An Archaeological Survey of the New Braunfels Little League Project, Comal County, Texas

Abstract

In February 1997, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by the city of New Braunfels to conduct an archaeological investigation of an area to be impacted by the proposed construction of Little League baseball fields. CAR staff conducted a pedestrian survey of the project area along the Dry Comal Creek and monitored backhoe trenching operations. Two sites were recorded and assigned trinomials: Site 41 CM220 lies on an active floodplain and probably represents an open prehistoric campsite with a Late Paleoindian period component. The site is in a previously disturbed setting and no additional investigations are recommended. Site 41CM219 lies on the adjacent hillside and has dense concentrations of historic and prehistoric artifacts. There is a historic stone wall bounding one side of the site, and one course of dressed field stones arranged in a rectangle reminiscent of a small family cemetery plot is located in another part of the site. The historic artifacts are consistent with ceramics associated with the early European-primarily German-settlement of the area. 41CM219 is outside the planned impact area. CAR recommends that any future impacts to the site be preceded by archival research and archaeological testing to determine the site's significance.