Angelina River Research Articles

Documentation of Unassociated and Culturally Unidentifiable Funerary Objects in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District Collections Housed at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin

This report concerns the documentation of unassociated Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) funerary objects from prehistoric sites at several man-made reservoirs operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District (COE) in northeastern Texas: Lake Wright Patman, Lake O’ the Pines, and Lake Sam Rayburn in the Sulphur River, Big Cypress Creek, and Angelina River basins, respectively. These NAGPRA materials are presently held at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin (TARL).

Ceramic Vessel Sherds from the Kah-Hah-Ko-Wha Site (41CE354), an Allen Phase Component in Northwestern Cherokee County, Texas

The Kah-hah-ko-wha site (41CE354) is an Historic Caddo Allen phase (ca. A.D. 1650-1800) habitation site situated in an upland saddle landform in the Flat Creek valley in the upper Neches River basin of East Texas. Flat Creek flows west a few kilometers to its confluence with the Neches River, not far downstream of Lake Palestine. The site was found and investigated as part of survey and test excavation investigations for a proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-permitted lake on Flat Creek in northwestem Cherokee County. During those 2006 investigations, a large assemblage of Allen phase Caddo ceramics were recovered from household areas in the North and Alley parts of the site, making it one of the very few upper Neches Historic Caddo Allen phase domestic sites ever studied. As such, a detailed analysis of the domestic ceramics found at the Kah-hah-ko-wha site provides a unique opportunity to document the ceramic practices and traditions of these Caddo peoples. Ceramic vessel sherds are abundant at the Kahhah- ko-wha site, with 474 decorated sherds and 94 plain sherds from at least 36 vessels (based on the number of recovered rim sherds). The density of ceramic vessel sherds is 16.9 per m2 in the North area excavation units (n=213) and 37.0 per m2 in the Alley area (n=314 ). The plain/decorated sherd ratio (P/DR) for the site as a whole is only 0.20, quite comparable with the Allen phase component at the Deshazo site (Story 1995; Fields 1995), where the P/DR is 0.29, and the 18th century Nabedache Azul and Nabedache Blanco sites in the Neches River basin, Houston County; the P/DR ranges from 0.3 1-0.32 at these sites. By area, the P/DR in the North area is 0.31, compared to 0.13 from the Alley area. The lower P/DR from the Alley area suggests this occupation may be slightly younger than the North area occupation, even though the calibrated radiocarbon dates from the site do not suggest this. Table 1 provides comparative sherd assemblage data from nearby Lake Palestine sites on the Neches River and the Lang Pasture site, about five miles southwest from the Kah-hah-ko-wha site. In this particular seriation, the Kah-hah-kowha site falls in Group 1 of the seriation, and is interpreted as the youngest or most recent known Caddo occupation of the Lake Palestine area sites. By the late 17th and 18th centuries other Caddo sites are known in the Neches and Angelina river basins where brushed sherds account for ca. 50-90% of all the decorated sherds, which is consistent with the fact that more than 82% of the sherds at the Kahhah- ko-wha site are brushed.

A 19th Century Caddo Component at the Gatlin Site (41RK1) in the Angelina River Basin of East Texas

The Gatlin site (41RK1) is located ca. 1 mile to the southeast of the small community of Mount Enterprise in Rusk County in the headwaters of the Angelina River basin in the East Texas Pineywoods. The site was first investigated by the landowner in about 1895 (Records on file at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory [TARL], The University of Texas at Austin). At that time, the landowner exposed a single burial with preserved skeletal remains and two extra skulls in the burial pit; each of the skulls supposedly had a hole (bullet hole?) on one side of the head. Among the funerary offerings reported to have been found by the landowner were arrow points, pottery vessels, a pistol, and a rifle barrel. These findings suggest that the burial dates to historic times and, because of the inclusion of the pottery vessels and arrow points, the find was probably the burial of a Caddo Indian. In September 1935, A. T. Jackson of The University of Texas at Austin returned to the site area to attempt to locate a Caddo cemetery and recover whole vessels for the university collections. His excavations were unsuccessful in locating any burials, but he did identify a habitation/midden deposit at the site about 50 m west of a mineral spring, on a hillside (TARL files). These deposits were ca. 20 cm in thickness and consisted of broken animal bones, mussel shell fragments, pieces of lithic debris, aboriginal and European-made pottery vessel sherds, a few small pieces of bottle glass, and a fragment of a brass kettle. These finds also suggest that the habitation/midden deposit dates to historic times, although when during the historic period was uncertain because the collections have not been studied in any detail since they were recovered in 1935.

