HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brazos Valley Slopes
THE BRAZOS VALLEY SLOPES
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT:
Cultural Resources Assessments for the
Texas A&M University
'Animal Science Teaching and Research Complex,
Brazos County, Texas
edited by
Alston V. Thorns
with contributions by
Barry W. Baker William A.-Dickens
Shawn B. Carlson D.R. Kloetzer
Patricia A. Clabaugh Ben W. Olive
J. Philip Dering Alston V. Thoms
Michael R Waters
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Y .2N a 3e
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7
Reports of Investigations No. 14
Archaeological Research Laboratory
Texas A&M University
College Station
1999
x.
THOMs
er West
Chapter 2
logical The Structure of Natural Resources in the Post Oak Savannah:
wed by Regional Productivity Potential
tion
scribes
ction Alston V. Thorns
in the
ocesses Insights about how prehistoric people used the land are readily derived from knowledge
. The of the regional and local ecology, particularly about the productivity potential and spatio-temporal
ter 8 by distribution (i.e., the structure) of natural resources. Typically, the structure of locally available
chapter and readily exploitable subsistence resources--wild foods, raw materials for tools and
ational construction, arable land, and pasturage--conditions the nature of land-use systems (Bettinger
ects of 1991; Binford 1983; Jochim 1976). Knowledge about these resources is an important part of
ment, understanding the land-use practices of the Indians who participated in intra- and interregional
ndix IV hunter-gatherer and simple agricultural land use (Kirch 1982). Old World immigrants also
historic occupied the study area, but were active participants in the worldwide agro-industrial land-use
system (Jordan 1973, 1980; Jordan et al. 1984; Weniger 1984).
With the exception of the "Local Setting" section, this chapter repeats the information
previously presented by Thorns (1993e) in a report on archaeological resources in the White Creek
basin, about 5 km southeast of the ASTRC property, but in the same ecological area.
REGIONAL LANDSCAPE: BRAZOS RIVER BASIN OF THE INNER COASTAL PLAIN
The project area is within the portion of the lower Brazos River basin that traverses the
interior (i.e., inner) part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain, a major physiographic section of the
Coastal Plain Province that, in Texas, extends inland to the Edwards Plateau (Fenneman
1938:100-112; Figure 2.1). This physiographic section is subdivided according to the age of the
geological formations (Gulf series) that roughly parallel the Texas coastline. The Eocene-aged
geological formations of the inner coastal plain form a series of low, but prominent, cuestas
(Fenneman 1938) that constitute what has been called Texas' Undulating Region (Jordan 1980).
These cuestas form corridors that are bounded on the northwest by the comparatively high-relief,
rocky Edwards Plateau and on the southeast by the low-relief, often boggy, coastal prairies (Figure
2.1).
Jacob De Cordova, a Texas immigration promoter in 1858, characterized the upland
landscape between the Brazos and Navasota rivers in the vicinity of the project area: 'The ascent
to the divide between the two rivers is an almost imperceptible rise through a succession of
beautiful sweeps or long slopes of country, gradual in rise and declivity till you reach the ridge
that separates their waters" (cited in Jordan 1980:2). While De Cordova's description is
romanticized, it nonetheless illustrates the general character of the landscape in the uplands
between the Brazos and Navasota rivers.
It is, in part, the combination of extensive cuestas and a moderate-relief landscape that
affords a traversable corridor along the inner coastal plain. From a land-use research perspective,
the corridor is significant because it is a key component that links eastern North American and
central Mexico, two parts of the continent that for the last 5,000 years or more had comparatively
higher population densities and more intensive land-use systems than the corridor itself. This
physiographic corridor constitutes a portion of what has been known as the "Gilmore Corridor,"
In The Brazos River Valley Slopes Archaeological Project, edited by Alston V. Thorns.
Archaeological Research Laboratory, Texas A&M University, 1993.
7
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THOMS CHAPTER 2: NATURAL RESOURCE STRUCTURE THOMS
pasturage, and the excessive mortality that continued among the mules and horses, each day we
were able to advance only two or three leagues, sometimes only one" (Forrestal 1935:59).
Claypan and a thin strip of Blackland Prairie soils cover most of the uplands in Brazos and
surrounding counties. The geographically more extensive claypan sediments tend to have a
veneer of sandy soils that support post oak savannah vegetation; the clayey prairie sediments, as
the name implies, support grasslands and scattered trees, mostly oaks (Hatch et al. 1990:12).
Various kinds of soils have formed in alluvium that covers the bottomlands and valley walls along
the major watercourses. Depending on local conditions, the vegetation varies from prairie to dense
forest (Blair 1950:100-101; Frye et al. 1984; Godfrey et al. 1973; McMahan et al. 1984:23; Weniger
1984:3-14,124-129).
Brazos and the counties to the southwest and northeast are encompassed, for the most
part, by the Post Oak Savannah, a southwest- to northeast-tending "ecological area" that is
defined primarily on the basis of modern vegetation patterns (Frye et al. 1984). A Blackland
Prairie ecological area intermingles with the Post Oak Savannah, forming the San Antonio or
String Prairie (Figure 2.2) that extends along the northern boundary of Brazos County and beyond
to the southwest and northeast (Hatch et al. 1990:12; Jordan 1980:19). Vegetation within the
Post Oak Savannah of Brazos County ranges from grassland mosaics with less than 10-percent
woody canopy, to parks with 11- to 70-percent canopies, to woods (trees 9-30 ft tall) and forests
(trees taller than 30 ft) with 71- to 100-percent woody canopy (McMahan et al. 1984:2,19). The
density of woody species in non-riverine areas of Brazos and adjacent counties has probably
increased since the 1830s as abandoned agricultural fields, over-grazed areas, and cutover woods
have undergone wood regrowth (Yantis 1984:13). Thicketization--increasing density of woody
species--of the Post Oak Savannah has also occurred with the suppression of fires (Hatch et al.
S 1990:12).
In Spanish Texas, the term monte grande, roughly translated as "a big brushland or
graphic thicket," was typically used to denote what is today called the Post Oak Savannah (Buckley
1911:33; Gonzales 1983). To the early Spanish, who were not familiar with the regional
landscape, the monte grande was a frightening obstacle they sometimes called the Monte del
Diablo, a part of the region that they sought to avoid; when it was not possible they literally had
ultigens to cut their way through the brush (Forrestal 1931:25; Gonzales 1983; Williams 1979). For those
There familiar with the regional landscape, the patches and strips of prairie vegetation afforded readily
resents negotiable passageways through the otherwise more densely forested region. That one needed to
on and be familiar with the monte grande to effectively traverse it is well illustrated in the journals of
There is explorers and travelers. In 1721, for example, Father Pena wrote that for the return trip from east
a was Texas to San Antonio, the expedition's leader decided to follow a more direct route through the
.1992: monte grande, rather than go around it, as was done on the way to east Texas.
y street.
He decided to return by the old road [the Indian road to the Texas] through the
Monte Grande, for he had noticed that the Trinity carried only about half a uara
of water, and he had learned from the soldiers whom he had sent out that the
Brazos de Dios [Brazos] also offered a good crossing. With the help of an Indian
oned by guide, and making its way through clearings and places sparsely timbered for a
getation distance of seventeen leagues, the battalion crossed the Monte Grande [between
a humid the Trinity and Colorado rivers] [Forrestal 1935:5901.
hes per
ghts are Concerning his 1767 journey between the Trinity and Brazos rivers, probably in or near Brazos
are not County, the Frenchman Pierre Pages recorded that "we went through open country without
for the following any path, but the savage soldiers [a reference to half-Indians who served as soldiers],
during who knew the country, arrived at exactly the place they intended" (Pages 1985:13).
ed near
lack of Through the centuries, the precise location of the "easiest route" probably varied as
clirriatic conditions changed and as more open spaces were created as a result of fires. The
general location of travel routes, however, was conditioned by soil types.
