Architectural Variability in the Caddo Area of Eastern Texas
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Stephen F. Austin State University SFA ScholarWorks CRHR: Archaeology Center for Regional Heritage Research 2010 Architectural Variability in the Caddo Area of Eastern Texas T. Clay Schultz Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/crhr Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Tell us how this article helped you. Repository Citation Schultz, T. Clay, "Architectural Variability in the Caddo Area of Eastern Texas" (2010). CRHR: Archaeology. 78. https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/crhr/78 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Regional Heritage Research at SFA ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in CRHR: Archaeology by an authorized administrator of SFA ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Architectural Variability in the Caddo Area of Eastern Texas T. Clay Schultz Special Publication No. 16 Friends of Northeast Texas Archaeology 2010 Abstract This dissertation focuses on the nature of architectural space in the Caddo area of eastern Texas, in the southwestern portion of the Caddo archaeological area. The early European accounts and the archaeological record indicate there was a wide range in size, shape, form, and use of architectural space in the Caddo area. Buildings have a variety of structural attributes and may be found isolated or associated with plazas or earthen mounds. This dissertation is a detailed examination of this architectural diversity. The sites included in this study range from large multi-mound centers that have seen large- scale and long-term research, such as the George C. Davis site, to smaller hamlets and farmsteads. This study includes 265 structures from 31 sites located throughout the Pineywoods, Post Oak Savanna and Blackland Prairie of eastern Texas. This dissertation provides an examination of the structuring of architectural space by Caddo groups living in eastern Texas. Through a detailed examination of documentary, archaeological, and geophysical data, this research examines the nature of the Caddo built environment; how Caddo cultural space was created, maintained, and altered, and how this relates to broader Caddo society. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide descriptions and comparisons of Caddo architecture from eastern Texas to address three interrelated themes: cultural significance of architectural space to the Caddo, physical form of structures and construction attributes, and variation and change. i Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my dissertation committee, Maria Wade, Darrell Creel, James Denbow, F. Kent Reilly, and committee chair Samuel Wilson, for their guidance and patience throughout this process. In addition, many folks provided guidance, data, reports, or suggestions along the way including Tim Perttula, Mark Parsons, Mark Walters, Dale Hudler, Jim Bruseth, David Kelly, Ross Fields, Bo Nelson, and many others. I would especially like to thank Timothy K. Perttula for his feedback and thoughts over the years and his review of the draft. Many thanks to my good friends Chester P. Walker and Paul Shawn Marceaux, who, along with Tim, I have joined at occasional Caddo lunches in Austin to discuss Caddo archaeology and research. My thanks goes out to my other good friends, family, and co-workers with whom I have discussed thoughts, ideas, problems and concerns related to this research, academia, professional archaeology, and life in general over the years. To anyone that I have not mentioned specifically but who provided feedback, thoughts, suggestions, data, criticisms, etc., please know that you have by gratitude and appreciation. My wife Eleanore Whitworth has been invaluable as a partner and has shown incredible patience while I pursued this goal. I wish to express to her my sincerest and heartfelt gratitude. ii Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 Layout of the Dissertation ......................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2 CADDO ARCHITECTURE ......................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 9 Previous Architectural Studies in the Caddoan Area ............................................................................... 11 Summary .................................................................................................................................................. 22 CHAPTER 3 HISTORIC ACCOUNTS OF CADDO ARCHITECTURE ................................................................ 24 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 24 Structured spaces .................................................................................................................................... 25 Daily use, communal, and family Spaces ................................................................................................. 26 Houses ................................................................................................................................................. 27 Spaces Reserved for Specific Activities and/or People ............................................................................ 39 Religious, Ceremonial, and Symbolic Structures/Spaces ......................................................................... 41 Summary .................................................................................................................................................. 49 CHAPTER 4 ARCHITECTURE FROM THE GEORGE C. DAVIS SITE .............................................................. 51 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 51 Previously Excavated Structures from The George C. Davis Site ............................................................. 54 Magnetometer Survey Methods ............................................................................................................. 66 Results of the UT-TARL Magnetometer Survey ....................................................................................... 71 Circular Structures .............................................................................................................................. 72 Sub-Square Structures ........................................................................................................................ 83 2003 Excavations Results ......................................................................................................................... 85 Feature 237 – Unit 113 ....................................................................................................................... 87 Feature 242 – Unit 116 ....................................................................................................................... 95 Feature 241 – Unit 117 ....................................................................................................................... 97 Summary of 2003 Excavations .......................................................................................................... 101 Dates from George C. Davis Structures ................................................................................................. 102 Summary and Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 106 CHAPTER 5 STRUCTURES ASSOCIATED WITH CADDO MOUNDS .......................................................... 108 iii Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 108 Caddo Area Mounds ......................................................................................................................... 110 Mound-Related Structures .................................................................................................................... 111 George C. Davis (41CE19) .................................................................................................................. 113 Hatchel (41BW3) ..............................................................................................................................