Recent Research on the Archaeological and Historical Evidence of the Hasanai

Abstract

This article was assembled using information collected for my dissertation proposal. The Allen Phase Caddo sites and other aboriginal Historic sites of interest are located in the upper Neches and Angelina River basins in East Texas, and were identified from various sources in the archaeological literature . In addition, regional archaeologists and a vocational archaeologists, including several participants of the East Texas Caddo Research Group 2006 meeting, provided information and helped in the process of vetting sites. My dissertation will examine the archival and archaeological records in hopes of identifying the archaeological correlates of Hasinai Caddo groups in East Texas. To accomplish this l will revisit primary documents and their translations, analyze known archaeological site collections, and locate, document, analyze and, if possible, contextualize unreported private collections. Utilizing multiple lines of evidence, including a broad survey of sites, collections, and a detailed examination of regional ceramic attributes, I propose to link archaeological sites to specific Hasinai regional entities. Native Caddo groups inhabited the area between the Neches and Angelina river valleys of East Texas for hundreds of years before the first European contact at ca. A.D. 1542. Written accounts from the time of sustained contact, more than 100 years later have informed and influenced our understanding of the social, political, and economic organization of the Caddo. Over the last half-century many public and privately owned archaeological sites have been excavated and reported, but to my knowledge there has not been a detailed region-wide ceramic study of archaeological sites and collections from the upper Neches and Angelina river drainages.