9
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THOMS CHAPTER 2: NATURAL RESOURCE STRUCTURE THOMS
AVAILABLE FOOD RESOURCES
The history of the "old San Antonio roads" clearly demonstrates the historical and
economic importance of this corridor of roadways connecting the eastern forest regions and the
western savannahs and plains (McGraw 1991). These early Spanish roads are especially
important to the present study because many of the people who traveled them recorded their
observations about the nature and distribution of food resources (Figure 2.3).
Brazos County and adjacent counties are within the eastern portion of the Texan biotic
province which extends north from Texas' central gulf coast area, through east-central Oklahoma,
and beyond. The Texan province is a broad ecotone between the comparatively mesic forest
regions of eastern North America and the more xeric grasslands of the central part of the continent
omoor (Blair 1950:100). As in most ecotones (Odum 1971), species diversity is high in the Texan
rairie province compared with grassland and forest provinces to the west and east, respectively.
Alluvial soils in the Brazos and other major river valleys support mesic forests of oaks,
hackberries, and pecans. These river valleys serve as westward dispersal routes for forest species,
while many subtropical species moved north along the river valleys and more coastal routes (Blair
1950). Upland species characteristic of regions to the south and west could move into the Oak
Savannah through the extensive strips of prairie habitat. These same dispersal or migration
routes probably have been used by plants and animals for tens of thousands of years (Bryant and
Holloway 1985:65).
The subtropical humid climate, the extensiveness of the riverine habitat, the mosaic
upland vegetation pattern, and the overall ecotonal character of the regional biota indicate a
os productive landscape for hunter-gatherers, as well as for simple and complex agriculturalists.
ty During the historic period, the Old World immigrants improved the native productivity by
introducing intensive agriculture and by burning the Oak Savannah, the Blackland Prairies, and
the surrounding regions to create better pasturage (Weniger 1984:187-199). Jordan (1973:252)
suggests that the practice of burning was inherited from the Indian people who knew that
part of "preservation of the prairies meant that grazing bison would remain in the area." Burning
effectively removed dense undergrowth and the mat of dead grasses, thereby facilitating more
palatable and nutritious new growth. Browsers, notably white-tailed deer, also benefited from
regular burning, and, at the same time, the productivity of other critical food resources, including
g edible berries and possibly nuts and root foods, probably increased as well (cf. Lewis 1982).
a The mosaic character of the upland vegetation in the vicinity of the project area is
e compatible with a long history of regularly occurring grassland and shrub fires. Historical
n accounts of the region prior to the mid-1800s fail to show that either juniper or mesquite was a
o consistently major component of the upland vegetation in Brazos and surrounding counties, but
d in many places today, juniper and mesquite are common, often creating dense thickets (Gonzales
n 1983; Jordan 1973; Williams 1979). Since these species are not fire resistant, their presence in
comparatively low densities prior to the mid-1800s is consistent with the idea that the Post Oak
e Savannah was burned regularly. While it is widely recognized that Indian people purposely
burned the prairies and woods of the Post Oak Savannah to increase grass production, some have
argued that they "probably learned this use of fire" from the Spanish (Weniger 1984). I suspect,
ade, he however, that if the Old World immigrants independently recognized the beneficial effects of
o prairie seasonal burning, so, too, did the region's native inhabitants who depended on deer and bison as
d early well as the vegetal foods that have higher yields under more open conditions (cf. DeVivo 1990).
een the
ell-worn For the Anglo-Americans, who were the first Old World peoples to effectively colonize
then, it Brazos County and vicinity, the region exhibited extraordinary potential. In 1821, Stephen Austin
the ways commented on the prairie's rich, black soils for fields and pasturage, the availability of sufficient
tensibly timber for construction, and the abundance of deer for meat (cited in Doughty 1986:426). Some
of the more economically significant natural resources for pre-industrial human populations in
11
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THOMS CHAPTER 2: NATURAL RESOURCE STRUCTURE THOMS
widely and consistently sighted game animal in Brazos County and vicinity, but it is clear that
ty bison and bear were also common.
aiker BISON
County
'
Don Domingo Teran and his expedition group crossed the San Antonio Prairie in Burleson
County in July 1691 on their way to the Texas (Tejas) villages in the pineywoods of what is today
east Texas. They traveled "over a level country and camped on another arroyo, the water being
filled with buffaloes, because of their great number in the vicinity" (Hatcher 1932:17). Father
Damian Manzanet, one of the clergymen traveling with the expedition, noted the presence of
"many buffaloes" and a "great many alligators" in the Brazos River valley west of present-day
Hearne, Texas (Figure 2.3). Of the uplands between the Brazos and Navasota rivers, he noted the
mosaic character of the woods and prairies and the "great number of buffalo," adding that it was
"a very fine place for water and pasturage" (Hatcher 1932:65). Bison, turkeys, other "wild fowl,"
t fish, and alligators were also reported in Brazos County and vicinity by members of the Ramon
expedition in 1716 (Folk 1933; Tous 1930). During that entrada, the Spanish killed bison in the
uplands between the Brazos and Navasota rivers. Ramon also wrote that "in the middle of the
road we met four Texas [Tejas] Indians with two women, who were killing bisons" (Folk 1933:17-
18).
Bison were regularly sighted in the region through the 1700s, but by 1840 few bison were
seen. Bear probably lasted longer, but they too were soon extirpated (Doughty 1986; Jordan 1973;
Weniger 1984). According to William DeWees, who settled in 1822 on the Brazos River not far
nngomery upstream from the project area, bison were abundant near the mouth of the Little River, and "bear
~~YY are very plenty, but we are obliged to use great care when hunting them, least the havalenas
(meaning the peccary) kill our dogs" (cited in Roemer and Carlson 1987:142).
Jean Louis Berlandier (1980), a Frenchman employed as a botanist with the Mexican
boundary commission in 1828, did not mention any bison in the Brazos River basin along the Old
San Antonio Road, although he did encounter them west of the Colorado River. Overhunting
(adapted during the nineteenth century is commonly given as the reason for the bisons' demise in the Post
Oak Savannah (e.g., Weniger 1984), but it also seems possible that climatic changes may have
played a role, perhaps one that created habitats favorable for grass species that are less tolerant
of sustained grazing (cf. Mack 1984; Mack and Thompson 1983). In any case, there is ample
istorical evidence that bison densities varied considerably in Texas throughout the Holocene period, and
that much of the variation was probably in response to climatic change (Bryson and Murray 1977;
Dillehay 1974).
