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Many Travis County Archeological Society members participate in the annual Field School excavations sponsored by the Texas Archeological Society. Field School can be a great opportunity for beginners to learn field and laboratory techniques. Experienced investigators also pick up new skills each year. In fact, some members have been participating in the Field School for three or four decades.
Read a brief summary of the 2006 field school by Elton Prewitt here. Below is a Joanne's preview written between the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
2006 Field School Preview
By Joanne Carpenter
THE UPCOMING FIELD SCHOOL IN JUNE 2006 WILL PROVIDE FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO the Gene Stallings Site, location of the 2005 Field School.
Gene Stallings has provided his ranch for archeological investigations. The Fourche Maline occupation during the period
800 BC – AD 1000 in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, but in Texas there is very little information relating to
this culture.
Our own Dr. Leslie Bush, a micro botanical expert has performed tests, for the Bowmer site (see featured
field sites) and
many other sites in her career, offers this information about the Field School last June featured in the May 2005 Newsletter
: The time period is a critical one for the development of Native agricultural systems. Elsewhere this time period sees the
height of agriculture or horticulture (both terms are controversial) based on starchy and oily-seeded native plants such
as chenopodium and sunflower. Toward the end of this time period, corn, probably from Mexico, begins to replace the old
crops. Because most large-scale excavations of Fourche Maline sites took place before flotation processing techniques
were commonplace, it is unclear to what extent Fourche Maline people participated in these trends and to what extent they
continued the hunting and gathering life ways of their southwestern neighbors in the Hill Country. The Field School should
help resolve some of these questions.
No one has uncovered conclusive evidence of structures on a Fourche Maline site, but the thick middens indicate at least
some degree of sedentism. Not surprisingly, Fourche Maline sites also contain some of the earliest ceramics in northeast
Texas. The 2004 test excavations uncovered almost half of a Williams Plain bowl at the site. Ceramic technologies change
greatly over the nearly two thousand years covered by Fourche Maline, and understanding this trajectory will be critical
for comparing Stallings to other sites in the region as well as for reconstructing cooking and other technologies.
Small Gary dart points are commonly found on Fourche Maline sites, as are chipped stone axes and grinding stones. The
source for the flint and quartzite cobbles used at the Stallings site is currently unknown, and reconstructing lithic
procurement patterns will be an important focus of research for the Field School.
Although many faunal remains may have succumbed to the acidic soils near the Red River, understanding Fourche Maline
hunting should be extremely interesting. Animal procurement techniques necessarily change with sedentism, and the
critters that plague fields can sometimes provide easy protein those who guard the crops.
The survey crew will locate and document other archeological sites on the ranch, including one where a Paleo-Indian
point was found on the surface. Because the land is now in pasture, signs of ancient land use can’t be seen on the
surface. Crews will be performing shovel tests – if you’re signing up for survey work, you’ll get to learn this technique
if it’s not already in your repertory!
Paris, Texas promises to be an excellent Field School location. Headquarters will southeast of downtown in the pavilion
at the Love Civic Center, which is so large that the meal trailer can be parked under it in case of rain. Campers will
have the grass fields surrounding the pavilion (no trees, though, so bring your own shade) and access to real men’s and
women’s restrooms. As always port-a-potties will be available in the campground proper. R.V. slots are available for
$25/night. Paris is home to nine hotels. Retail establishments run the gamut from national chains to mom and pop stores.
Don’t sweat any forgotten equipment or supplies – you can almost certainly pick them up in Paris. For those meals you
aren’t buying from the Field School offerings, fast food restaurants are especially common on the loop running around
the city, and other eating establishments abound. (I especially enjoyed the sandwich shop and the Italian restaurant
downtown, and I hear the ice cream place on the northeast loop is great.)
I had a wonderful time at the East Texas conference. The city is friendly, and the Valley of the Caddo Archeological
Society members were great hosts. I expect an equally fun time in June at the TAS Field School. Hope you can attend. More information can be found at the Travis Archeological Society’s
website: http://www.txarch.org.
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