The Indian Springs #2 Site(41BW512): A Late 18th Century Kadahadacho Settlement in Northeast Texas

Abstract

The Indian Springs #2 site (41BW512) is on a high alluvial terrace or bluff edge (330 ft. amsl), overlooking the Red River floodplain and Hubbard Slough, an old channel of the river. The current channel of the river is ca. 1.6 km north of the site. The site appears to be a late 18th century Kadohadacho settlement with a small cemetery, although there is evidence in the collections known to have come from it that it was also occupied in Archaic and Early Caddo times (ca. A.D. 900-1200) as well as in the early to mid-19'h century. The site was discovered by the landowner, Mr. Julian Cranfill during earth-moving activities associated with construction of a pond. When European glass beads were noted by Mr. Cranfill on the disturbed ground surface, he began a limited excavation of the area where the beads were found, attempting to ascertain their context and what other kinds of artifacts may be associated with them. He excavated a circular area about 3-4 m in diameter along the eastern side of the bluff, on a small knoll. During this work, he documented three obvious cultural features and a dark charcoal-stained patch of burned soil that may represent remnants of a shallowly-buried burned structure. Feature I and II are burials of Caddo people, and both had European glass beads and pottery vessels placed in the grave as funerary objects. Feature III is a pit that contained butchered hog jaws; it may be associated with the later 19tb century Anglo-American farm occupation also present at the site. The Feature I burial pit was oriented east-west, and was the size of a child or subadult burial. The burial pit extended to ca. 66 em bs, and the bottom 2-5 em of the pit fill was a very dark soil. This soil is probably the product of firing episodes associated with Caddo burial ceremonies. There was a large concentration of glass beads at the eastern end of the burial, probably from necklaces of beads that were worn by the deceased. More than 3000 beads came from this area, along with a few preserved teeth, and three ceramic vessels. Feature II was a larger burial pit, probably that of an adult Caddo, oriented almost north-south. According to Mr. Cranfill, there were four ceramic vessels, more than 430 glass beads, and five triangular Fresno arrow points accompanying this individual.