Considering the abundance of ethnohistoric evidence for bison and bison hunting in the
region, it is surprising that bison remains are very rare, if present at all, at excavated
presence archaeological sites in the Brazos River basin portion of the Post Oak Savannah. Even though
ablished faunal preservation tends to be poor throughout the region, most sites do yield a few burned and
al of the unburned mammal bone fragments, but these are usually identified as deer, antelope, or deer-
e project sized or smaller animals, including dog/coyote, rabbit, and other rodents (see Chapter 3). Bison
in 16901 remains are almost never reported, not even from comparatively well-preserved sites dating within
area had the last few centuries. If bison were periodically present during the prehistoric period in the same
of the densities that they were during the early historic period, one would expect their remains to be
"of mixed reported regularly in the regional archaeological literature.
the Post
It is possible, of course, that the paucity of bison remains in the regional archaeological
record is due to sampling error, but with so many sites test-excavated over the last 30 years, this
ve game explanation alone does not seem adequate. An ecological explanation is more likely, especially
at in the one that considers population dynamics and climatic change. For example, geographers and
River, he historians have argued that prior to A.D. 1500 human predation kept bison from occupying the
1931:25- savannahs and prairies within thE otherwise forested regions of the Southeast. But with massive
the most human depopulation from Old World diseases, a major ecological change occurred--loss of the
13
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THOMS CHAPTER 2: NATURAL RESOURCE STRUCTURE THOMS
If coasts 1992: Yantis 1984). In the early 1980s, a few bottomland localities immediately upstream from
n during the project area are reported to have had as many as 200 deer per 1,000 acres, but in the "mostly
e periods cleared" upland areas there were fewer than 5 deer per 1,000 acres, with the overall average being
enough about 40 (Yantis 1984:10).
n regime
densely There is considerable annual variation in the deer densities and kill rates in the project
ng-term area and vicinity. However, in general the data illustrate that in the Post Oak Savannah,
at only a including Brazos County, the densities and kill rates are moderate compared to surrounding
regions (Table 2.1 and 2.2). From 1986 through 1990, the estimated number of deer hunters
each year in the "reporting unit" defined by Brazos, Burleson, Washington, Waller, Grimes, and
Madison counties ranged from a low of 13,665 hunters in 1990 to a high of 16,210 in 1989. In
1988, 15,829 hunters spent a total of 117,982 days between November 3 and January 6 in this
ring the area, during which they killed 7,436 deer. Within the much larger area encompassing all of the
meat and Post Oak Savannah and Pineywoods regions of east Texas, a total of 119,062 deer were killed
the Post during 2,033,796 hunting days in 1988 (Boydston 1992:8,11,15,19).
and, in
quilted Collectively, the data reviewed here, as well as the ecology of white-tailed deer in general
(Halls 1978), illustrate that as long as there is a suitable habitat, white-tailed deer are capable of
sustaining heavy predation. This, in turn, suggests that deer should have been economically very
f the San important to the region's native hunter-gatherers, simple agriculturalists, and Old World
e of deer immigrants who replaced them. The faunal record from archaeological sites throughout the region
bers that is certainly consistent with this contention (see Thoms, Chapter 3). As the above statistics imply,
1985:15). deer hunting in this part of the Post Oak Savannah continues to be economically important.
834, also
Native Plant Foods
e
in Of the "commonly associated plants" in the Post Oak Savannah, many have edible seeds,
e nuts, or berries, including various oaks, mesquite, hackberry, hawthorn, and dewberry. Pecans,
y mustang grapes, and greenbriar are among the commonly associated edible plants in the pecan-
p elm forests of the region's bottomlands (McMahan et al. 1984:19,23). A less scientific but
informative statement about edible plants comes from Father Solis, who traversed the region in
1767. Of the vegetation in the uplands adjacent to the left bank of the Brazos River--not far north
ly 1700s, of the project area--he described the "great number of fruit trees, pomegranates [persimmons?],
year, the grape-vines, strawberry-plants, blackberry-bushes, sapotes, hazelnuts, chestnuts and sweet
anish at potatoes" (Forrestal 1931:26). Although there is a paucity of ethnographic data about the specific
1835, the vegetal foods consumed by the Indian people in Brazos County and vicinity, they are commonly
believed to have "utilized a large number of plant foods, including herbs, roots, fruit, and seeds"
(Newcomb 1961:139).
r,
he Fortunately, historic journals contain references to the specific kinds of vegetal foods eaten
he by the region's native populations. For example, just after crossing the Navasota River in 1691
on his way to the "Texas [Texas] country," Father Manzanet wrote about finding "a very good fruit
which they call as" (Hatcher 1932:66). What as was is not clear, but in this same area in 1721,
hunting, Father Pena wrote about finding "an abundance of plums" in a clearing (Forrestal 1935:32).
argued, Earlier, during the same trip, but in or near northern Robertson County, Pena noted "a woods
that their covered with thorny trees, which in these parts are called mesquites and which produce fruit of
tions had which the Indians are very fond" (Forrestal 1935:29).
argument,
directly to The journals also provide information about the root foods used by the Indian people, as
d more of well as by the Spanish and other Old World peoples. That roots were an important overwintering
food resource is evident from an account about a Spanish priest and several soldiers who camped
along the Navasota River during the winter of 1717-1718.
result of
exceeding Father Nunez and four soldiers had taken supplies eastward along Ramon's road
s (Reagan intended for the East Texas missions but they found the Trinity impassable and
15
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THOMS CHAPTER 2: NATURAL RESOURCE STRUCTURE THOMS
Table 2.2. Summary of Deer Density and Hunting Data for 1990 in Brazos County, Texas and Selected
Surrounding Counties (Boydston 1992: Table 6; Reagan 1992: Table 8).
Hunting Brazos Robertson Madison Grimes Washington Burleson
Data County County County County County County
Category
Ac. deer 273,457 322,494 165,829 347,321 77,372 295,268
range
Est. deer 8,237 13,550 4,645 17,996 1,113 34,333
POP.
Acres/deer 33.2 23.8 35.7 19.3 69.5 8.6
Deer/ 30.1 42.0 28.0 51.8 14.4 116.3
1,000 ac
Hunter days 26,006 26,962 15,967 33,734 19,075 13,737
Total Kill 446 1,001 655 655 377 308
Kills/ 0.21 0.27 0.37 0.21 0.22 0.17
hunter
Kills/ 1.63 3.11 3.97 1.89 4.90 1.04
1,000 ac
Hunters/ 9.93 13.95 12.65 11.40 27.11 7.68
1,000 ac
Father Manzanet, a member of the de Leon expedition to east Texas in 1690, reported eating
"cooked frijoles, with ground-nuts and tamales" at the Texas [Tejas] village on San Pedro Creek
(Bolton 1908:376). In 1767, at a "very large and populous town inhabited by the Tejas tribe" and
t located a short distance east of San Pedro Creek, Father Solis recorded the following account:
s There is another food which they use, known as tuqui, and which is much like the
cassava of Havana. It is derived from the roots of a certain tree, which are
e pounded in a wooden mortar and then prepared with bear lard. Tuqui is taken as
Y a beverage and is very injurious to the health, for it causes dysentery, skin
e abrasions, and other diseases [Forrestal 1931:28].
Y
S
Of course, the native agriculturists also relied on domestic vegetal foods. In particular, the
Spanish accounts attest to corn, beans, and squash, but, at least during the late 1600s and early
provide 1700s, most of these crops were grown east of the Trinity River. The few fields in proximity to
however, Brazos County seem to have been just across the Navasota River, perhaps in southwest Leon
Old "sweet County. On June 20, 1716, soon after crossing the Navasota, Ramon wrote that "we arrived at
palatable" a small ranch, where we found seven Texans. They received us with great pleasure and
of the root demonstrated their delight by giving us green corn and watermelons. This is the first time we saw
corn in this province," (Folk 1933:18).
