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Explorations and Archeological Investigations
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In this section:
Early Visits: 1849-1939
Rock Art Recording
Village Excavations
Water Features
Later Surveys
Bartlett-1854: caption
Add if there is room in the top section
Usgeolog; A U.S. Geological survey
photograph from 1909 shows a wagon making its way across the desert with Hueco
Tanks rising in the background.
Jackson-hueco: caption
Text box: Estimating that there were some 2000 pictographs at Hueco Tanks following
his 1930’s survey, Colonel M. L. Crimmins recommended that the state of Texas acquire
the property in order to preserve them.
Sayles-camp; E.B. "Ted" Sayles' camp on January 1, 1932 at the outset of his ambitious
archeological survey of Texas, which included a stop at Hueco Tanks.. Sayles is sitting
and petting his dog Happy. The other man is his field assistant, John (Juan) Olguin.
TARL archives.
Forest-and-lula-kirkland: caption
Kirkland-tmm-2261-142; Watercolor depictions of rock art at Hueco Tanks, one
of 18 plates done by the artist for his 1967 book with William Newcomb, Rock Art of
Texas Indians. TARL Archives.
Text box: Purchase of Hueco Tanks by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1970
created a renewed interest in the rock art and archeology of the park.
EP2-c53; Centennial Museum researcher John Davis points out pictographs on a
shelter wall to archeologist Jan Guy as a team member takes a closeup shot. Davis, with
members of the El Paso Archaeological Society and UTEP Anthropology Club,
conducted a broad-scale rock art recording effort following the purchase of the property
by TPWD in 1970. Photo by Darrell Creel, TARL Archives. Click to see full image.
Davis-sutherland-cover1997; Cover of rock art inventory report.
EN01_008: Archeologist Ron Ralph and TPWD team members record a red pictograph
during survey, an ongoing effort to identify locations and status of rock art in the park.
Photo courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Sutherland-cover; Texas Parks and Wildlife produced a booklet by Kay Toness
Sutherland incorporating Forest Kirkland’s watercolors and her interpretations of the of
rock art at Hueco Tanks.
E022_03; Bob Mark of Rupestrian Cyberservices captures a tight shot of rock art under
a boulder while Evelyn Billo (left) and a crew member hold reflective panels to improve
lighting. Mark and Billo recorded more than 230 rock art panels, some of them
previously unknown, and took more than 6000 photographs during their survey of
Hueco Tanks for TPWD.
Our knowledge about Hueco Tanks and its people derives from a number of sources,
chief among these archeological investigations and surveys conducted over the last 30
years. Some accounts and records, however, come to us from visitors who passed through
the area in the mid-nineteenth century. Most of these are brief descriptions of the rocks,
water, and rock art; some even include sketches or other depictions of the unusual
combination of cultural and natural resources.
Archeologists and other researchers began visiting the site in the 1930s, but it was not
until the 1970s that a systematic excavation was conducted, that being on a small
Formative period village site at the base of the rocky hills. More recently, TPWD
archeologists and photographers have conducted intensive surveys of the park to identify
and document its cultural resources. Findings from much of this long-range program are
still being analyzed. Add # of sites here and # or rock art locales. In this section we look
briefly at accounts of early visitors and more fully into records of investigations to
understand how the dynamic story of Hueco Tanks has come to be known.
The Early Visits, 1849-1939
The earliest published historical accounts of Hueco Tanks were written by a few of the
many travelers who stopped at the site during the mid- to late 1800s. In 1849, Captain
Randolph Marcy of the 5th U.S. Infantry remarked about the pictographs. Benjamin
Butler Harris also visited Hueco Tanks in 1849 and described one of the rock art panels.
