 2001 and determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and designation as a State Archeological Landmark, is well preserved and contains stratified, multicomponent prehistoric materials encased in late Holocene alluvium. The data recovery excavations focused on broad exposure of the remains of a series of Late Prehistoric occupations dating from A.D. 800 or 900 to 1300, with more-limited sampling of a component dating to the A.D. 600– 700s. The excavations consisted of 4 backhoe trenches, 11 initial 1x1-m units, and 3 hand-excavated blocks covering 208 m2. The excavations identified a variety of cultural features and recovered the following: 303 shaped chipped stone tools; 494 expedient stone tools; 168 cores; 39,872 pieces of unmodified debitage; 30 stone tools modified by grinding or battering; 30 bone tools or modified bones; 4 ceramic sherds; 6,540 pieces of vertebrate faunal remains; more than 58.2 kg of invertebrate faunal remains; 1.6 kg of macrobotanical remains; 163.0 kg of burned and unburned rocks; and 30.0 kg of burned clay. The records generated by the excavations and later analyses and the artifacts and other materials retained for curation are housed at the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio. Analysis of the data recovered indicates that 41MM341 was a campsite occupied perhaps mostly during the summer months by hunter-gatherers who took mussels and fish from the river and hunted a variety of game, especially deer, on the Little River floodplain and the surrounding uplands. They may have used botanical resources less, although they did consume hardwood nuts and wild onion and false garlic bulbs. One important activity performed at the site was manufacture of stone tools—mostly arrow points, knives, and expedient flake tools—using chert collected from gravel bars in the river. Many of these tools were used in the wide variety of procurement, processing, and manufacturing activities that typified daily life at 41MM341, but some appear to have been made because they would be needed later in the year after people left the site. One anticipated need was for trade with the Caddo Indians of east Texas. The people who lived at 41MM341 and other sites in the Little River valley interacted regularly with the Caddo, perhaps in trade relationships that helped cement cooperative alliances aimed at regulating competition among groups. Site 41MM341 contributes important information on this topic, which remains an interesting research issue for Native American groups who used the Blackland Prairie between central and east Texas during the Late Prehistoric period.

scholarly journals Data Recovery at Justiceburg Reservior (Lake Alan Henry), Garza and Kent Counties, Texas: Phase III, Season 2

1993 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Data Recovery ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Petrographic Analysis ◽  
Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction ◽  
Geological Investigation ◽  
Protohistoric Period ◽  
Almost All

The second of three seasons of Phase III data recovery at Justiceburg Reservoir (Lake Alan Henry), located on the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River in Garza and Kent counties, Texas, was conducted during the summer of 1991. 11le work included survey of dam borrow areas and site recording in and near these construction zones, limited work at selected rock art sites, geological investigation of an upland playa, and intensive investigations at two primarily Protohistoric period archeological sites. Pedestrian survey of active borrow areas resulted in the discovery and emergency recording and evaluation of site 41GR606 at the mouth of Grape Creek. Although this site is unusual because of its high frequency of ground stone tools, it lacks temporaIly diagnostic artifacts or datable organic materials and has an extremely low artifact density. In addition, site 4lKTl61 was discovered because of recent erosion along Grape Creek. This site also lacks diagnostic or datable materials and is characterized by a low artifact density. Due to their low research potentials, no further work was recommended for either of these sites, and they are considered ineligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Investigations at the rock art sites included the salvage of pictograph pigments from sites 41GR423, 41GR426, and 41GR437, which will !>e destroyed by inundation. These samples have been submitted for extraction of organic components and radiocarbon dating, but the results are not yet available. In addition, a consultant visited selected rock art sites in the project area and proposed preservation alternatives for several sites that will not be impacted directly by construction or inundation. Geological investigation of Morgan Playa, a smaIl upland playa located approximately 3 km north of the Double Mountain Fork, included excavation of a 2.5-m-deep backhoe trench from which a series of stratified sediment samples were taken for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. A single radiocarbon date indicates ·that the playa sediments probably accumulated from approximately 9000 B.P. to the present. Fossil poIlen was found to be poorly preserved, and the resulting data are uninterpretable. But opal phytoliths appear to document a sequence of changing grassland environments. Although more dates are needed to refine the chronology, the phytolith data are interpreted as evidence of Holocene climatic changes which generally correspond with regional paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Archeological investigations at the Headstream (41KT51) and Longhorn (41KT53) sites revealed evidence of chiefly Protohistoric period occupations by nomadic hunter-gatherers who were heavily involved in trade with the New Mexico pueblos. The archeological investigations at these sites have significant implications for understanding seventeenth-century settlement patterns in the Texas South Plains. Both sites are interpreted as residential base camps with multiple occupation episodes, which date mainly to the seventeenth century. The sites probably were inhabited by bison-hunting peoples during nonhunting seasons, and at least three tipi structures may be represented at the Longh0!J1 Site. Activities suggested for these sites include the staged processing of hides and maintenance of hide-processing tools, intensive utilization of wild plant foods, and extensive use of ceramics for cooking and storage. A petrographic analysis of the ceramic assemblages indicates that the majority of the wares are Puebloan in origin and that Pecos Pueblo was the major source, with other wares coming from the Tewa pueblos of the northern Rio Grande and perhaps the Taos/picuris region and the southern Salinas district. Of particular interest is the interpretation that almost all of the plainwares may he from the same Puebloan sources as the decorated glazewares and that the inhabitants of the sites did not make much, if any, of their own pottery.