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THOMS CHAPTER 2: NATURAL RESOURCE STRUCTURE THOMS
part of the bedload of the Brazos River; they presently cap most of the higher terraces along the
river (Nordt 1983). Chert gravels occur on the surface throughout the region as part of the
oductive Pleistocene deposits (Barnes 1974). In the ASTRC area, a low density (usually less than 20 pieces
became per square meter) of gravel up to 5 cm in diameter is exposed on the surface above elevations of
by the about 270 ft asl. On the treads of Terrace 1 and 2 surface gravels are rare, but they do occur on
Brazos the scarps. There are also gravel bars in and adjacent to the modern Brazos River channel.
ds just
culture These materials did not go unnoticed by the Spanish and other Old World travelers of the
ees and historic period. For example, one member of the Aguayo Expedition in 1721 reported "flint stones"
jectarea near the Navasota River (Buckley 1911:40), and Berlandier (1980:327) observed "fragments of
jasper and flint" near the mouth of the Navasota River. He also described a gravel-rich lens
exposed in a Brazos River cutbank near the mouth of the Little Brazos River, a few kilometers
ugh the upstream from the project area. The lens below the surface was a "layer about two or three inches
e Brazos thick composed of rounded fragments of quartz, flint, chalcedony, etc., mingled underneath with
s and pieces of rounded clay" (Berlandier 1980:334).
stead
ht bank Chert gravel in the vicinity of project area is significant in its importance as a source of raw
material for the stone tools made by the Indian people (see Dickens, Chapter 9, and Olive, Chapter
8). Most of the stream-worn chert gravels are brown and grey in color; black and red colors occur
d in much lower frequencies. Typically, the chert pebbles and cobbles range in size from less than
e a centimeter to 15 cm in diameter (Nordt 1983:56-64). Silicified wood that has eroded from local
s Eocene deposits also occurs on the surface in the project area: some of the pieces are more than
20 cm long. This material was also used by the Indian people to manufacture stone tools. Amos
Parker (1968:164) observed silicified wood on the surface during his travels through the region
r in 1834 and 1835, noting that "it might probably be manufactured into good hones, although it
was coarser grained, and of a lighter shade, than those usually found at our stores."
y the use
Rloetzer, THE LOCAL VALLEY SLOPES
os River
4). Slave Past and Present Vegetation Patterns
bor was
than 10 Post Oak Savannah vegetation, with densely wooded and prairie-like patches, dominates
slave in the upland landscape in the project area, but the adjacent parts of the bottomlands are covered
e white by riparian forest. Prior to the local impacts from agro-industrial land use, the more densely
wooded areas on the ASTRC property probably occurred along tributary streams, and perhaps on
the higher terraces. In any case, the journals from the pre-impact days attest to the mosaic
d other character of the vegetation throughout the uplands and bottomlands; a person was never very far
my and from forests or prairies. Today, the most densely forested areas are on the highest upland
principal elevations and on the lowest floodplain elevations. According to local people familiar with the
r in 1716 recent history of the ASTRC area, much of the property was cultivated until a few years ago; today,
made "of those cultivated areas are planted in coastal bermuda grass. This suggests that these areas were
Colorado fairly open prior to cultivation. At least some trees were present, however, as the large post oaks
red with and the occasional live oak scattered throughout the project area attest. According to Nordt
it obvious (1983:26-33), land cover/land use on the first and second terraces is grassland and pasture and
lonce ounty is oak-savannah and pasture on the third and fourth terraces.
1935;
Stable carbon isotope interpretations of the abundance of floodplain vegetation during the
last 2,500 years indicate that grassland plants represent a climate drier than present between
area, about 2,500 and 500 years ago. But with the onset of modern climate conditions beginning about
s not 500 years ago, hardwood forests soon covered much of the floodplain (Jacobs et al. cited in Nordt
neys. et al. 1992:12). For the region as a whole, including the inner coastal plain and adjacent parts
s, are of the central Texas Hill country, there has been a long but apparently steady warming and/or
ert is drying trend since the late Pleistocene, with a resulting overall decrease in trees, except for the
part oaks, and an increase in grasses and herbaceous plants (Bryant and Holloway 1985:52,61).
ation as Available palynological evidence from bogs in the part of the inner coastal plain that encompasses
19
OZ
w
sanlnlloe paluias-ftlunq;o aotrelsodtul
iresano agl loaUas of paloadxa si ploaai iuoi$oioaugose agl `Lase pafoid aql ul kiolsTgaid
lnotlWnoitp sieuriue aureS $iq;o aouupunqu aiqugo zd aql $uuaplsuoo •sease 8ulpuno uns pue
sadois Aaiiun aql;o asn puei uual-8uoi so3 aouapina aigeiaplsuoo sl asatp `ssaldego oml ixau atp
uT passnosip sd •uonednooo uetung;o Asolslq Wtroi a 3o aouaplea piaTA of paloadxa si Lase loa(osd
02&ISH at.p 'sopissoo ianesl ieuol89.z-salui so fetu le of Alltupcosd su iiann se `spueiuiolloq sanig sozeig
pule quuuenuS 3po isod atp uT saosnosai ieinleu;o AITUgeilene pue aouepunqu aql uani0
s
Y
•o$e sseaA 000`01 uugl
asotu ease OuLSv atp sleau so ul sadois Aaiien aql $uoie padtuuo Alpalgnopun otpA sueipuioaied
agl Aq palunq alarm siuurlue asagl pue '(686I uosiseO pue aiaalS) Lasle loa(oid aql paumo.z
'stpounuletu 2?ulpnioul 'Lunu;ullatu 'ouaoolsiaid alai atp Nui1n(I •s008I Aislea atp of s009I alai aql
tuosi Aiuiulsao 'auaooioH aql lnogVno.igl Aiiuolpolsad fllulolA aluipaunul atp uT luasaid Aigegosd
asann uosig •seaA aql 3o uosuas Mule spueissua aql 3o slsled luaoL(pL pue sease palsato3 aql
ui punol aq Alains pinoo Amp pule 'uoi$as aql uT luepungL Aiieloadsa asam nap `saiisua possnoslp
sy •spuleiutolloq at.p uT aigeiTenu asam swag •siool iailue pue auoq pue '.taliags 'vuTtIlop
so; Silelsaleur enes atp t.plnn $uoie `Sa$LSioud poo; lsa sei atp papinosd ffagl io3 'ial;e lg$nos Isom
atp Algegoid asann sietulue aumW $iq '.tanannoq 'saoinosai pooi aiquiFene Alleooi aql iiu •l0
-seam palsaio; atp uT puno3 aq pinoo sAwlinl pue `sietultre Wulsleaq-sn; lat.ilo 'sllggei
2iulpnioul 'siutuiule atue$ iietus JO Alalsen y •gsjjiiatjs pue qsi; 3o Alnuenb iulluulsgns u piaiA of
uo papuadap aq Alqugoid pinoo sanls ag 1, •uielgo of linoijlip asann spoo3 ielaWan satpo uagen salmon
xp 8ulsnp Aiieioadsa `.zuaA atp lnogWno zgl 2?np aq pinoo legl poo; goli-alespAgogseo u ao tnosa.i
atp tpien seliiure; asot.p 2fulpio p 'spuuituolloq agl ui pue 993e3sns aoessal aql uo nnai2l sloos aigipa
Aluiulsao •iiu3 Aiseo otp tMnoitp Wulads tuoi3 A eolpolsad sua m papoom atp ui puno3 aq pinoo
'sueaq alinbsaur AlgL,goid pule 'sllru3 'sawaq su ilaen su `spoo3 lnu satp0 •ssleaA lsout lulepunqu
Algegoid asam `stpuotu Auetu so3 pasols aq pinoo goignn 'sueoad 'iiej aql $ulsn(I •seQA atp jo
uosuas Cue $ttisnp ootrulsip WuTNIctn hogs L uTglTm paulelgo aq pinoo saosnosas poo; pliM
•aidoad plioM PIO agl Aq paonponul 3130lsan4i atp
io) AITtrloln alulpatuurl atp ul aigeiieee osie seen a$usnlsud -Lase oHj.SV aql ui alisatuoq lunualod
Mule 3o ssalaw paspunq Ana3 u uigplen asnlinols$e xaidtuoo so aldtuis soj Puei aigLSe seen asau
•spaau uollorulsuoo olsLq slatp loatu of AllulolA atp uT auolspuus gVnoua puno3 anLtl Aiqugosd
pinoo slues$itutui pisoM Pi0 aql pue 'stool auols so3 ielsalutu onus su aiquiiune Aiapinn asam ianesW
liag0 -Lase loa f'osd aql ui aoLid Attu tuos; algLuielgo seen uononslsuoo pule '$upieuz cool 'ian3 so;
pooen aidtuy •iiann se salenn $ulmoU peq lgnop ou ease OI i sv atp uT sadois Millen aql PaulusP legl
sassnoosalwA souittt atp 'suosLas Ames atil $uisnp pue 'sanls agl tuos3 algeiiene sA-emle Senn salenn
aigelod •suoneindod ieinlinois$e pue sasatpLW-salunq Aq paiinbai saosnosas aoualslsgns oisuq
atp of ssaoaL Asua papsolile Lase sat4H sozesg atp pue 'uluidpooU agl 'sadois A3118n ati 1,
sao-mosaa rnanlnN algDpDaV
•(29:5861 Aenno11oH Puc luukIg) oWe swat 000'E Aq Pagsliqulsa
Aigegosd seen autiBas uonulaWan geuuenes-}ieo luasasd ail lugl saleoipul easle ojiUSV agl
SYVOHJ 38nion8IS 3o8nOS38 iv8niVN :3 831dVHO
THOMs
probably
CHAPTER 3
to the INDIAN LAND USE: EXAMPLES AND PATT
Potable
rcourses ETHNOHISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGIC
ple wood
a. Chert
is could Alston V. Thoms
n needs.