A more-detailed account was provided by John Russell Bartlett, Commissioner of the
United States and Mexican Boundary Commission. Passing through Hueco Tanks in
November 1850, he was so interested in the unusual spot that he determined to revisit it,
although, as he noted, “it was also a favorite place of resort for the Apaches.” On the
return visit to Waco (sic) Tanks several months later, Bartlett and his party camped near a
natural cavern in the rocks where, as he noted in his journal, they found excellent water.
described the resources of the site and sketched some of them in his journal. These are
included in his Personal Narrative of Explorations and Incidents in Texas, New Mexico,
California, Sonora, and Chihuahua 1850-1853 published in 1854. add
Even at this early time, Bartlett noted defacing of the rock art:
Quote here blah blah
Blah blah
During the first three decades of the 20th century, Hueco Tanks began attracting more
attention from scholars and visitors with a serious interest in the rock art. In 1921 Frank
H. H. Roberts of the Smithsonian Institution Bureau of Ethnology briefly visited the site
and pioneer Texas archeologist A. T. Jackson of the University of Texas at Austin made
brief visits in 1927 and later in 1935, discussing the pictographs in his book, PictureWriting of Texas Indians. Colonel M. L. Crimmins published descriptions and sketches
of several dozen pictographs, and categorized them as symbolic, animalistic, or
anthropomorphic. He estimated that there were about 2000 pictographs, and
recommended that the state of Texas acquire Hueco Tanks in order to preserve them.
Hueco Tanks was one of more than 400 sites that Donald Brand visited during his 19301931 survey of Chihuahua for his dissertation research at the University of California at
Berkeley, and E. B. Sayles also visited Hueco Tanks during his statewide Gila Pueblo
Survey, collecting a small quantity of sherds and a handful of stone artifacts.
The first attempt to conduct an archeological excavation at Hueco Tanks may have been
made by A. M. Woolsey in March, 1936, but his notes indicate that his effort was
unsuccessful: “A trip was made to Hueco tanks on Friday, March, but no new caves
could be found near the tanks. Sixteen caves were visited Sat. but none of these were
considered valuable enough to work.”
Rock Art Recording
ADD: Ht-tpwd-12; John Davis, left, and Tom and Cynthia Martin of the El Paso
Archaeological Society pause during survey of the park’s rock art. A research associate
at the Centennial Museum of the University of Texas at El Paso, Davis led members of
the EPAS and UTEP Anthropology Club in inventorying the park’s rock art in 1970.
ADD: kaysutherland; Anthropologist Kay Toness Sutherland prepares to document a
faint red pictograph in a shelter. A professor of anthropology at St. Edward’s University,
Sutherland devoted many years to recording the rock art of Hueco Tanks and other
southwest sites. Photo by Ron Ralph.
Add: Ruf-before-after; Pictograph symbol at Hueco Tanks shown before (left) and after
(right) digital enhancement by Robert Mark to reveal images that were not visible to the
naked eye
The first significant study of rock art at Hueco Tanks was accomplished by Forrest and
Lula Kirkland, who spent 10 days there in the summer of 1939. Forrest Kirkland was an
artist who made watercolor copies of hundreds of the pictographs. Among them were 89
masks which he discussed in a subsequent publication, noting their similarity and
probable relationship with Hopi kachina masks of New Mexico. Many of Kirkland’s
watercolors were published in The Rock Art of Texas Indians in 1967, with a
comprehensive discussion and analysis of the pictographs by W. W. Newcomb Jr.
Kirkland’s watercolors are a valuable record and continue to be used by rock art scholars
to study the extent of deterioration of the pictographs since 1939.
Over the next 30 years, there was virtually no organized rock art recording or
investigation at Hueco Tanks, mainly because the property was being used primarily for
recreation and several land development enterprises. Purchase of Hueco Tanks by the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1970 created a renewed interest in the rock art
and archeology of the park, particularly among members of the El Paso Archaeological
Society (EPAS). Member John Davis was a research associate of the El Paso Centennial
Museum, as well as advisor to the Anthropology Club at the University of Texas at El
Paso. He proposed that the Anthropology Club inventory the rock art recorded by
Kirkland 30 years earlier in order to assess its current condition and note the extent and
cause of damage and/or destruction. Over 23 days from January through October 1972,
members of the Anthropology Club and the Society—primarily Mike Bilbo, John and
Marguerite Davis, Tom and Cynthia Martin, and Odin and Kay Toness—relocated and
carefully inspected the rock art.
