Five Corner Tang Bifaces from the Silo Site, 41KA102, a Late Archaic Mortuary Site in South Texas

Abstract

Five corner tang bi/aces were recovered as grave inclusions with two burials, a young adult male and a child, at the Silo site (41KA102), a Late-Transitional Archaic mortuary and habitation locale in the northern portion of south Texas. Analysis of these corner tangs suggests their specific manufacture as grave goods. The association of grave goods with individuals of varying age and sex categories has led to a general assumption of relatively egalitarian societies inhabiting south and southeast Texas during the period. However, a review of the comparative literature and of social and subsistence patterns during the Late Archaic suggests instead that peoples at the Silo site, as well as across the region, were not entirely egalitarian. In particular, the interment ofhigh quality and rare grave goods, like the corner tangs, were part of both status display and status competition during this period.