Menard, Texas: an Analysis of the Documentary and Archaeological Evidence
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The Southeast Baluarte at Presidio San Sabá (41MN1), Menard, Texas: An Analysis of the Documentary and Archaeological Evidence by Bennett R. Kimbell, B.A. A Thesis In INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved Dr. Tamra L. Walter Chair Dr. Grant D. Hall Dr. Allan J. Kuethe Fred Hartmeister Dean of the Graduate School December, 2008 Texas Tech University, Bennett R. Kimbell, December 2008 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS No project of this size and scope can be done alone. I am indebted to many people for their help and encouragement. First of all I wish to thank my committee, Dr. Allan J. Kuethe, Dr. Grant D. Hall, and most of all, my advisor Dr. Tamra L. Walter. Their advice and comments have made this a much better finished product. Dr. Walter has guided this project from the start, reined me in when I got overly ambitious, and encouraged me to finish. Dr. Wendell Aycock served as my advisor in the Interdisciplinary Studies program and has provided additional support and encouragement. Dr. Sheryl Santos, Dr. G. Douglas Inglis, Dr. Julian Perez, Dr. Jose Manuel Serrano Alvarez, and Dr. Allan J. Kuethe were instrumental in obtaining copies of original documents from the Archivo General de Indies in Seville. I am grateful as well to the staffs of several research libraries and archives including The Southwest Collection at Texas Tech University, the center for American History and The Benson Latin American Collection at The University of Texas in Austin, the British Library, and the J. Evetts Haley Library in Midland. Carolyn Spock at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory provided me with several photographs from their collection. I am deeply grateful to the members of the 2006 Texas Tech University Archaeological Field School and the 2007 Texas Archeological Society Field School for their excavation work that formed the basis for this thesis. Members of the TTU Archaeological Laboratory Methods classes and volunteers Jenni Hatchett, Beverly Hatchett, and Rebecca Hatchett spent countless hours processing the thousands of artifacts recovered from the bastion excavations. I also want to thank Beverly Hatchett ii Texas Tech University, Bennett R. Kimbell, December 2008 for the original artwork that made the southeast bastion come back to life. I am deeply grateful for all their help. Several archaeologists and historians have also given me advice, helped with resources, or shared their thoughts and expertise. To Jay C. Blaine, Doug Boyd, James Ivey, Mark Wolf, and Dr. Brett Houk, I owe my sincere thanks. I am also grateful to several members of the Tarrant County Archeological Society for their help and advice: Jimmy Smith, Glynn Osburn, Art Tawater, Bryan Jameson, Jay Hornsby, Carol McCaulay, Mike Shannon, and their families. Finally to my family and friends who have given me their love and support, especially my parents Ray and Colleen Kimbell, who took me to archaeological and historical sites for family vacations and nurtured my interest in the past, as well as providing financial and moral support, I am truly grateful. Jenni Hatchett has helped with her considerable technological skills and has given me love and support throughout the writing process. iii Texas Tech University, Bennett R. Kimbell, December 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................ii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES ...............................................................................................................ix I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................1 II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................10 III. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................15 A Brief Introduction to Presidio Architecture in Northern New Spain .....................15 IV: METHODS ..................................................................................................................26 Documentary Research ..............................................................................................26 Archaeological Research ...........................................................................................27 V: RESULTS OF HISTORICAL AND DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH .........................................31 Contextualizing Documents .......................................................................................43 VI: RESULTS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH ..............................................................48 Results of Archaeological Investigations ...................................................................48 Architectural Remains .........................................................................................48 Artifact Analysis ..................................................................................................70 Building Materials .........................................................................................72 Glass ..............................................................................................................78 Ceramics ........................................................................................................81 Metal ..............................................................................................................97 Lithics .............................................................................................................112 Faunal Material .............................................................................................127 Interpretation of the Cultural Material......................................................................134 VII: SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................140 Synthesis… .................................................................................................................140 Conclusions ................................................................................................................162 REFERENCES CITED ..........................................................................................................170 Primary Sources.........................................................................................................170 Secondary Sources .....................................................................................................171 iv Texas Tech University, Bennett R. Kimbell, December 2008 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................... 184 A: ARTIFACTS FROM THE 1936 TRASH PIT ................................................................. 184 B: SPANISH COLONIAL ARTIFACTS FROM UNIT 2006-17 ............................................ 185 C: SPANISH COLONIAL ARTIFACTS FROM THE SOUTHEAST BASTION, BY UNIT ......... AND LEVEL ...................................................................................................... 189 D: WOOD FROM THE SOUTHEAST BASTION, BY UNIT AND LEVEL .............................. 207 E: CHARCOAL FROM THE SOUTHEAST BASTION, BY UNIT AND LEVEL ....................... 208 F: SHELL FROM THE SOUTHEAST BASTION, BY UNIT AND LEVEL ............................... 209 G: TWENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY ARTIFACTS FROM THE SOUTHEAST BASTION ...................................................................................... 212 H: TRANSCRIPTIONS AND TRANSLATIONS OF SPANISH DOCUMENTS .......................... 228 v Texas Tech University, Bennett R. Kimbell, December 2008 ABSTRACT Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas, better known as Presidio San Sabá, was founded in 1757 in what is now Menard County, Texas. The presidio was part of the Spanish crown’s effort to expand its northern frontier in New Spain and likely was intended as a part of a chain of settlements between San Antonio and Santa Fe. The presidio also was built to protect nearby Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá. Spain’s plan for northward expansion was dramatically halted on March 16, 1758, when a coalition of Wichita, Comanche, and various Caddoan groups, known as Norteños, burned the mission and killed a number of mission residents, including two priests. The mission effort there was abandoned, but the presidio remained in use until 1770 when it was relocated to the Rio Grande. A number of historical documents relating to the presidio survive, including three contemporary plan maps of the fortifications. Interestingly, these three plan maps differ in a number of ways, including the shape of the southeast bastion. Archaeological investigations by Texas Tech University and the Texas Archeological Society have uncovered large portions of the presidio foundations including the entire southeast bastion. This thesis uses a middle-range approach to examine the archaeological and documentary evidence to determine the accuracy of the maps and other historical sources concerning the southeast bastion. A construction sequence for the structure is also proposed,