Their findings were published by the EPAS in 1974 (republished in 1997): A Rock Art
Inventory at Hueco Tanks State Historical Park. They determined that approximately 25
percent (n = 302) of the figures recorded by Kirkland had been destroyed. Of the 75
percent (n = 896) of figures remaining, about 50 percent had been damaged. The causes
of destruction ranged from name writing to soot from picnic and camp fires, to atural
causes (spalling, sun and water damage). An unexpected result of the project was the
location of approximately 300 unrecorded figures. Toness (later Sutherland), who became
professor at St. Edwards University in Austin, began an intensive study to classify and
analyze the pictographs at Hueco Tanks.
After 1974, a hiatus occurred in studies and published accounts of rock art at Hueco
Tanks until the late 1980s when Texas Parks and Wildlife Department park ranger Dave
Parker and archeologist Ron Ralph plotted all known rock art localities and archeological
features on aerial photo mosaics. In subsequent years, Ralph also coordinated a group of
TPWD employees and volunteers in recording pictographs at numerous locations and
worked with Sutherland to determine methods for removal of graffiti from the art.
Advances in radiocarbon dating techniques led to the sampling of 15 pictographs at
Hueco Tanks localities. Of these, seven yielded sufficient carbon for dating. Texas
A&M chemist Marvin Rowe reported calibrated dates ranging from1350 ± 160 years B.P.
to 740 ± 50 years B.P., compared to expected ages of 950 to 500 years B.P. Several
problems, such as the unknown species of wood used for the charcoal, require that the
dates be considered provisional rather than conclusive.
In 1999, TPWD began its most far-reaching rock art project, contracting with Robert
Mark and Evelyn Billo of Rupestrian CyberServices to create a comprehensive digital
database of all of the pictographs and petroglyphs at Hueco Tanks. The fieldwork
involved recording GPS locations of 273 rock art panels, 34 of which were discovered
during the project. Mark and Billo took more than 6,000 digital photographs of the rock
art, which were then digitally enhanced by filtering different colors, revealing a number
of images that were not visible to the naked eye. The images and locational information
were entered in an ArcView database which will be used to relocate and monitor changes
in the recorded rock art sites.
Village Excavations
Run across page: excavation; Excavations get underway on what turned out to be a
small village site dating to circa A.D. 1100-1200. Photo courtesy Texas Parks and
Wildlife.
Fig2-kegley;
Excavation plan at the Hueco Tanks village site, showing locations of houses, burials,
and other features (adapted from Kegley 1982: Fig. 2).
These images are in folder under Investigations/Final/New:
Add Trench; Two trenches dug through the midden area helped investigators understand
the nature of the deposits. Photo courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Add Crew; Excavation crew poses at the village site. From left, Wagner, Broussard,
Brooks, McNatt, and Kegley. Photo courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Add Basin-metate; Excavation of one of the basin metates. Image courtesy of Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department.
Add Cleaning; A collared post hole in House 5 is brushed clean for closer viewing.
Image courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Add Kegley1982-fig8; Plan of House 4 and section, showing adobe wall remnant, post
holes and firepit. Drawing form Kegley 1982 (Figure 8).
Add : Kegley-cover-1982; Cover of the 1980 report of investigations at the Dona Ana
village site by George Kegley.
The only large-scale archeological excavations in the park uncovered the remains of a
small Jornada-Mogollon village. In 1972, members of the EPAS and the University of
Texas at El Paso Anthropology Club recommended testing of an extensive midden east of
North Mountain. Directed by TPWD archeologists George Kegley and Ron Ralph,
subsequent excavations consisted of approximately 40 units measuring 5 by 5 ft which
were excavated in 0.5 ft levels, for a total of 1,000 square ft. Two backhoe trenches were
also dug. Most of the units were placed in blocks around three semi-subterranean
pithouses. House 1 measured 2.9 x 2.3 m, and contained two postholes and a collared
fire hearth. A piece of wood from one of the postholes yielded an uncorrected
radiocarbon date of 800 BP ± 50 years (A.D. 1100 to 1200). Associated with the fire
hearth were an ash lens, an El Paso Polychrome olla sherd, three stones, and bones from
badger (Taxidea taxus) and pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana). House 2
measured 2.3 x 2.3 m, and its features consisted of a collared fire hearth, a 34 x 18 cm
adobe block that may have served as a step, a possible collared posthole, an intrusive pit,
and a burial. House 3 measured 2.6 x 3 m and included a collared fire hearth, two
postholes, and two intrusive pits. The three intrusive pits appeared to be refuse deposits
dating after abandonment of the houses, and contained dark grey ashy midden soil and
bones of bison, deer, pronghorn antelope, grey fox, badger, jack rabbit, cottontail rabbit,
pack rat, box turtle, and rattlesnake.