scholarly journals Geoarcheological and Historical Investigations in the Comal Springs Arrea, LCRA Clear Springs Autotransformer Project, Comal County, Texas

2006 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Drill Hole ◽  
Data Recovery ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Transmission Tower ◽  
National Register ◽  
Alluvial Deposits ◽  
Transmission Towers ◽  
Guadalupe River ◽  
The City

Prewitt and Associates, Inc. conducted testing and data recovery investigations at five archeological sites in the city of New Braunfels, in Comal County, Texas. The work was done in August and September 2005 for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) for its Clear Springs Autotransformer Project, which involves the replacement of high-voltage electrical transmission towers through the New Braunfels area. A transmission tower location at prehistoric site 41CM286, located on an upland ridge overlooking the Guadalupe River, was investigated with a shovel test. Deposits were limited to 10 cm overlying bedrock limestone. In a preliminary report, the site was recommended to be potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) and for designation as State Archeological Landmarks (SAL), but it was recommended that no additional investigations were necessary because the shallow deposits at the tower location contained no significant archeological deposits. A transmission tower location at prehistoric site 41CM287, located in an alluvial floodplain of a tributary to the Guadalupe River, was investigated using a shovel test to 105 cm and hand augering to 190 cm. Although prehistoric remains were encountered, the deposits were extensively disturbed. In a preliminary report, the site was recommended to be potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) and for designation as State Archeological Landmarks (SAL), and it was recommended that the transmission tower location could be drilled if monitored by an archeologist. Historic archival and oral history research was conducted for 41CM288, which consists of a historic trash dump and brick incinerator building with a tall smokestack. The site is on the Comal County Fairgrounds in New Braunfels, and research indicates that the city built the incinerator in the 1930s for disposal of urban household garbage. Archeological monitoring of the drill hole excavation at the LCRA tower location revealed that the trash deposits date to the early to middle 20th century and are associated with the city incinerator. In a preliminary report, the trash dump component was recommended to be not eligible for listing in the National Register or for designation as a SAL. The incinerator building and smokestack are in very good condition, but they will not be impacted by the LCRA project. A complete National Register and SAL assessment of the incinerator would require additional archival research to provide a historic contextual framework. Archeological testing was done at the Comal Power Plant site (41CM25) and the Landa Park Golf Course site (41CM167), both located on the broad Holocene alluvial terrace of the Comal River. At each site, the testing was expanded into a 2x2-m excavation block to constitute data recovery at the proposed tower location. Both sites contain deep, stratified deposits indicative of prehistoric base camp activities spanning from the Middle Archaic through Late Prehistoric periods. In a preliminary report, it was recommended that both sites are eligible for listing in the National Register and for designation as SALs, but that the excavations constituted mitigation of construction impacts. Three prehistoric components were identified within 150 cm of alluvial deposits at 41CM25, and three prehistoric components were identified within 190 cm of alluvial deposits at 41CM167. These components are defined, somewhat arbitrarily, as Archaic I, Archaic II, and Late Prehistoric, and these units are not correlated between the sites. Hand auger cores provided samples down to 330 cm at 41CM167, but these sparse cultural materials are not assigned to an analytical unit. The diagnostic artifacts recovered from 41CM25 are bone-tempered pottery and points typed as Early Triangular, Marcos, Montell, Pedernales, Perdiz, and reworked Andice. The diagnostic artifacts recovered from 41CM167 are Early Triangular, Edgewood, and Perdiz points. The cultural deposits at both sites span a long period of time and represent materials accumulated on a slowly aggrading xii surface. Both sites have some evidence of mixing of deposits or cultural reuse of older materials. No samples suitable for radiocarbon dating were recovered from 41CM25, so the ages of components there are not well defined. Four charcoal radiocarbon dates for 41CM167 demonstrate that 330 cm of alluvium was deposited within at least the last 4,500 years. The Late Prehistoric components at both sites probably represent Toyah phase occupations, and there seems to be an Early Triangular component at 41CM167. The cultural affiliations of the other components are less certain. All of the archeological and historic investigations for sites 41CM25, 41CM167, 41CM286, 41CM287, and 41CM288 were previously described in a preliminary report, and the LCRA and Texas Historical Commission concurred with the recommendations stated above. The construction of transmission towers has since been completed at all of the investigated sites, and the drill hole excavations were monitored to provide additional archeological and geological data. It is recommended that the testing and data recovery investigations mitigate the construction effects for LCRA’s Clear Springs Autotransformer Project, and no further work is recommended for any of these sites in response to the Clear Springs Autotransformer Project.