rs of any That Indian people used the natural resources of the Post Oak Savannah and bottomlands for
cinity for thousands of years before the arrival of Old World explorers and immigrants is a matter of record.
To illustrate this point and to provide a cultural context for evaluating the project area's
archaeological resources, selected aspects of the regional ethnohistorical and archaeological
y season records are reviewed here. This chapter draws heavily from Thorns' (1993d) previous review of
probably regional ethnohistory and archaeology, but it includes new information as well. The information
ite beans, presented here by no means exhausts the available data base, but the examples depict some of
Certainly the recorded variation and patterns in how the Indian people used the regional landscape. The
with the region is argued to have special research potential as a multicultural, multiethnic crossroads
uring the between the forest and prairie regions, and because its ethnohistorical and archaeological records
ended on afford the opportunity to study the evolution and diversity of hunter-gatherer and simple
including horticultural land-use systems, as well as elements of complex agro-industrial systems.
During the Paleoindian, Archaic, Late Prehistoric, and Historic periods, there was widespread
bably the use of the inner West Gulf Coastal Plain, including the Brazos River basin (Bowman 1985; Honea
terials for 1961; Kotter 1982; Steele and Carlson 1989; Story 1990). Previously recorded archaeological sites
ds. As in the uplands, along the valley slopes, and in the bottomlands within a few kilometers of the
found in ASTRC property document hunter-gatherer land use during every prehistoric time period (Figure
icon were 3.1; Bond 1991; Davis et al. 1987; Ensor 1987; Fletcher 1980; Rogers 1991, 1992, 1993; Shafer
ly from 1977; Thoms 1993d). Moreover, the first archaeological site officially recorded in Brazos County--
oths, 41BZ1--is located on the ASTRC property (Collins 1955). That there are hundreds of known sites
ed by the in a region where few systematic surveys have been conducted and no large-scale reservoir
area more projects have been undertaken suggests fairly extensive and perhaps intensive land-use patterns.
This kind of evidence is consistent with the local abundance and ready availability of basic
subsistence resources (see Thoms, Chapter 2). And as the next section illustrates, the Indian
and people of the ethnographic period hunted and gathered throughout the Post Oak Savannah area.
e ASTRC
cussed in Other perspectives on past land-use patterns in the region are presented by Black (1989),
ey slopes Davis et al. (1987), Honea (1961), Johnson (1989), Kotter (1982), Peterson (1965), Prewitt (1985),
mughout Rogers (1992, 1993), Shafer (1977), and Story (1985, 1990). These and other reports by
e overall archaeologists working in the region include discussions about cultural history and temporally
diagnostic artifacts, paleochmates, technological changes, and cultural influences from the east
Texas pineywoods and the central Texas hill country, as well as extensive bibliographies.
ETHNOHISTORIC EVIDENCE
The Indian people made extensive use of a broad corridor of trails that traversed Brazos
unty and vicinity, connecting the pineywoods of east Texas with the hill country of central Texas
d the comparatively dry areas of south Texas. In the 1690s, the Spanish followed some of the
e trails on their way to and from the major agricultural villages in east Texas occupied by the
as and other Indian groups (Figure 3.1; also see Thoms, Chapter 2). The route that crossed
The Brazos River Valley Slopes Archaeological Project, edited by Alston V. Thoms.
Archaeological Research Laboratory, Texas A&M University, 1993.
21
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•ianlH salaaN agI luau paluaol aWUlTln 3190-13 oipad uuS slq
u oij IgWnoiq,,qqugoid aq Iugl 'usoa uioij apuTm pooj u 'alrnnd jo Wuq u anug of palsodas sum m;)ql
jo auo 'salllnllae aaualslsgns saldood asall Inoqu apuui alarm sluaunuoa ou 11TIVA •Isua aqI of
suase puu ulsuq AIlujj L aqI of anlluu alarm oq m aldoad suxaL io su fal all of pa uaj;).i „suxa,L aqL,
'(V1V'9LE:8061 uollog) ,suuTpul ledlaulsd uaallnoj.fq paluuduioaau suxaj, aql 3o iou3ano$„ aqI
pasalunoaua Mall '(1 •g ainWF3 aas '.ianlH AIluTkL aqI 3o AmingpI xuuq IgWj1 u) ulsuq 31;)wD sulpog
aqI ul aialnmaTuos paluaol Alqugozd ,oAouu„ ue Ie '1anlanmOH •Aliadold DjiUSV aql jo Isuaglnos
unj gZ Inoqu spueldn luaau(pu puu snAp ulosunuN puu sozuig aqI passoia AQgl uagnm 0691
jo AuW ul suulpul Wulaas liodw lou plp suxaL Isua of uolllpadxa uoa-I aQ aqI 3o slspulp all
999T-0691 :slvwnor PalOalaS wolf s7unoaaV asn-puM
-Aunm aql $uole onus Mall
aldood uelpul all Inoqu suoqunzasgo ilagl papioaai ual;o uuall paianuil ognm aldoad plso,& Pi0
aql lull sl spuoi asagl jo aauulloduil all 'sasodind ino so3 '(6L61 suiellilM) PulloO Cup-Iuasaid
au uolsslui sexa L llnos all IITm suolssluz sex;) 1, Isua all palaauuoa IT :puoi t7 qvg to se
umoux sum jan42i elosunuN jo llnoui all Tuau zanl2l soze zg all Wulssoi3 alnoi aq L •oluoluy uus 1o
dllulafA all ul suolssIM gllnm sagaopVoauN Abp-Iuasaid nau suolssluz suxaL Isua all palaauuoa
MISAs puoi SILI,I, '(1661 le Ia nmusOaW '1661 nme100W) T Z AunmOIH suxQ L PtM WSO) PeOH
oluOluV trBS PIO aqI PaliuO sl IT AuPOI :1naH 014WDD 3gI30 (0061-96L1) v%uV oulwno all Pailu3
senor f4iado id o2&LSV aql jo g7pou sialauzo" nma3 E ianu aql passoia lugl alnoi aq L '(0081-1691)
/al sol ap oulwno aql su unmoux auzeaaq wArd allll'I agI 3o llnoui aqI luau iaAPd sozeig aqI
'AIYUlo>fs pue,4uno3 sozwzg u} swazw
A-Ame polloloawgozw puw 'ea;>le jwoTjWotoawgozw •spwoz gsMdg polooloo jo suopwool •i•g omf,d
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THOMS CHAPTER 3: INDIAN LAND USE THOMS
In June of 1716, near present-day Cameron in the lower Little River basin, members of the
Ramon expedition visited a large village inhabited by at least 500 and possibly as many as 2,000
Yerbiptame (also spelled Yeripiano), Pamaya, Payaya, Cantonae, Mixcal, Xarame, and Sijame
people (Folk 1933:16; Tous 1930:17). Many of these peoples' native homelands were in present-
day south Texas and northern Mexico (A. Joachim McGraw, personal communication 1992;
' Newcomb 1961), and among them were both "gentiles" and Christianized Indians called
"apostates" (Foik 1933:16). They were probably in the Brazos basin to hunt bison. Soon after
crossing the Brazos below the mouth of the Little River, the expedition came upon an "abandoned
rancheria or village" situated in a clearing surrounded by an "open forest of oaks" (Tous 1930:17).
