Archaeological Investigations at the Loma Sandia Site (41LK28): A Prehistoric Cemetery and Campsite in Live Oak County, Texas

Abstract

So it was that I determined to look again, to try to rediscover this monster (Steinbeck 1962: 5). As someone who was originally trained in Texas archaeology (a land monstrous in its diversity), but who had left the region over 15 years ago, I was anxious to rediscover the archaeology of that land. The opportunity to review Archaeological Investigations at the Loma Sandia Site (41LK28) presented an opportunity to see how archaeology in Texas, and archaeology in general, had changed over 15 years. The Loma Sandia site is a remarkable example of a late Middle Archaic (850-550 B.c.) cemetery with the remains of approximately 205 individuals and associated burial items. Located on a sandy hill in the center of south Texas, 90 miles south of San Antonio, the site bears some similarity to other, less well-reported Archaic cemeteries and provides an astonishing glimpse of Archaic society close to the Gulf Coast. Investigations were conducted by archaeologists with the State Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation) primarily in 1977 and 1978, and much of the remaining core area of the site was destroyed by highway construction later in 1978. Based on observations during construction, it appears that the majority of the site was detected and excavated by the archaeologists. In reading this immense two-volume work, three fundamental questions came to mind; they are simple ones, and yet they seem rarely discussed in American archaeology. First, what should an archaeological site report be? Second, what can we learn from a spectacular site such as Loma Sandia? Finally, how do the early historical accounts of a particular culture area continue to affect, even hinder, our vision of the past? What should a site report be? The Loma Sandia site report is a compendium of provenience data, feature interpretations, excellent summaries of the archaeology and ethnohistory of the area, the results of numerous specialist studies of the artifacts and human skeletal remains, and several summaries placing the Loma Sandia site into the context of other Archaic cemeteries in Texas. At 846