Four burials were found during the 1972 excavations. Burial 1 was an adult with an
associated El Paso Polychrome olla sherd, and had been exposed by erosion in a small
arroyo about 100 m east of House 1. Further analysis determined that the burial also
contained bones of a juvenile. Burial 2 was an adult with no associated artifacts, found in
fill 15 cm above the floor of House 2. The burial was positioned on its back, with arms
folded at the waist, legs drawn up, and head oriented to the west. Burial 3 was exposed
by wind erosion on the surface approximately 30 m east of House 1 and was found on the
last day of fieldwork. It was subsequently excavated by members of the El Paso
Archaeological Society. The burial was an adult with a large sherd of El Paso
Polychrome placed over the skull, and was oriented toward the north in a reclining
position, with arms folded at the waist and legs drawn up but not tightly flexed. Burial 4
also was exposed by wind erosion, approximately 5 m northwest of Burial 3. The burial
was very poorly preserved, but it appeared to be an adult placed on its back, with the
head oriented to the west and the legs tightly flexed; there were no associated artifacts or
discernible burial pit.
At the beginning of the 1973 season, a magnetometer survey was conducted in the
midden area investigated in 1972 to locate anomalies in the earth’s magnetic field that
might be caused by subsurface cultural features such as pottery concentrations, burned
pithouses, or fire hearths. Testing of five anomalies found three pithouses, a
concentration of ceramics and lithics. The 1973 excavations covered approximately 75
square m (807 square ft), consisting of 75 units measuring 1 by 1 m or 1 by 2 m which
were excavated in 15 cm levels. Most of the units (n = 54) were concentrated in blocks
around the three semi-subterranean pithouses located by the magnetometer survey.
House 4 measured 3.8 x 4.1 m and was not completely excavated; features included a
collared fire hearth with associated circular pit, and two postholes. House 5 was in poor
condition and was estimated to measure 3.1 x 4.1 m, encompassing two floors. Upper
floor features were two postholes, a shallow basin with a metate and mano in situ, and an
intrusive pit. Partial excavation of the lower floor exposed a fire pit and a posthole.
House 6 measured 4.5 x 5.5 m and contained two large (50 cm diameter) postholes and
14 smaller ones, a fire pit, and a small shallow pit.
Artifacts recovered from the 1972-1973 excavations were dominated by ceramic
sherds (n = 33,939). El Paso Polychrome sherds accounted for 95 percent (n = 32,382) of
the ceramics recovered and analyses of the temper indicated that the sherds were made
locally. Intrusive wares made up 5 percent (n = 1,557) of the ceramic sample, and
Chupadero Black on White represented 81 per cent (n =1,268) of the intrusive types.
Playas Red Incised comprised 8 per cent (n = 120), and the remaining 11 per cent (n =
169) was composed of (in decreasing order) Mimbres Black on White, an untyped
corrugated ware, Three Rivers Red on Terracotta, Wingate Black on Red, Ramos
Polychrome, and St. Johns Polychrome.
Chipped stone artifacts consisted of 84 projectile points, 32 tools, 16 bifaces, and
24,126 pieces of debitage. The assemblage included 56 unstemmed and 28 stemmed
projectile points, 17 scrapers, 12 drills, 1 spokeshave, 1 burin, and 1 gouge. The debitage
was sorted into 8,444 complete flakes and proximal flake fragments, and 15,682 flake
fragments/chips/shatter. Analysis of the complete flakes and proximal flake fragments
showed that most were small, 87 per cent lacked cortex, and 68 per cent had multifaceted
platforms. These characteristics indicate that biface thinning using soft hammer
percussion was the primary lithic technology employed at the site (Clark 1982:72). Over
97 percent of the flakes were made of chert; limestone represented less than 2 per cent,
and obsidian less than 1 per cent.