In the uplands between the Brazos and Navasota rivers, probably in the present-day Cedar Creek
basin, the Spanish encountered several Texas [Tejas] men and women who were "killing bison"
(Foik 1933:17-18: Williams 1979:152).
Father Pena, a member of the 1721 Aguayo expedition, reported seeing "three old Indian huts"
on June 27th when he was between the Brazos and Navasota rivers northeast of the project area,
probably along or near Camino de Los Tejas (see Figure 3.1). A few days later and a little farther
to the east, still in the uplands between the two rivers, the expedition "came upon some old huts,
sheltered by very tall and beautiful trees" (Forrestal 1935:32-33). A short distance after crossing
the Navasota River on July 8th, the Marquis of Aguayo--the expedition's leader and the Spanish
governor of Texas and Coahuila--and several of his men turned south "to search for huts of Texas
Indians" reported to be in the vicinity.
Leaving the highway [the Camino de los Tejas used by previous expeditions] and following
a path, these went south three leagues until they came to some fields planted in the Texas
fashion. As they did not notice any huts, they called out in the language of the natives,
and a response came back from the direction of the woods The soldiers advanced to the
aforesaid huts, which were nearby, and observed there were assembled with all those of
the Rancheria Grande [i.e., the people encamped near Cameron in 17161 some Indians of
survey the Vidays and Agdocas tribes [groups culturally similar to the Texas or Tejas people]
[Forrestal 1935:351.
After visiting with about 200 men, women, and children, the Spanish Governor "admonished" the
los Tejas Rancheria Grande people "to retire to their old homes beyond the Brazos de Dios" (Forrestal
erty was 1935:36). Brazos de Dios refers to the lower Little River basin, and in general to the region around
Antonio the confluence of the Brazos and Little rivers.
system
vicinity In 1767, when Father Solis traveled along the Camino de Los Tejas, he commented that near
s known the mouth of the Little River "there were some very famous Indians, all of whom are pagan." He
ion near also reported that "Cocos, Meyeyes, Jcjuanes, Tancagues and many other pagan and barbarous
that the Indians live along the banks of these rivers [i.e., the Brazos and Little rivers] (Forrestal 1931:25-
people 27). The Cocos were a Karakawa group native to areas farther downstream, and the other groups
were native to the Brazos River basin upstream from the mouth of the Little River (Newcomb
1961).
Jean Louis Berlandier, a French botanist employed by the Mexican government, traveled along
the Camino An iba in June of 1828. He camped for several days about 10 km north of the ASTRC
[071u6 May of property, near the mouth of the Little Brazos River where some Anglo-Americans had settled. Just
25 km ' before reaching the river he encountered an abandoned Indian encampment, later writing "on the
e in the sedge of a large forest not far away we found a rancheria of indigenes which was abandoned." He
ntered did not state what people lived there, although he noted that the Waco and Tonkawa people were
,414)-among the native inhabitants of the region (Berlandier 1980:333). While he was encamped at the
d areas river, other people began to arrive and camp nearby; "there was a Bidai, some Chicapoos
, one of OUckapoos), a Chiraque (Cherokee), a Texas, a Chicas (Chickasaw), and a family of Cados"
ht from (Berlandier 1980:334). It is noteworthy that the multi-cultural/linguistic characteristic of this
particular gathering was also evident at the larger encampments described during the late 1600s
and throughout the 1700s, although the ethnic make-up was not the same. The gathering
23
10861 pjojuTg jo) samnosaj luelslp a.zouz amaoid
of sKujo; Tems0iol xooliapun antli tuoj3 puu 'sdureo asuq leuosuas uT paplsaj sdnoiW AlTumj
ulajagnm „'sjoloalloo,, Jo Iugl ST tualsAs asn-puel 1ajaglu8-.ralunq agl legl salujlsnUT geuuunuS Neo
Isod aql jo3 p10331 aTiolsTgougla agl lugl an$jm Aagl 'asnuajd sTgl uzoi,q •uoTIuTIT,1iu oTugla s,dnoj~f
auo Auu uegl smallud aoualslsgns puu Iuauulllas $uTuoTlTpuoa uT lueljodtul ajolu Algegojd
soon saarnosai leinluu jo uoiingTllsTp puu ainluu aql asnuoaq slapout asn-puel $unonjlsuoo
uT lnjasn 11TIs am spioaai aql 'geuueneS xep Isod 3ql oI paluj$Ttu Alluaoaj ognn sdnoii? sianoo
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•paauldai Alalaldtuoo alarm slsTTejnllnoT-d?u aldtuTs puu sjajatpL-W
-.zalunq agl jo stualsAs asn-puul aql `aseo Auu ul •Ino palp pug io 'Ino pazaanbs 'palulTulTsse alarm
uolliaj at.p uT aldoad uuTpul agl3o i1u Isotulu `atupa3TT al$uTs a uTgllA,I •sdnoiW zaiaglu~l-.ralunq reool
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puuiurolloq puu sjanT1 all uT gsU jo aouepunqu aqI puu `silru; puu `saTnaq 'slooj pllnn •lo Alaljen
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SWOHj asn ONV-1 NVIONI :E 83ldVHO
THOMS CHAPTER 3: INDIAN LAND USE THOMS
ere far In all probability, Old World diseases significantly decreased the regional population density
ell as long before the first organized entradas (Ewers 1973, Murry 1992). One way or another, this
{Tejas), probably led to a net increase in habitable space. The unoccupied or under-occupied but
potentially productive areas probably would have been settled quickly by displaced groups who
were "moving on," perhaps as an adaptive response to demographic factors such as extra-regional
population growth or in-migrations (Figure 3.2). Beginning within a few decades after the initial
depopulation by Old World diseases, and continuing until the 1870s, the impact of the horse was
increasingly felt as mounted hunter-gatherers expanded south from the plains and effectively
in the compressed previous Indian homelands into and within the West Gulf Coastal Plain (Prewitt 1985;
s they Story 1990).