scholarly journals National Register Testing at 41BQ285, Bosque County, Texas: FM 56 Bridge Replacement at the North Bosque River

2010 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Freshwater Mussel ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
National Register ◽  
Moderate Amount ◽  
The North ◽  
Pottery Sherds ◽  
Mussel Shells

Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted archeological test excavations at 41BQ285 in June 2006 for the Texas Department of Transportation under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4102. Site 41BQ285, in southeastern Bosque County, was located during an archeological survey for the proposed replacement of the FM 56 bridge over the North Bosque River. It is a prehistoric campsite buried in a cumulic soil in the upper deposits of a late Holocene alluvial terrace. Mechanical excavations consisted of re-opening four backhoe trenches from the survey phase followed by hand excavation of six 1x1-m test units. This work identified three burned rock features and yielded a moderate amount of materials, including projectile points and bifaces, pottery sherds, unmodified debitage, vertebrate faunal remains, and freshwater mussel shells. Diagnostic artifacts and five radiocarbon ages indicate that the site has a lower but rather ephemeral Late Archaic component and an upper and more substantial Late Prehistoric component. The Late Prehistoric component yielded Perdiz arrow points and ceramics, and it is radiocarbon dated to between a.d. 1280 and 1650. The evidence suggests a series of relatively short occupations and a focus on the use of local resources. Site activities included late-stage biface reduction and bifacial tool production, tool resharpening, and the exploitation and intensive processing of deer. Foodstuffs were processed and prepared using bifacial tools, ground and battered stone tools, rock-lined cooking basins, and small ceramic jars and bowls. The Late Prehistoric component is Toyah-like in many ways, but the small sample size and nature of the materials preclude assigning it a specific sociocultural group or archeological phase. Of particular interest are the five pottery sherds—two plain, two fingernail punctate, and one engraved sherd from a carinated bowl with a Caddo-like design. Geochemical analysis indicates that none of the pottery, including the engraved bowl sherd, matches any Caddo-made pottery from East Texas. The fact that a Caddo vessel form and decorative style appears on pottery that was probably made in or near Bosque County is interesting and adds a new dynamic to our understanding of the Toyah phenomenon in central Texas. The portion of site 41BQ285 within FM 56 is considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or for designation as a State Archeological Landmark (SAL). However, current investigations already recovered most of the Late Prehistoric component within the spatially limited project area, and additional investigations inside the highway right of way cannot reasonably be expected to contribute any more significant archeological information. Therefore, no further fieldwork is recommended, and construction should be allowed to proceed.

scholarly journals Beyond Data Recovery: Developing Digital Information Systems for Cultural Resources in the Online Era – CORRIGENDUM

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 320-320
Author(s):  
Lance K. Wollwage ◽  
Allyson Brooks ◽  
Rob Smith ◽  
Morgan McLemore ◽  
Annie Strader ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Data Recovery ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Digital Information

scholarly journals Addendum Report: Additional Cultural Resources Investigations of the Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply Project in Burleson, Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Comal and Bexar Counties, Texas

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercedes Cody ◽  
Christina Nielsen ◽  
Brandon Young
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Data Recovery ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Project Area ◽  
Safety Code ◽  
Texas Health ◽  
Human Burials ◽  
The Hill ◽  
Regional Water