Other artifacts recovered during the 1972-1973 excavations were 47 ground stone
tools, 4 shell ornaments, and 1 bone awl. The ground stone artifacts consisted of 32
manos, 10 slab metates, and 5 basin metates. The manos were made from limestone,
sandstone, and the local syenite porphyry; 13 of the metates were syenite and 2 were
limestone. The shell artifacts were two Olivella beads, one discoidal bead, and one small
pendant. The bone awl was made from a splintered deer bone.
In sum, the 1972-1973 excavations at Hueco Tanks State Historic Site recorded the
remains of six structures of a pithouse village. The architectural features, ceramics, and
one radiocarbon date indicate that the village dates to the Doña Ana Phase of the Jornada
Branch of the Mogollon culture area, ca. 1150 A.D.
Investigations of Water Control Features
Add Highwatermark; TPWD crewmember Dave Parker points out the high water mark
on a wall behind a small prehistoric “dam” in a deep crevice. Tank capacity is
estimated at 10,000 gallons, and water still stands periodically in this feature. Photo by
Ron Ralph.
Add Watersystem-kegley; Drawing of cavern floor with small, catchment dam (shown at
top) and “thirsty man” mask pictograph nearby. Tests dug into the cavern deposits
produced pottery sherds and a few dart points. Drawing by John Davis as adapted in
Kegley 1980 (Apx. VII).
In conjunction with the 1972 excavations, a prehistoric water control system was
investigated by the EPAS. Located in a large crevice on West Mountain, it consists of a
man-made reservoir and two natural huecos. A rock dam had been constructed at a
narrow point in the crevice to create the reservoir; the impoundment area is 30 m long
and averages 3 m wide, and was estimated to have a maximum capacity exceeding
10,000 gallons. Two hand-excavated trenches in the reservoir fill yielded El Paso
Polychrome and Chupadero Black on White sherds, and a variety of lithic items including
two point fragments and three scrapers. The only pictograph in the reservoir area is a
yellow geometric design that resembles designs on pottery.
Farther down the crevice are two large natural huecos that measure 5 m deep and have an
estimated capacity of 780 gallons. Removal of the fill in one of the huecos yielded 1 dart
point, 1 dart point fragment, 13 chipped stone items with use marks, and numerous
sherds. The bedrock surrounding the huecos is highly polished, indicating long-term use
probably by both human and animal visitors. The only pictograph associated with the
huecos is a red mask that appears to have its tongue extended, possibly representing
thirst.
Surveys and Ongoing Analyses
Add Ralph; TPWD archeologist Ron Ralph checks a rock art location at the park.
Add shoveltest; TPWD survey director Margaret Howard digs a shovel test near a
park kiosk during the 1999-2000 survey project. Photo courtesy Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department.
Add Survey form: make html page show pages 1 and 2.
Caption; Documentation of some 125 burned rock features included extensive
description, measurements, photographs, and shovel tests. The form shown, two of five
pages for one feature recorded by TWPWD archeologists Margaret Howard and Tim
Roberts, indicates the level of detail required. Click to see full image.
Add shoveltest-ruins; Logan McNatt and another TPWD crew member conduct tests
near the historic stone ruins near park headquarters. Photo courtesy Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department.
Feature; caption
Add Feature-size; Variance in maximum size of burned rock features recorded during
survey. Although analysis of data collected during survey is ongoing, small features
predominated in this sample of 64 and there appears to be a correlation between feature
size and type of rock used. Graphic courtesy of Margaret Howard.
Text box: Survey indicated patterning of burned rock features according to area, with
125 identified in 11 (41%) of the 29 localities.
Add Feature-distribution; Four major concentrations of burned rock features were
identified during survey. One locality in the southwest had 76 burned rock features,
comprising 61% of the burned rock feature sample. Graphic courtesy Margaret Howard.
Add arrow; Examples of arrowpoints recovered during investigations.
Add recording; Shelters were investigated during the months-long survey, and features
such as the bedrock mortars, shown in forefront, recorded.
The 1970s saw a succession of projects initiated to record cultural resources prior to
construction of trails, picnic areas, and other developments. In 1979, human bones were
found extruding from loose fill in a small rock shelter. TPWD archeologist George
Kegley subsequently excavated the burial on August 28-29, 1979 (Kegley 1980a).