a few
ically Mounted groups may have been preceded by bison-hunting foot nomads (i.e., the Toyah phase)
odate who, by about 700 B.P., appear to have begun to displace local, less specialized groups, and
bison possibly by less mobile hunter-gatherer groups (i.e., the Austin phase) who had "appeared" in the
pecific region about 1350 B.P. (Prewitt 1985:225-228). Archaeological data have also been used to
support the contention that sometime between 10,000 and 8000 B.P. populations from the eastern
woodlands, or "plains interlopers," expanded into what today are the cross timbers and savannah
e wide ecological areas of east and central Texas (Johnson 1989). To the extent that some of the ideas
mland about cultural influences, migrations, population expansion, or other factors related to
ting in demographics and cultural or ethnic differences have merit, it seems clear that the inner West
ortant Gulf Coastal Plain, including a portion of the Gilmore Corridor (Krieger 1948, Story 1985; Thorns,
urnals Chapter 2), is an area where important research about the relationship between ethnicity and the
cticed archaeological record might be carried out (cf. Binford 1986; Sackett 1986; Wiesner 1983).
ensive
urces What role, if any, population pressure had in the long-term regional population dynamics
plands remains to be explored systematically. It seems likely, however, that there are many facets to
population pressure, especially considering that it depends partly on the landscape's productivity
potential (cf. Cohen 1977, 1989:140-141). At one time and under one set of environmental
os and conditions, population pressure might exert its effects on forest foragers, at another time on
likely horticulturalists, and at still other times on specialized bison hunters, whether foot or mounted
ulation nomads. How we find evidence for population pressure in the archaeological record is yet another
plus matter, just as is how we might recognize archaeological evidence for in-migration or external
o areas influences, and how to distinguish it from evidence of local or regional population growth. How
tradas, we might provide the evidence for adaptational differences resulting from long-term changes in
ng Old environmental conditions is another question yet to be resolved.
s of the
Historic records show that the project area was within an important interregional crossroads
t that, within the span of only a few hundred years, was occupied by several culturally and
panish ethnically distinct populations (Murry 1992). It is also evident that exotic (i.e., extra-regional)
hunter- goods and ideas regularly accompanied travelers and traders as they traversed the region. The
IF. After pattern of ethnic diversity continued in the historic period with settlement by Hispanic, Anglo-
eled by American, African-Americans, and other Old World groups. Written records and historical
were research indicate that to some extent land-use patterns probably vary with cultural and ethnic
on with affiliations (cf. Carlson 1993a, 1993b; Carlson and Thorns 1993; Davis, Turpin and Utley 1987;
region Weissner 1983; see also Carlson and Kloetzer, Chapter 4). Efforts, some successful, have also
hunter- been made to find ethnic "signatures" in the archaeological records of hunter-gatherers and agro-
Industrialists, and there has been considerable discussion about just how one goes about
demonstrating ethnic affiliations (e.g., Binford 1986; Carlson 1993a, 1993b; Carlson and Thorns
mainly 1993; Sackett 1986; Weissner 1983). As a cultural and ethnic crossroads, the archaeological
seful in `record in the Brazos River basin portion of the Post Oak Savannah zone has considerable potential
es was o yield information useful in the study of ethnically distinctive material culture and land-use
y one tterns during the prehistoric and historic eras.
the Post
herein
rays to
25
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MS CHAPTER 3: INDIAN LAND USE THOMS
The Late Prehistoric (ca. 1,300-300 B.P.), Transitional Archaic (ca. 2,300-1,300 B.P.), and late
Archaic (ca. 3,000-2,300 B.P.) time periods were best represented, but projectile points
characteristic of the middle Archaic (ca. 4,500-3,000 B.P.), early Archaic (ca. 8,000-4,500 B.P.)
and PaleoIndian (ca. 11,200-8,000 B.P.) periods were present as well (time period designations
from Turner and Hester 1985).
In keeping with the land-use perspective and for heuristic purposes, it is useful to characterize
and analyze archaeological sites according to their placement on the landscape. Sites in similar
settings probably afford access to similar resources, and, generally speaking, they are expected
to have been subjected to similar site formation processes (cf. Butzer 1982; Jochim 1976; Waters
1992). For purposes here, the regional landscape is sub-divided into three physiographic settings,
bottomlands, valley slopes, and uplands (see also Thorns and Olive, Chapter 6).
Sites on the Bottomlands
Most of the bottomlands are encompassed by the floodplain, as delimited by the zone of
periodic flooding (Nordt 1983). But throughout the bottomlands in the local basin, there are and
probably always have been high spots that were seldom inundated. These are kinds of places
favored as campsites through the millennia, but regularly flooded localities were routinely used
when conditions permitted. Other things being equal, site preservation is expected to be good in
the seasonally flooded places where the rates of sediment deposition were comparatively rapid.
Bottomlands, as the major component of the riverine zone, afford the best access to the
greatest diversity and abundance of potential food resources (Hester 1989). Fish, shellfish, beaver,
bear, rabbits, and deer should have been especially abundant, as were pecans, other nuts, and
most berries and fruits. It is likely that a substantial proportion of the edible root foods in the
region grew well in bottomlands, but reliable information on the relative productivity potential of
vegetal foods in different parts of the landscape is lacking altogether. We do have some
information on the productivity potential of game animals. For example, the highest deer densities
e in the Post Oak Savannah, about 200 animals per 1,000 hectares (ca. 2,500 acres), are expected
to be in the bottomlands (Yantis 1984). There are historic accounts of bison in the bottomlands
as well, but except for those times when grasses dominated the bottomlands, bison densities were
probably highest in the prairie patches along the valley slopes and in the uplands (see Thorns,
Chapter 2).
d, The earliest, albeit tentative, evidence for occupation in the bottomlands comes from the
de Duewall-Newberry site (41BZ75; Steele and Carlson 1989) where the remains of a mostly
[er disarticulated mammoth, presumably late Pleistocene (ca. 12,500-10,000 B.P.), were found
eroding from a steep cutbank (7.5 m bs) of the Brazos River several kilometers upstream from the
mouth of the Little Brazos River (Figure 3.1). Although chipped stone was not recovered during
excavations, impact scars and the breakage patterns on several of the long-bones, as well as the
presence of a bone pile, were considered to be strong inferential evidence for human activity
(Steele and Carlson 1989).
A variety of stone tools and several pieces of pottery were recovered during excavations at
Winnie's Mound--41BU 17--located in the bottomlands of east-central Burleson County (Figure 3.1;
Bowman 1985). Paleoindian--Plainview and San Patrice--as well as early Archaic points, including
Hoxie, Bell, and various stemmed, indented-base forms, were found, as were Dart, Lange,
Edgewood, Ensor, Frio, Gary-Kent, Marcos, and Yarbrough types representative of the middle or
ty late Archaic periods. Scallorn arrow points and ceramics indicated occupation during the Late
,y Prehistoric period. Other bifaces, edge-modified flakes, and cores were also recovered, along with
es thousands of pieces of debitage that were analyzed according to flake type and material type.
p, Faunal remains were abundant, but most were too poorly preserved for identification to family or
e genus. Of the 15 identified fragments, there were 11 deer and 3 turtle bones and 1 beaver tooth.
27
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Hi 3sn (INV1 NVIONI £ 831d`dHC)
CHAPTER 3: INDIAN LAND USE THOMS
the general structure of the available resources, hunting is expected to have been especially
important in the uplands.
ty Projectile points characteristic of the late Paleoindian and early Archaic time periods (ca.
10,000-4,500 B.P.) were recovered from a surface context at the Thurmond site (Shafer 1977),
n located in the uppermost part of the Thompson Creek basin within the city limits of Bryan, Texas
ry (Figure 3.1). Temporally diagnostic point types from these sites include Plainview, Meserve,
d Scottsbluff, Angostura, miscellaneous lanceolate points characteristic of the Paleoindian period,
and various stemmed, indented-base early Archaic types. Other tool types from the site are a
ut perforator, thin bifaces, gouges, small end scrapers, and grooved pebbles (Shafer 1977). A corner-
At notched arrow point was also recovered from one part of the site (Harry Shafer, personal
communication 1992).
