Volume 2003 Article 6 2003 Archaeological Testing of Four Sites on Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas Jason D. Weston Raymond P. Mauldin Center for Archeological Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita Part of the American Material Culture Commons, Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, and the United States History Commons Tell us how this article helped you. Cite this Record Weston, Jason D. and Mauldin, Raymond P. (2003) "Archaeological Testing of Four Sites on Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas," Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State: Vol. 2003, Article 6. https://doi.org/10.21112/ita.2003.1.6 ISSN: 2475-9333 Available at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/vol2003/iss1/6 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 Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State by an authorized editor of SFA ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Archaeological Testing of Four Sites on Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License This article is available in Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/vol2003/iss1/6 Archaeological Testing of Four Sites on Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas post-midden fill midden Feature 2 fill Pit Feature natural soil Pit Feature Feature 2 by Jason D. Weston and Raymond P. Mauldin with Contributions by J. Philip Dering, Russell D. Greaves, and Bryant Saner, Jr. Adjutant General’s Department of Texas Center for Archaeological Research Directorate of Facilities and Engineering The University of Texas at San Antonio Environmental Branch, Austin, Texas Archaeological Survey Report, No. 335 2003 Archaeological Testing of Four Sites on Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas by Jason D. Weston and Raymond P. Mauldin with Contributions by J. Philip Dering, Russell D. Greaves, and Bryant Saner, Jr. Texas Antiquities Committee Permit No. 2926 Raymond P. Mauldin Principal Investigator Prepared for: Prepared by: Adjutant General’s Department of Texas Center for Archaeological Research Directorate of Facilities and Engineering The University of Texas at San Antonio Environmental Branch, Austin, Texas Archaeological Survey Report, No. 335 ©2003 A list of publications offered by the Center for Archaeological Research is available. Call (210) 458-4378; write to the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 6900 N. Loop 1604 W., San Antonio, Texas 78249-0658; e-mail to [email protected]; or visit CAR’s web site at http://car.utsa.edu. Archaeological Testing of Four Sites on Camp Bowie Abstract Abstract In August of 2002, a crew from the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio tested four sites at Camp Bowie in Brown County Texas. Three sites, 41BR471, 41BR500, and 41BR522, were prehistoric and one site, 41BR392, had both historic and prehistoric components. This work was done under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 2926 for the Adjutant General’s Department of Texas. Testing at these sites was done based on recommendations made for 41BR500 by Mauldin and Broehm (2001) and recommendations made for 41BR392, 41BR471 and 41BR522 by Greaves (2002). Testing at 41BR392 centered on a prehistoric burned rock midden. Excavations took place in and around the midden. A few bifaces and a considerable amount of lithic debris were recovered. The size, location and density of burned rock within the midden were examined as a means of investigating the internal midden structure. Analysis of these data suggest that the midden represents an earth oven. Ethnobotanical recovery revealed the presence of geophytes. Radiocarbon dates place the feature within the Late Prehistoric period. Testing at 41BR471 involved surface collection and excavation. Excavations confirmed that the site is deflated with sub-surface deposits being shallow and very minor. What remains of this site is a moderate to dense surface scatter of unmodified debitage and a few lithic cores. Testing at 41BR500 centered on a suspected buried burned rock feature discovered during the spring 2001 survey. Excavations recovered unmodified lithic debitage, biface fragments and a scraper. Excavations in a separate area of the site where high debitage density was noted recovered a Nolan dart point dating to the Middle Archaic along with a number of bifaces and a considerable amount of unmodified lithic debitage. This additional testing uncovered a single charcoal stain, and radiocarbon dates place this feature within the Late Prehistoric period. Our analysis of the distribution of the diagnostic points, the distribution of debitage, and the radiocarbon date, suggest that much of this material is in secondary context. Test excavations at 41BR522 showed very little debitage in or around the prehistoric burned rock midden. This small midden is nearly a perfect ring of burned rock surrounding a central hearth depression. Preservation was excellent for the recovery of both charred botanical remains and for examination of the midden structure. A Montell dart point, dating to the Late Archaic was recovered. As with 41BR392, the size, location and density of burned rock within the midden was examined as a means of investigating the internal midden structure. Analysis revealed the midden to be a central hearth/earth-oven type burned rock midden. Ethnobotanical recovery revealed the presence of geophytes. Radiocarbon dates place the feature within the Late Prehistoric period. Based on the results of this testing, it is recommended that sites 41BR471 and 41BR500 are not eligible to the National Register of Historic Places and do not warrant status as State Archeological Landmarks. The sites have data that are of questionable integrity, and CAR’s testing work has effectively exhausted any remaining research potential. Sites 41BR392 and 41BR522 are recommended as eligible to the National Register of Historic Places and do warrant status as State Archeological Landmarks. Both recommended sites have data with good integrity. In addition, both sites have charcoal present, and good recovery of ethnobotanical material. Data from these sites can be used to consider a variety of research questions that are significant for understanding the prehistory of the region. i Table of Contents Archaeological Testing of Four Sites on Camp Bowie Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................................................. i Figures ................................................................................................................................................................................. iv Tables .....................................................................................................................................................................................v Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction and Project Summary by Jason D. Weston Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Project Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 Report Organization ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 2: Environmental Setting by Jason D. Weston The Region .................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Camp Bowie .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 The Sites ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Weather During the Project ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 3: Cultural Background and Previous Investigations by Jason D. Weston and Raymond P. Mauldin Cultural Background ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Previous Investigations ................................................................................................................................................ 10 Chapter 4: Research Issues by Raymond P. Mauldin and Jason D. Weston Eligibility, Integrity, and Research Issues ...................................................................................................................