On behalf of VRRSP Consultants, LLC, and Central Texas Regional Water Supply Corporation (CTRWSC), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA), conducted further intensive cultural resources investigations of the Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply (Vista Ridge) Project in Burleson, Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Comal, and Bexar Counties. The project will involve installation of a 140.2-mile-long, 60-inch-diameter water pipeline from Deanville, Burleson County, Texas, to north-central San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The area of potential effects (APE) will consist of the proposed centerline alignment and an 85-foot-wide corridor for temporary and permanent construction easements; however, SWCA surveyed a 100-foot-wide corridor to allow for minor shifts in the alignment. This addendum report details the findings of additional cultural resources investigations between 2016 and 2018, on the alignment. The Vista Ridge Project is subject to review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 USC 306108) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR 800), in anticipation of a Nationwide Permit 12 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in accordance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. In addition, the work is subject to compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) under Permit No. 7295, as the Vista Ridge Project ultimately will be owned by a political subdivision of the State of Texas. Furthermore, all human burials in the state of Texas are protected by law, as per the Texas Health and Safety Code Section 711 General Provisions Relating to Cemeteries and the Texas Administrative Code Title 13, THC, Chapter 22 Cemeteries, Sections 22.1 through 22.6. If human burials are encountered in the Project Area and the remains are determined to be Native American, they will be handled in accordance with procedures established through coordination with the THC; work in the affected area would only resume per THC authorization. Between 2016 and 2018, SWCA investigated approximately 29.5 miles of the current 140.2-mile-long project corridor and the proposed 6.9-mile-long wellfield pipeline that was not previously surveyed during the prior 2015 investigations (Acuña et al. 2016). Investigations consisted of intensive pedestrian survey augmented with shovel testing and hand-excavated auger probes and/or mechanical backhoe trenching in select areas. In addition, SWCA investigated the 25.82-acre terminus site slated for the construction of an integration system (Atwood and Ward 2017). SWCA also surveyed additional mileage, which included rerouted areas that are no longer part of the currently proposed alignment. SWCA excavated 967 shovel tests, 96 auger probes, and 85 backhoe trenches during these additional investigations. SWCA documented or further investigated 28 cultural resources within the Vista Ridge Project during the 2016 to 2018 investigations. Of the 28 resources, seven were isolated finds that did not warrant formal site recording or require additional investigations. The remaining 21 cultural resources include 15 prehistoric sites, three historic sites, and three multi-component sites with both prehistoric and historic cultural materials. Of the 21 sites, two (i.e., 41BP960 and 41BP961) are currently UNDETERMINED regarding eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL), and one site (i.e., 41GU177) was determined to be ELIGIBLE for listing on the NRHP and for designation as a SAL. SWCA conducted testing and data recovery excavations at site 41GU177 and the results of testing investigations conducted under Permit No. 7295 are presented as an appendix to this report (Rodriguez et al. 2017); the data recovery investigations of site 41GU177 were completed under Permit No. 8231 and will be a separate report. Additionally, sites 41BP960 and 41BP961 have been avoided by design alignment changes and will not be impacted by the Vista Ridge Project. The remaining 18 cultural resources sites are considered NOT ELIGIBLE for nomination to the NRHP or for designation as SALs and no further cultural resources investigations or avoidance are recommended. In addition, SWCA documented two cemeteries (the Hill Cemetery and the Hoffman Cemetery) during the 2016 to 2018 investigations. Due to subsequent reroutes, the Hill Cemetery (located within the boundaries of site 41BP818) is now avoided and will not be impacted by the project. Mechanical scraping was conducted adjacent to the Hoffman Cemetery in compliance with the Texas Health and Safety Code; no evidence of interments was identified within the project area. In accordance with 36 CFR 800.4 and the ACT, SWCA has made a reasonable and good faith effort to identify cultural resources within the project area. Two sites (i.e., 41BP960 and 41BP961) are recommended as having UNDETERMINED eligibility for listing on the NRHP or for SAL designation and one site (41GU177) is recommended as ELIGIBLE. The remaining 18 are recommended as NOT ELIGIBLE for listing on the NRHP or for SAL designation. Site 41GU177 has been mitigated and the results will be presented in a stand-alone report (Nielsen et al. 2019). The two sites (41BP960 and 41BP961) of UNDETERMINED eligibility have been avoided by design alignment changes and will not be impacted by the project. No further work or avoidance strategy is recommended for the remaining 18 archaeological sites identified during the Vista Ridge Project.