Caddo Ceramics from the D'Ortolan Site (41NA299)

The D'Ortolan site (41NA299) is a late 1790s to 1830s ranch established by Bernard D'Ortolan on Bayou Loco, a tributary to the Angelina River, in Nacogdoches County, Texas. The ranch was known as Rancho San Bemando del Loco. Tom Middlebrook, Texas Archeological Steward, located and identified the rancho in 2003. During the course of archaeological investigations conducted at the site over the next few years, a small sample of aboriginal Caddo ceramic sherds were found on the rancho in contexts indicating that Caddo ceramic vessels were in use during the rancho occupation. These vessels had to have been obtained by the D' Ortolan ranch through purchase or trade from one of the Caddo groups living in the Angelina River valley after the 1790s. The sherds from the D'Ortolan site, along with those from 2007 excavations by Tom Middlebrook in the Plaza Principal in Nacogdoches, must represent some of the latest aboriginal Caddo ceramic wares currently known in East Texas.

Archaeological Investigations at the Henry M. Site (41NA60): An Early Historic Caddo Farmstead in Nacogdoches County, Texas

The Henry M. site (41NA60) is an early historic (post-A.D. 1680) Allen phase farmstead on a natural rise in the Bayou Loco floodplain in western Nacogdoches County in East Texas. Bayou Loco, a relatively small stream, flows south a few miles to its confluence with the Angelina River. The dam for Lake Nacogdoches on the bayou is about 1.7 miles to the north. Construction of Lake Nacogdoches inundated a number of contemporaneous Allen phase farmsteads- some of which were the scene of 1970s excavations-including 41NA18. The Henry M. site in the mid-1980s. (41NA21), Iron Rock (41NA22), Loco Bottoms (41NA23), and Deshazo (41NA27). The Bayou Loco valley has a high density of historic Caddo settlements. The natural rise that the Henry M. site is located on was in an 8 acre pasture. This rise is about 50 min diameter, ca. 1 min height, and south a short distance from an eastward-flowing spring-fed tributary to Bayou Loco. The rise has loamy alluvial Marietta soils. The main part of the Henry M. site has a ca. 10 m diameter midden deposit near the center of the natural rise. The midden deposit contains extensive amounts of Caddo ceramic sherds and many well-preserved animal bones, some mussel shell, and other artifactual debris.

Analysis of the Historic Caddo Ceramics from 41NA223 in Downtown Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas

In 1999, the late Dr. James E. Corbin of Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas, recorded 41NA223 in a proposed parking lot associated with offices for the City of Nacogdoches. The site is located on the southern edge of an upland ridge (290 ft. amsl) between Banita Creek and La Nana Creek, southward-flowing tributaries of the Angelina River, and the area around it has a number of commercial buildings. During the course of development of the parking lot for the County Courthouse of Nacogdoches, Caddo ceramics, animal bones, and late 18th early 19th century European artifacts were found on the surface in disturbed contexts. Corbin initiated some limited archeological investigations in the parking lot area to determine what these artifacts represented functionally and culturally, as well as to assess the contextual integrity of any remaining archaeological deposits. Although no final conclusions were ever reached, Corbin concluded that 41NA223 represented a protohistoric or historic Caddo site and/or the site of the 1804 Guadalupe del Pilar mission church. In the course of those investigations-primarily a short trench and minimal hand excavations along the trench where a single pit feature had been exposed-a small assemblage of Caddo ceramic sherds (111 sherds and 60 sherdlets) were recovered from 41NA223. These sherds are the subject of this article. The purpose of this study of the 41NA223 ceramics is two-fold. First, I wish to thoroughly analyze the sherd collection in stylistic and technological terms to ascertain if the sherd collection is Historic Caddo in age, and if so, determine the general characteristics of this assemblage. And second, since "understanding the Caddo ceramics of Historic natives will be essential for workers in this area", particularly in unraveling the archaeological signatures of different Caddo groups that lived in the Angelina River basin, I hoped to make some head way in comparing the nature of this Historic Caddo assemblage with other recently described Caddo sherd collections from Nacogdoches County and the Neches/Angelina river basins.

