National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Testing of Sites 41LT172 and 41LT354 in Luminant's Kosse Mine, Limestone, Texas Page: 7
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3. Previous Archeological Investigations and Cultural Context
projectile point fragments. The settings of the finds were predominantly low terraces and
floodplains of the Trinity and Brazos rivers and their major named tributaries.
Relatively more information has been recovered relevant to the Late Archaic to Woodland division
for this part of Texas. An increase in population density and a decrease in territory size have been
postulated for the Late Archaic, based on the RCAP and Jewett Mine investigations. The presence of
nonlocal lithic raw materials indicates some degree of mobility or interaction with other peoples
(Fields 1995). McGregor and Bruseth (1987) noted a decrease in the distribution of Pisgah Ridge
Chert and an overall decrease in the amount of chert used during the Late Archaic. These
observations are interpreted as indicative of a reduction in territory size during the Late Archaic
(McGregor and Bruseth 1987).
Distinctive site types appear during this period, with base camps located in riverine settings and'
subsistence resource processing-extraction sites located in the uplands. A subsistence shift or shift
in culinary technology seems to be evidenced by the presence of ceramics and a decrease in the
frequency of burned rock features at Woodland sites.
Wylie pits, thought to represent evidence of "transitional Archaic band coalescence," were
excavated at the Bird Point Island site (41FT201) and the Adams Ranch site (41NV177) during the
RCAP investigation (McGregor and Bruseth 1987:237). These pits are thought to indicate an
increased reliance on plants over animals for subsistence during the transitional Late Archaic.
Shell-tempered ceramics, dated to between A.D. 200 and 700, were recovered in a large depression
at the Adams Ranch site (McGregor and Bruseth 1987).
Twenty components dating to the Late Archaic and Woodland period were excavated at the Jewett
Mine by Prewitt and Associates (Fields 1995). Of these components, 15 were interpreted as
residential bases and 5 as procurement-processing locales. Artifacts recovered include Late Archaic
dart points such as Dawson, Gary, and Yarbrough as well as a small number of sandy paste and
grog-tempered or grog-and-bone-tempered ceramic sherds. Two possibly early shell-tempered
sherds were also recovered.
A sparse Woodland or Early Ceramic component was identified at 41GM282 in the Gibbons Creek
Mine (Rogers 1995a), from where an Ellis and a Williams dart point were recovered. Four other
sites with Late Archaic components were tested at the Jewett Mine by EH&A (Sherman et al. 1998).
These four components yielded Gary, Edgewood, and Elam dart points and are thought to represent
short-duration occupations.
Settlement and subsistence patterns changed during the Late Prehistoric period. Late Prehistoric
sites suggest a higher use-intensity and increased sedentism, represented by a greater variety of
artifacts and features as well as an increase in the numbers of discarded ceramics over earlier sites.Private and Confidential
Atkins 100021558/110187 7
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Atkins North America, Inc. National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Testing of Sites 41LT172 and 41LT354 in Luminant's Kosse Mine, Limestone, Texas, report, February 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth839205/m1/16/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.