T H E PROFILE

Nmosletter of the Houstat Archeological Society

December 1937

P. O. Box 6751, , 77265 - tpipptinnp (113) 523-3431

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ • • • • • • • • • •

PROPERTY OF THE RUSTON ARCFIEOLOGFCAL SOV:1)

A MI COMMENTS LIBRARY NOTE Our congratulations to the Central Texas The HAS library, located on the second Archeological Society for hosting an excellent floor of the Carriage House at University of meeting in Waco last month. Excellent papers St. Thomas, will be open from 6:30 p.m. until were presented by members of the Texas 7:30 p.m. before the meeting on December 11. Archeological Society. A concurrent symposium Come by and take a look. on "Mammoths, Mastodons and Human Interaction" was the focal point of the meeting and was well attended. Previous records for annual MEETING NOTICE, MEMBER 1987 meeting attendance were broken. Well done, CTAS! Date: Friday, December 11, 1987 It is that time again. Time to renew your membership in the Houston Archeological Time: 7:30 p.m. Society. Our membership period is the calendar year, and 1988 dues are due during Place: University of St. Thomas the month of January. We really need M. D. Anderson Hall everyone's dues as soon as possible. Our membership is down from last year (economic Speaker: Dr. Ken Brown crunch, whatever), and our corporate donations dropped from $500 to $50. If we are to preserve the publication schedule of the Program: Historical Archeology: Evidence Journal and The Profile each month, we must of Houston's Colonial Past have the support of all members of our society. We also have our TAS annual meeting next October. Our host expenses will be covered by that meeting, but we must carry the LABORATORY SCHEDULE financial burden until registrations are paid in October. HAS has several classifications Only one lab this month: of membership: student memberships are available to full time graduate and December 14- Rice University, Archeology undergraduate students, and the $5.00 student Laboratory, Room 103, Sewall Hall, 7-9 p.m. membership fee includes The Profile but not Lab participants will be working on artifacts the Journal; individual memberships are from two sites: (1) Roger Moore's historic $15.00; family memberships are $20.00. DiverseWorks/Market Square project, (2) one of Individual and family members receive the the prehistoric sites from Fort Bend County Journal. For $30.00 or more you can become a recently tested by HAS. contributing member. For further information, call David Pettus at 669-3481 (work) or 481-6007 (home). Our thanks to Richie and Eleanor Ebersole for the donation of a bookcase for our library. Thanks also to Richie, Sheldon TECHNOLOGIES CAN PRESERVE OUR Kindall and David Pettus for moving and CAPT: TODAY'S (from Bulletin of the Society for installing the bookcase. By the next meeting PAST American Archaeology, November 1987, Vol. 5, it will be full of books and it will greatly No. 5) relieve our shelf space problem. We have a very long list of HAS members CAPT is the national Coalition for who are assisting with the Museum of Fine Arts Applied Preservation Technology. It is a excavation program. We had a great turnout group of professionals, individuals, last Saturday for Family Day. Approximately institutions, federal agencies, and 90 adults and about 100 children were given universities whose goal is to establish a a scientific view of archeology. This is very multi-discipliniary National Center for good public relations for our society. All Preservation Technology. participants enjoyed it and many expressed Such a center was one of the major their appreciation of the tremendous amount of recommendations made in the Congressional work that has gone into the production of the Office of Technology Assessment's report, artifacts and the simulated excavation. Many Technologies for Prehistoric and Historic thanks to everyone! Preservation (1986). Among other things, OTA Thanks also to William Earl Haskell, recommended creation of a national center that Melissa and Julie Groening, Laurie Newendorp, could facilitate the transfer of technologies Sharon Feeney, Muriel Walter and Cynthia to the preservation field. For more Stevens for bringing refreshments in October information write to CAPT, c/o Fore-sight and November. Science & Technology, Inc, 2000 P Street NW, We are pleased to announce that William Suite 305, Washington, DC 20036. Haskell has agreed to take over the job of CAPT seeks a broad based national book sales for our society. We will have the constituency. Local, as well as national, - sales table up in December. Do some Christmas support is needed; encouraging participation shopping! of people in all cultural resource fields. Your interest, expertise, and advice are vital Joan Few to our efforts. CAM's intent is to build a HAS President coalition that does not compete with other entities, but complements and assists them to achieve the level and quality of preservation so needed to protect our national heritage.