Historic Caddo Archaeology on the Red and Lower Sulphur River Areas of Northeast Texas

Post-ca. A.D. 1685 Caddo archaeological sites are somewhat surprisingly uncommon on the Red and lower Sulphur rivers in Northeast Texas compared to other parts of this broad region. For instance, there are more Historic Caddo sites known in Nacogdoches County in the Neches and Angelina river basin in East Texas than there are in all of the Red and lower Sulphur river regions. The low density of Historic Caddo archaeological sites on the Red and lower Sulphur river areas of Northeast Texas is a product of several factors, the most important likely being the rapid abandonment of much of the area after ca. A.D. 1685 because of regional depopulation caused by the introduction of European epidemic diseases. Other factors would include the effects of looting and river flooding that has destroyed sites and collections before they could ever be documented, as well as the overall sporadic nature of professional archaeological research along these rivers in the Caddo area. A committed and long-term Historic Caddo archaeological and ethnohistorical research program along the Red and lower Sulphur rivers is long overdue. Post-ca. A.D. 1685 Historic Caddo sites on the Red and lower Sulphur are recognized from two kinds of archaeological materials. These include European trade goods of glass, metal, and wheelmade ceramics, generally more common in post-A.D. 1720 contexts, as well as certain kinds of distinctive decorated Caddo pottery wares, particularly engraved fine wares such as Natchitoches Engraved and varieties of Simms Engraved and Avery Engraved, along with Keno Trailed, var. Phillips. Emory Punctated-lncised (some with constricted necks), Nash Neck Banded, and McKinney Plain types are important decorated utility wares in these two locales. In this article, I provide short summaries of the current state of archaeological knowledge about the Historic Caddo settlement of the Red and lower Sulphur river areas of Northeast Texas. Most of that knowledge, for better or worse, from some specific areas derives from the excavation of Caddo burials, rather than from detailed investigations of habitation contexts.

Recent Research on the Archaeological and Historical Evidence of the Hasanai

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.

Archaeological Investigations at the Redwine Site (41SM193), Smith County, Texas

The Redwine site (41SM193) is a probable Middle Caddoan habitation site located on an upland terrace (Figure I) on the headwaters of Auburn Creek, a small tributary of the Sabine River in central Smith County; the Angelina River drainage basin begins about 1.5 km to the south of the site. Auburn Creek is about 100 meters to the north of the site. The Sabine River lies approximately 24 km to the north. Soils on the Redwine site are Bowie fine sandy loam. The site was discovered in the early 1960s by Sam Whlteside an avocational archaeologist who lived in the Tyler area. His work consisted of trenching, and he located and excavated several burials and a small house mound. In an attempt to relocate the site limited controlled excavations were undertaken in 1995 by the authors, under the direction of Dr. John Keller of Southern Archaeological Consultants, Inc. We hoped to gain enough information about the size, age, and integrity of the Redwine site to apply for legal designation and protection under the Antiquities Code of Texas. After confirming that the Redwine site contained important archaeological information, an application for State Archeological Landmark (SAL) designation was made in 1996, and in July 1996, the Redwine site was officially designated an SAL by the Texas Historical Commission, the first SAL in Smith County. This paper describes our findings, and discusses the artifacts and plant and animal remains recovered during the work. We also provide information on the 1960s excavations of a small house mound at the site, along with the grave goods recovered by Sam Whiteside from the four Redwine site burials.