Although many of the bones were disarticulated, Kegley observed that the burial had
been placed in a very shallow natural basin in the bedrock, probably on its right side in a
flexed position, with its head to the east. The age of the individual was estimated to be
25 to 30 years based on the condition of the teeth, and the sex may have been female
based on skull attributes— no useable pieces of the pelvis were recovered. No artifacts
were directly associated with the skeleton, but fine screening of the fill yielded five El
Paso Brownware sherds and an obsidian arrow point.
In early May 1982, a park visitor observed a burial eroding out of an arroyo wall. Ronald
W. Ralph excavated the burial, which was an adult placed on its right side, loosely flexed
with the head facing east. No associated grave goods were recovered, but the distal
fragment of a projectile point was found in the rib area of the burial. The fragment was
serrated on one edge but could not be identified to type. On July 6, 1982, another burial
was found eroding out of a trail. Excavation revealed a juvenile placed on its right side,
loosely flexed, with the head to the south; there were no associated artifacts. On
November 19, 1991, a climber alerted park staff after observing human bones on a ledge.
An immediate response by Ronald W. Ralph and park personnel found disarticulated
bones of an adult on a narrow ledge in front of a low crevice. The area was solid rock
with no dirt fill, and the bones appeared to have washed out of the crevice. An olla
(earthenware jar) associated with the burial contained 44 discoidal shell beads. Nine more
beads were found scattered outside the olla as well as a large rim sherd from another
vessel. Ralph noted the similarity of the olla shape to Tarahumara corn-parching vessels.
Concerns about preservation of the site’s cultural and natural resources prompted
development of a Resource Management Plan in 1998 and establishment of a Public Use
Plan. To support increased stewardship of cultural resources, two inventory studies were
initiated in 1999. As noted above known rock art sites were relocated and documented
by Rupestrian CyberServices, Inc. Their findings also are discussed further in the Rock
Art (make hot link) section of this exhibit. Cultural deposits were inventoried by the
TPWD Archeology Survey Team through intensive pedestrian survey of the ca. 500 acres
of level terrain around the rock hills. The distribution and significance of these cultural
resources have been used to guide trail planning and to delineate visitor access zones.
Data collected in 1999/2001 surveys include time-diagnostic artifacts, materials suitable
for radiocarbon assay, and information on the location and stratigraphy of cultural
deposits.
In 1999/2001, intensive pedestrian survey of the ca. 500 acres of level terrain at Hueco
Tanks SHS took place over 141 person-days, for an average of 3.5 acres per person-day.
The density of the cultural materials and features exposed on the surface necessitated this
slow pace. Initial pedestrian transects were spaced at 20 to 30 m intervals. The density
of artifacts along each transect was noted, as well as time-diagnostic artifacts, nonlocal
lithic materials, hearths, midden- and/or ash-stained soils, and disturbed areas. The
features and time-diagnostic, nonlocal, and distinctive artifacts were flagged for
recording or collection.
Pedestrian survey of the lower elevations of the hills was instituted when it became
apparent that these areas were replete with rock art, cultural features, and historic graffiti.
Natural features like water chute scars and rockshelters also were recorded, the latter
defined as areas enclosing at least 10 square meters. Reconnaissance of the hills reached
a height of 10 to 20 ft above ground surface as possible. A 100 percent survey of the hills
was difficult to achieve because the rock surface is complex; many pictographs and other
features are only visible under specific conditions (e.g., by early morning light in spring,
on overhanging surfaces).
The cultural deposits at Hueco Tanks SHS are subsumed under a single trinomial
(41EP2).
This massive site was divided into 29 localities encompassing areas of
moderate to high surface artifact density. Documentation of these localities included
estimation of their extent, depth, age, function, and integrity. First, each locality was
traversed by pedestrian transects spaced at intervals of 10 m or less. All time-diagnostic
artifacts were collected from the surface, consisting of dart and arrow points, rim sherds,
and decorated prehistoric and historic ceramics.
Items offering information on
subsistence also were collected, consisting of ground stone tools and macrobotanical
specimens like corncobs.
Nonlocal artifacts also were collected.
Grab samples of
debitage were gathered from each locality, consisting of at least 30 specimens from one
to two shovel tests, augmented when necessary by surface collections centered on shovel
tests.