HAS MEMPERS SPEAKING ID OTHER GROUPS

Alan Duke gave a talk "Prehistoric FROM THE MEDALLION Inhabitants of the Pasadena Area, their Habitation Sites, Tools and Weapons" to The Texas Antiquities Code and statutes approximately 75 members of the Pasadena of the Texas Historical Commission, effective Historical Society on November 3. The September 1, 1987, now are available for Pasadena Historical Society is a very active interested readers. The THC statutes, for the group dedicated to recording and preserving first time, include statutes governing county the history of Pasadena, and this was their historical commissions. first program on regional prehistory. 'Preserving Cemeteries," one in a series Sheldon Kindall addressed the Galveston of preservation guidelines produced by the Archeological Society at its November 12 THC, recently has been revised and updated. meeting at the Galveston County Museum. To receive free copies of either of these Sheldon's topic was "The Lost French Fort, publications, contact the THC, P. O. Box Champ d'Asile." 12276, Austin, TX 78711. a NHL. Two NHLs are located in Harris County: ARCHECUOGY OF THE PHILISTINES San Jacinto Battlefield and the USS Texas. Several archeological sites in Texas are Since at least 1869, when Matthew Arnold recognized as NHLs. In some cases, such as employed the term in Culture and Anarchy, the Alamo, Mission Concepcion, and Forts "Philistine" has been recognized in the Brown, Richardson and Conch°, the NHL site is English-speaking world as a derogation historic with an archeological component. sometimes used to refer to a person Among prehistoric sites in Texas, only four preoccupied by materialism and deficient in an are listed as NHLs: the Plainview Site in Hale understanding of and appreciation for art, County, the Lubbock Lake Site in Lubbock literature, or other aspects of liberal County, Landergin Mesa in Oldham County, and culture. The archeological picture that's the Harrell Site in Young County. beginning to emerge of the Philistines is NHL status, like National Register somewhat at odds with that image. status, offers little protection to listed Excavations at Tel Mique (the Biblical properties that are not federally owned. As city of Ekron), an Iron Age site and one of with National Register listing, the NHL owner five major Philistine cities in Israel, are relinquishes no property rights. revealing a picture of fairly advanced city planning. Archeologists suggest that the Philistines may even have used some sort of zoning regulations to maintain the strict separation of living quarters and public PRESERVATION SUCCESSES IN ARCHEOLOGY building areas from an industrial area where extensive olive-oil processing factories were Santa Fe, New Mexico, has recently located. More than 100 olive oil adopted a new law to protect archeological •-/ installations have been excavated so far. sites within the city. Developers are now The remains of Ekron cover more than 60 required to conduct detailed site survey and, acres, only about 2% of which has been depending on what is found, to develop excavated. It is estimated that more than excavation and mitigation plans before the 6,000 people lived in the city, whose economy city will permit construction. Plans must be was probably based on the processing and approved by a local archeology commission. international trade of olive oil. The ordinance is seen as a major victory for preservation, and New Mexico archeologists are touting it to other communities as an example of what can be done to prevent destruction of the archeological record by the forces of NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS modern development. In May, the nonprofit Trust for Public National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are Land, with the help of a loan from the properties determined to be of national National Trust for Historic Preservation, historic significance by the National Park purchased 4.8 acres of the 6.1-acre tract in Service. Since 1966 NHLs have been folded Tallahassee, Florida that contains the recent- into the National Register of Historic Places ly-discovered 16th century site associated program, but NHLs are still considered by with the Hernando de Soto expedition. Excava- historians and archeologists to be an honor tions at the site were undertaken last March roll of the nation's most important sites and by Calvin Jones, an archeologist with the structures. Properties that are state of Florida, who expected to find evi- significant in local or state history or dence of a 17th century Spanish mission. prehistory can be listed on the National Artifacts recovered include links of Spanish Register of Historic Places, but a property armor chain mail, crossbow arrow tips, copper •-/ must be determined to have significance to the coins, and glass chevron beads. nation as a whole before it can become

CLAIM (F 01.DIST BCIOHERANG THE HOUSTON ARCHED1DGICAL SOCIETY is a non-profit corporation created for the Polish archeologists recently announced purposes of promoting a public exchange of the discovery of what is claimed to be the information and ideas about archeology, world's oldest known boomerang, contained in fostering an interest in the science of prehistoric deposits dated to about 23,000 archeology, supporting the publication of years ago. The artifact, however, is made archeological information, and sponsoring from a curved piece of mammoth tusk, and is educational projects and activities about much too delicate to risk the effects of archeology. Regular meetings are held on the testing its aerodynamic properties, the only second Friday of each month (except June), at sure way of distinguishing between a true 7:30 p.m., in M. D. Anderson Hall at the boomerang and a non-returning throwing stick. University of St. Thomas.

1987-88 Board of Directors:

Joan Few, President Bob Etheridge, Vice President Sharon Feeney, Secretary Bernard Naman, Treasurer William Schumann, Director-at-large Alan Duke, Director-at-large Randolph Widmer, Director-at-large

Editor of The Profile is Margie Elliott; Editor of The Journal of the Houston Archeological Society is Richard L. Gregg. Address matters concerning either publication to the Society address.

Nai-Proat erg. HOUSTON ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY U.S. FI:STIGE P. 0. Box 6751 PAID Houston, Texas 77265 Hastm, Teas 1/264

Kathleen mill (87) 5435 Chevy Chase Drive Houston, Texas 77056

Address Correction Requested Return Postage Guaranteed