scholarly journals Archaeological Survey for the Lower Greens Bayou Trail Project, Segments GR02 and GR03, in Harris County, Texas

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Quennoz ◽  
Jacob Hilton ◽  
Amanda Kloepfer ◽  
Tony Scott
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
State University ◽  
Harris County ◽  
Project Area ◽  
Historic Structures ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Indirect Impacts ◽  
Trail Development

Over several mobilizations between April 2018 and January 2020, Gray & Pape, Inc., of Houston, Texas, conducted an intensive pedestrian cultural resources survey of two segments (Segments GR02 and GR03) of proposed trail development along Lower Greens Bayou in the City of Houston, Harris County, Texas. The project alignment measures approximately 10.8 kilometers (6.7 miles) in length and encompasses approximately 9.6 hectares (23.7 acres) of area. Another 0.6 kilometers (0.4 miles) or 0.6 hectares (1.4 acres) of project alignment was removed from consideration. In total, approximately 11.4 kilometers (7.1 miles) or 10.2 hectares (25.1 acres) was surveyed for the project. Because the proposed trail development occurs on publicly owned properties a Texas Antiquities Code Permit was required prior to survey. All work was completed under Texas Antiquities Permit #8328, which was assigned by the Texas Historical Commission on February 14, 2018. Fieldwork and reporting activities were performed according to procedures set forth by the Texas Historical Commission and the Council of Texas Archeologists. The goals of the survey were to establish whether or not previously unidentified archaeological resources were located within the project area, also defined as the project’s Area of Potential Effects, and whether the proposed development would affect any previously identified cultural resources. Prior to fieldwork, site file and background research was conducted, including a review of historic aerial and topographic maps in an attempt to locate any historic structures associated with the Area of Potential Effects. Site file review and background research indicated that there are no previously recorded sites within the project Area of Potential Effects. Fieldwork took place between April 10, 2018 and January 7, 2020 and consisted of a combination of pedestrian survey and shovel testing. Systematic shovel testing was performed along a single transect over both project segments resulting in 131 shovel tests being excavated, of which 11 were positive for cultural material. The survey revealed that large portions of both project segments have been heavily disturbed by development and flood events, however, three new archaeological sites, 41HR1234, 41HR1235, and 41HR1236, and one historic Isolate were identified as a result of survey. Site 41HR1234 was identified as a mid-twentieth century historic trash midden. Site 41HR1235 was identified as a Late Prehistoric ephemeral campsite. Site 41HR1236 was identified as a multicomponent prehistoric campsite and historic isolate. Diagnostic artifacts were observed at all three sites; however, it is the recommendation of Gray & Pape, Inc. that only Sites 41HR1235 and 41HR1236 are significant in the materials they contain and their potential to offer additional research potential. Direct impacts to both sites have been avoided by the project alignment as currently planned. While indirect impacts such as looting are a concern, the distance between the sites and the current alignment as well the density of woods surrounding them minimizes the danger as a result of the project. Eligibility testing is recommended for the sites if they cannot be avoided by future projects. Based on the results of this survey, Gray & Pape, Inc. recommends that the no further cultural resources work be required for the project as currently planned and that the project be cleared to proceed. As specified under the conditions of Texas Antiquities Code Permit #8328, all project associated records are curated with the Center of Archaeological Studies at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

scholarly journals The Colombia-Laredo International Bridge: A Preliminary Report of Field Investigations

1989 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
The State ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
National Register ◽  
Highway Design ◽  
Mining Community ◽  
Field Investigations ◽  
The City ◽  
Design Division ◽  
Preliminary Description

The Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation (SDHPT), Highway Design Division, in cooperation with the Office of the State Governor, The Office of the State Historic Preservation Officer, and the City of Laredo, has recently investigated the approach roadway and the bridge site of the proposed Colombia-Laredo International Bridge across the Rio Grande, in Webb County, Texas. The work was conducted to identify cultural resources in these areas and to offer a preliminary description and evaluation of historic properties considered to be potentially eligible to the National Register of Historic Places. One historical archaeological locale, 41WB205 (portions of the early 20th century mining community of Darwin) and one prehistoric terrace occupation zone, 41WB206, were investigated. Although the portion of 41WB205 within the projected roadway has been severely impacted by modern alteration, the larger and less disturbed surrounding site area is considered to be potentially eligible for the National Register.

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