Recent Archeological Investigations at the Jewett Mine, East-Central Texas

Abstract

The Jewett Mine is a ca. 21, 000-acre lignite mine in the post oak savannah of Freestone, Leon, and Limestone counties, Texas. The project area straddles the divide between the Navasota River valley on the west and the Trinity River valley on the east and lies at the western margin of the Caddoan area . Although residential use of the area by the Caddo has not been documented, many sites have yielded small quantities of Caddoan pottery, and it is likely that cultures indigenous to the region were affected by the development of Caddoan culture not far to the east. For reference, the George C. Davis Site (41CE19) lies only 95 km to the east-northeast. In addition to contributing information about the interaction between Caddoan and neighboring groups in the central part of East Texas, the Jewett Mine sites, by virtue of their location in the Eastern Woodlands but outside of the Caddoan area proper, have the potential to shed light on such topics as regional Caddoan settlement systems and the origins of Caddo culture.