The locations of collected artifacts, artifact concentrations, burned rock features, bedrock
grinding features, middens and ashy soils, rock art panels, water control features,
rockshelters, shovel tests, and significant natural features like water chutes were plotted
on detailed maps derived from aerial photographs. Cultural features were briefly
described, mapped, and photographed.
One to two shovel tests were dug in each archeological locality to sample the depth,
stratigraphy, and integrity of the cultural deposits, and to facilitate collection of sediment
samples for flotation and pollen analysis. Whenever possible, shovel tests were placed in
artifact concentrations and/or midden-stained sediments that were likely to contain high
densities of debitage, datable materials, and/or macro- and microfloral remains.
Rockshelters were not tested due to their great number, and to the possibility that they
could contain human burials. Shovel tests were dug until they hit caliche, dense gravels,
or bedrock if possible. Tests placed in deep sediments reached depths of 70 to 100 cm
before they were ended due to difficulty of digging or cave-in of the sandy sediments.
All artifacts from shovel tests were collected, as well as potentially datable materials like
charcoal and bone fragments.
*******************
Power point
Archeological localities were defined to encompass cultural deposits of a consistent
density and type, but in areas where cultural deposits were continuous they were
arbitrarily bounded at natural and/or manmade landmarks, to provide convenient units for
analysis and management.
An explanation for this patterned distribution of burned rock features was sought.
O’Laughlin (1980:112-113) has argued that because these features are not evenly spread
across sites and environmental zones, they are more likely to be special-purpose facilities
than general purpose cooking/heating hearths, which should be present on all sites
(O’Laughlin 1980:121-122).
Key Feature Attributes Recorded
Data available to analyze the 125 burned rock features and their distribution consist of
information recorded based on surface observations during the archeological survey. No
excavations were conducted with the exception of one shovel test on the edge of a large
burned rock feature. Each cultural feature was located by compass and pace (this was
before widespread adoption of GPS), photographed, and these key attributes were
recorded:
• dimensions north-south and east-west
• rock type—syenite or limestone, and
• associated cultural items (defined as being within 1 m of feature)
This detailed information was recorded for 64 (51%) of the 125 burned rock features.
Due to time constraints we were not able to collect detailed information on all of the 76
burned rock features in Locality WS2. All of those features were located on maps and
photographed, but only 15 features (20%) that appeared to retain the greatest degree of
integrity were fully recorded. Examination of the photographs shows that these features
are generally representative of the remainder of the features in that locality, however.
The main rocks suitable for feature construction are syenite from the hills in the center of
the park and limestone from alluvial fan deposits.
The largest feature class, 3 m+, is concentrated in the southwest and south parts of the
state historic site. Even 2 m+ burned rock features are most numerous in this area of the
park.
Large Features
The largest burned rock features are most common in the south part of the state historic
site. The feature is in Locality SB6, near the south boundary of the park. This area
supports the greatest concentration of agave plants in the park. The largest burned rock
features could be agave roasting pits and associated discard piles. Several studies of
burned rock features in the region have proposed this association. In a site on the
Piedmont in the Hueco Mountain Archeological Project, Tennis et al. (1997:51-52)
interpreted rock-lined pit features surrounded by smaller discarded rocks as agave
roasting pits. O’Laughlin (1980:118) has proposed that both small and large burned rock
features represent pit baking of leaf succulents, and notes that most of them are found in
areas where agave and sotol are abundant.
Feature Size and Rock Type
Burned rock feature size and rock type were compared to determine whether they were
related. Features less than 2 m in maximum dimension are composed of both rock types
– the determining factor may simply be proximity to source deposits.
Features between 2 and 6 m in maximum dimension are primarily composed of limestone
(POINT OUT).
The largest features—greater than 7 m in maximum dimension—are predominantly
syenite (POINT OUT).
The possible functional significance of rock type preference would need to be explored
through excavation.
BR Feature age based on artifacts
Based on associated artifacts noted on the surface, almost half of the burned rock features
(n = 31, 48%) can only be dated to the Prehistoric period due to presence of debitage. Six
features (9%) lack associated artifacts and cannot be dated.
27 features (42%) with associated ceramics date to the Formative period. 20 (31%)
contain plain brownware