Archeological Investigations of the Lang Pasture (41AN38) Midden Deposits on private property west of the SH 155 Right-of-Way, Anderson County, Texas

Abstract

In the spring of 2006 data recovery investigations were completed at the Lang Pasture site (41AN38) by Coastal Environments, Inc. (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) and Archeological & Environmental Consultants, LLC (Austin and Pittsburg, Texas) for the Texas Department of Transportation. The site is situated along the SH 155 rightof- way in the Caddo Creek basin in northeastern Anderson County, Texas, in the Caddo archeological area of Northeast Texas. The archeological excavations indicate that the site was primarily occupied by Caddo peoples during the Frankston phase, sometime after A.D. 1400. The number and kinds of features identified in the right-of-way—portions of two circular structures, two possible ramadas or work platforms, several large pit features, and a number of extended burials with associated funerary offerings— indicate that the Lang Pasture site is likely a domestic farmstead occupied by more than 1-2 families. Most of the site occurs outside the right-of-way on private property. At the time of the data recovery work, Bo Nelson and Mark Walters noted dark midden-stained sediments in gopher mounds ca. 8-15 m west of the 4-5 m wide right-of-way (ca. N189 E184 on the 41AN38 right-of-way grid) but on private property. Since no midden deposits had been identified (and were never identified) in the SH 155 right-of-way, despite extensive excavations, we felt it was important as part of a better and broader understanding of the archeological record at the Lang Pasture site (41AN38) to investigate the midden to establish its content, age, and overall extent. Permission was obtained from the private landowner, Mr. Earl Lang, to carry out a limited amount of work, and this work was done in March 2006. This article presents the results of the archeological investigations at these prehistoric Caddo midden deposits.