S, There are also lithic scatter sites in the uplands that have a much lower artifact density and
e few tool types than the Thurmond site. Some areas have such a low density of debitage that they
are not recorded as sites (e.g., Moore 1989). In other places, excavations reveal that artifacts are
an also buried at shallow depths, but there, too, the densities are low. An example is 41BZ74
ell (Richard Carter site), a site located in the uppermost part of the Carter Creek basin (a secondary
re stream in the lower Navasota River basin), just over the low divide with the Thompson and White
al Creek basins (Figure 3.1). It was tested to assess a mid-nineteenth century Anglo-American
ts, homesite, but during excavations, a sample of chipped stone artifacts was recovered and
am subsequently analyzed (Carlson 1983, 1987). The very low density of chipped stone (37 items in
ed 95.25 m2 test units: 33 flakes, 2 cores, 1 scraper, 1 biface fragment) was argued to represent
short-term foraging activities, possibly "manufacture of expedient flake tools, and/or raw material
procurement and some food processing; in other words, occasional exploitation of widely scattered
the upland resources" (Ensor 1987:79).
I)
late Four sites (41 BZ 114-117) previously recorded along White Creek were located on the tops and
cal slopes of low ridges (Figure 3.1). These sites had a low density of chipped stone debitage on the
e surface, and, in several cases, flakes were recovered from shallow shovel probes. Only one
ere chipped stone tool--a thin biface fragment from 41BZ112--was observed in the narrow survey area
in that stretched for several kilometers along the creek (Whitsett and Jurgens 1992). Results of
at additional survey work along White Creek and limited testing at 41BZ115 suggests that the
ble paucity of tools is an inherent characteristic of these particular White Creek sites, and this
ded " suggests that a very limited range of activities is represented, mostly lithic procurement and tool
89) manufacture (Clabaugh 1993; Dickens 1993; Olive 1993).
Of the four White Creek sites in an upland setting, 41BZ115 had the most dense scatter of
' chipped stone material, and it was recommended for test excavation (Whitsett and Jurgens 1992).
Test excavations revealed that the cultural material usually extended no more than 20 cm below
surface to the top of the clay-rich (Bt) soil horizon. Although features were not encountered in any
of the 11 excavation units, approximately 100 flakes, five cores, and six edge-modified, "expedient"
of a tools were recovered. The primary activity at the site seems to have been the initial stages of tool
leys manufacturing, but some of the expedient tools were probably used there as well, and the few
f net pieces of fire-cracked rock might represent some type of food preparation (Dickens 1993; Olive
ger 1993).
es.
The most salient ecological characteristic, in terms of understanding how Indian people used
the the upland landscape in the White Creek basin, is the cobble-sized, chert gravel scattered along
the a ridge tops and slopes. Almost everywhere natural gravel was found on the surface, along with
root pped stone artifacts made from the gravel. The identified lithic scatters appeared to be
and mponents of a widespread, low-density lithic procurement and manufacturing area that extends
oak o the uplands beyond the project boundaries. Although reliable chronological controls are
unts Ong, it seems likely that these lithic procurement areas were used throughout the period of
from dian occupation (Carlson and Thorns 1993:101-102).
29
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SWOHJ 3sn ONV-1 NVIONj li31dVHC)
CHAPTER 3: INDIAN LAND USE THOMS
Sites 41BZ112 and 41BZ113 are located near the mouth of White Creek on the tread of
c Terrace 2, where it is capped by a veneer of colluvium from the adjacent valley slopes (cf. Waters
of 1993). A few pieces of debitage were seen on the surface at both sites, but the only observed tool-
-a thin biface fragment--was at 41BZ112 (Whitsett and Jurgens 1992). Test excavations at
is 41BZ112 yielded from 3 to 39 flake and flake fragments per 0.1 m3, but the only tools from
k excavation units were edge-modified flakes and the mid-section of a biface. An arrow point
fragment was found on the surface during the testing phase. Artifacts were recovered from as
deep as 0.9 m below surface, but neither features nor lenses of artifacts were observed in any of
er the backhoe trenches or test pits, and there was considerable evidence for pedoturbation and
bioturbation (Olive 1993). Based on the results of the lithic analysis, the initial stages of stone
tool manufacturing are well represented at 41BZ112, and the use-wear patterns on some of the
to edge-modified tools indicate they were used in cutting and scraping tasks. The small quantity of
2 fire-cracked rock and the single arrow point fragment are also suggestive of food preparation and
s, hunting-related tasks (Dickens 1993).
ck Three small interior chert flakes were observed on the surface of 41 BZ 105, a "small prehistoric
lithic scatter' 'located on the tread of a low Brazos River terrace about a kilometer from the mouth
ns of the Little Brazos River (Figure 3.1). None of the shovel probes yielded cultural material (Bond
es 1991:9). Farther upstream along the Thompson Creek basin, but still in the valley slope section,
ut there are two low-density lithic scatters--41BZ87 and 41BZ88--on "sandy knolls adjacent to the
the creek bottom;" neither site yielded temporally or functionally diagnostic tools (Bond 1991:6). Low-
or density lithic scatters are also on the low "sandy ridges" farther down Thompson Creek (e.g.,
41BZ31). but there are also sites that appear to represent more intensive or repeated occupations
d of the valley slopes. At 41 BZ32, for example, San Patrice, Bulverde, Gary, Kent, and Ensor points
ed were found, as were gouges and sandstone netweights (Bond 1991:6).
Site 41BZ1, the only previously recorded site on the ASTRC property, also yielded a wide
g variety of artifacts on the surface (Collins 1955). The "site" is actually a set of localities in close
ds, proximity, with each component on a separate remnant of one of the terraces that form the lower
the valley slopes. Two of these localities are on the ASTRC property (see Figure 3.1). Locality 6
my occupies a remnant of Terrace 1 and contained several dozen decorated and undecorated sand-
9 tempered pottery sherds in addition to a variety of chipped stone tools and debitage. Locality 5
of occupies a fairly flat surface between the Terrace 2 scarp and the tread of Terrace 1 (Waters,
The Appendix I). In addition to two undecorated, sand-tempered sherds, a stemmed scraper and drill
out were collected along with several arrow and dart points, including Alba, Gary, Kent, Yarbrough,
ated Pedernales, and Bulverde types. Localities 1-4 yielded the same kinds of artifacts, as well as
the sherd and shell tempered pottery, Perdiz and Scallorn and Bonham/Alba arrow points,
te;n, Travis/Morrill dart points, blades, knives, and a thumb scraper (Collins 1955).
ood,
vate Previously recorded sites along the valley slopes vary from those with a low density and range
of artifact types, suggesting limited activities, to sites with much higher artifact densities and a
greater range of artifact types, indicative of more diverse and intensive land use. Compared to the
uplands and bottomlands, relatively little work has been conducted at valley slope sites, but the
results suggest that lithic procurement and hunting were important activities, as they were
everywhere else in the Brazos River basin. The kinds of projectile points indicate only that
area, occupation occurred throughout the Holocene. Too little work has been done to detect meaningful
y the patterns. Yet, it is interesting that of the eight sites with temporally diagnostic artifacts, six have
the a Late Prehistoric component(s), as evidenced by arrow points or pottery sherds. As discussed
n the later in the text (see Clabaugh, Chapter 7, Olive, Chapter 8, and Dickens, Chapter 9), the new
rable valley slope sites at the ASTRC property easily fit within the known range of temporal and
mble functional variation.
ccess
valley
31
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