The Middle Caddoan Period in East Texas: A Summary of the Findings of the East Texas Caddoan Research Group

The second meeting of the East Texas Caddoan Research Group (ETCRG) met in San Antonio on October 27, 1996, to consider the archaeology of the Middle Caddoan period in East Texas. The meeting was arranged as a three hour symposium held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Texas Archeological Society. The meeting's format involved the informal presentation by several ETCRG members of major research findings along thematic lines for each of several river basins in the region. The presenters distributed handouts to participants and mixed their comments with slides, photographs, and the hands-on examination of a few selected artifacts. The presentations and discussions were tape-recorded, and transcribed and edited proceedings of the meeting are to be published in a future volume of the Journal of Northeast Texas Archaeology. Brief periods of discussion did occur between the presenters, and the audience participated as well, during the three hour meeting; however, the general consensus of the group was that more time was needed and there was much left to be discussed. This paper attempts to summarize the information presented during the ETCRG meeting, and may (we think) represent a good starting place for continued dialog on the archeology of the Middle Caddoan period, as well as further dialog on the organization and arrangement of future ETCRG meetings. Eight handouts were available to the research group. Four were river basin archaeological summaries prepared by Maynard Cliff (the lower Sulphur River basin), Bo Nelson and Mike Turner (Cypress Creek Drainage basin), Tim Perttula and Brett Cruse (the upper and middle Sabine River basin), and Tom Middlebrook (Attoyac and Angelina River basins). Two handouts not associated with presentations were also prepared for the ETCRG members, namely archaeological summaries of the Middle Caddoan period by Tim Perttula for the middle Red River basin and the upper Sulphur River basin. Jim Corbin provided extensive information on the Middle Caddoan Washington Square Mound site (41NA49) in Nacogdoches County, while Bob Turner discussed archaeological materials found in three Middle Caddoan period cemeteries in Camp and Upshur counties.

Historical Processes, Epidemic Disease, and the Formation of the Hasinai Confederacy

The protohistoric period in native North America, the period between first European contact and the advent of sustained interaction, was characterized by the depopulation of some areas as a result of introduced epidemic diseases, and population coalescenses in others. One such coalescence was the Hasinai Confederacy of the Neches and Angelina river drainage in eastern Texas. This article identifies and discusses four factors in the formation of the confederacy: epidemic disease, Apache aggression, the defensive attributes of the environment in the Hasinai territory, and the formation of a trade gateway in the Hasinai core communities.

The Caddoan Occupation of the Attoyac and Angelina River Basins in the Middle Caddoan Period

The Angelina River basin, including the drainage of its largest tributary, the Attoyac Bayou, encompasses all of Nacogdoches County and portions of Cherokee, Rusk, Angelina, San Augustine, Shelby, and Sabine counties in deep East Texas. Archaeological studies in the region that have illuminated our understanding of Caddoan developments have been meager and spotty at best. There is no archaeological evidence in the Angelina River basin of extensive Caddoan occupation during the Early Caddoan period (ca. A.D. 1000-1200). Jelks presented the results of the largest archaeological project conducted in the area in his dissertation dealing with the archaeology of the McGee Bend Reservoir (Lake Sam Rayburn) by reviewing 13 sites excavated between 1956 and 1962. Every site excavated was multicomponent, and included at least some Archaic dart points, Early Ceramic period sandy paste sherds, and grog-tempered Caddoan ceramics. Jelks has been the other archaeologist to propose an archaeological taxonomic unit for the Caddoan sites based on work in the basin with his formulation of the "Angelina focus." This broad unit appears to include sites that date from ca. A.D. 1200 until historic Caddoan times, and was based, in part, upon the presence of Broaddus Brushed and Pineland Punctated-Incised ceramics at the sites.

Four Clovis Points from San Augustine County, Texas

Four surface-collected Clovis points (two complete, two fragmentary) from the northeastern valley margin of the Angelina River in San Augustine County are described. One specimen is made from Manning fused glass and is the oldest artifact known to have been made of that rock type. The others appear to be made of chert from the Edwards Plateau.