Center for Archaeological Research
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/560
The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) was established in 1974 to conduct archaeological research throughout Texas and the surrounding regions; carry out archaeological surveys and excavations for federal, state, and local agencies as required by legislation and executive order; provide public and private sector assistance and guidance regarding cultural resource management; provide students training opportunities in archaeological field and laboratory methods and technical writing; and disseminate to the general public information about the prehistory and history of Texas and San Antonio.
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Browsing Center for Archaeological Research by Subject "Alamo"
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Item Archaeological and historical investigations at the Alamo North Wall, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 1997) Ivey, James E.; Fox, Anne A.In March 1979, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted test excavations in the vicinity of the north wall of the Alamo within the second patio. A great deal of information was recovered about all phases of the development of the site, from the early eighteenth century through the restoration period in the early twentieth century. Information was recovered on the location and dimensions of defensive trenches and structures constructed in the north courtyard in preparation for the battles of late 1835 and March 1836. A human cranium recovered from the fill of a defensive trench has been identified as possibly a male about 17 to 23 years of age. The ethnic affiliation of the individual could not be positively determined, nor could the cause of death.Item Archaeological Investigations Associated with Security Upgrades at the Alamo (41BX6), San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2021-04) Zapata, José E.; McKenzie, Clinton M. M.The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Center for Archaeological Research (CAR), in response to a request from the Texas General Land Office, conducted archaeological testing and monitoring for the Alamo security upgrades project in the Alamo Plaza complex, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. Fieldwork for this project was completed between July 2019 and March 2020, and it consisted of testing and monitoring ahead of construction that had the potential to impact known or anticipated archaeological resources within the project area. These construction activities were associated with the installation of security bollards along the north, west, and south perimeters of Alamo Plaza, as well as ramps facilitating access. These nine spatially distinct impact areas within the Project Area cover approximately 0.58 ha (1.4 acres). The Project Area was located on a City of San Antonio (COSA) right-of-way on one side and State of Texas-owned property on the other. As public municipal property, undertakings that might affect archaeological or historical sites are subject to regulatory review. At the municipal level, the City-owned property falls under the COSA Unified Development Code (Article 6 35-630 to 35-634). The project also requires review by the Texas Historical Commission (THC) under the Antiquities Code of Texas, and it was completed under the Texas Antiquities Code, Permit No. 8714. José Zapata served as the Project Archaeologist. Leonard Kemp was the Principal Investigator of record for this project. He replaced Dr. Paul Shawn Marceaux, former CAR Director, who was the original Principal Investigator on permit 8714. Mechanical excavations were monitored in all areas. In addition, 182 shovel tests and 14 test units were excavated. No new archaeological sites were recorded. Numerous artifacts were recovered, including chipped stone debitage and tools, firecracked rock, faunal bone, ceramics, glass, and assorted metal. These artifacts are noted in two chapters of this report. Four features were documented, with three of these (Features 1, 2, and 6) being part of the long history of the Mission San Antonio de Valero site (41BX6). Feature 1 is a semicircular cobble stone berm that may be part of the earthworks built at the south gate during the 1835-1836 siege of the Alamo. CAR’s excavations into this feature were limited, and while both the State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) status of 41BX6 is well established, additional investigations are necessary to determine the extent, nature, integrity, and significance of Feature 1. CAR recommends that the eligibility status of Feature 1 be considered undetermined as a contributing factor with regard to the overall SAL and NRHP status of the site. Feature 2 is a wall footing. Although not directly related to Mission San Antonio de Valero, this post-1850 wall footing is within the site’s footprint and was recorded as a revisit of site 41BX6. As such, CAR recommends that Feature 2 be considered not significant in that is not a contributing factor with regard to the overall SAL and NRHP status of 41BX6. Feature 6 is a north to south oriented wall footing. This feature was entered as a 41BX6 site revisit. CAR recommends that Feature 6 be considered as a significant, contributing component to 41BX6 with regard to the overall SAL and NRHP status of the site. It likely represents a section of a Spanish Colonial age footing. The section has good integrity and it is likely related to the Long Barrack at the Alamo. Finally, the fourth feature (Feature 5) is a segment of the San Antonio Streetcar System (41BX2163) dating to the late-nineteenth through early-twentieth centuries. CAR recommends that the feature is not significant with regard to the SAL and NRHP status of 41BX2163. The bollard installation project was completed as planned and included two redesigns requested by the COSA Office of Historic Preservation and the THC in order to protect twoItem An Archival and Archaeological Review of Reported Human Remains at Alamo Plaza and Mission San Antonio de Valero, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2022-06-30) McKenzie, Clinton M. M.; Hindes, Kay; Ivey, James E.; Anderson, Nesta; Mauldin, Raymond P.; Munoz, Cynthia M.In June of 2021, the University of Texas at San Antonio Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) was retained by the City of San Antonio to produce a comprehensive archival and historical research report addressing issues related to burials and cemeteries at the Alamo and surrounding Alamo Plaza area. This effort was directed by the City Manager’s Office (CMO) in support of the Alamo Citizen’s Advisory Committee (ACAC). CAR, with the direction, coordination, and support of the CMO and the City Archaeologists with the Office of Historic Preservation, met with three members of the ACAC representing history and archaeology to respond to questions and provide regular updates. The first of these meetings was held on June 29, 2021, and they continued through the end of September 2021. In addition to coordination with the three ACAC members, CAR was also tasked with making three presentations to the entire ACAC. These occurred on September 14 and November 4 of 2021, and on April 11, 2022. The report provides a comprehensive archival and historical synthesis relative to specific research topics. The results include a discussion of the several communities that occupied the site, in particular the Franciscan Mission from 1724-1793; the Pueblo de Valero from 1793-1810 and the Compañia Volante de San Carlos de Parras from 1802-1835. The report examines Spanish Colonial and Mexican burial practices together with archaeological analogs from other local and regional sites as a predictive indicator for potentially new encounters with human remains and as an explanation for remains reported in the archival records. Included with the particular examination of the mission period, this report recapitulates the entirety of the listed burials from Mission San Antonio de Valero along with several analyses of those records. In addition to the recapitulation and analyses, all of these records have also been made available online for anyone interested in using them. Period archival records were exhaustively examined to attempt to collect every known written account of human remains reported in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries either from the Alamo buildings or within or adjacent to Alamo Plaza. This same comprehensive treatment was also applied to the archival documents and narratives related to the dead from the Battle of the Alamo. This work product was not conducted under a Texas Antiquities Permit, and no recommendations regarding National Register status or eligibility or landmark designation are provided. All supporting research conducted for this report, report drafts, internal and external correspondence, and figures are retained at the CAR curatorial repository on the UTSA Main Campus found under accession #2589.Item La Villita earthworks (41 BX 677), San Antonio, Texas: a preliminary report of investigations of Mexican siege works at the battle of the Alamo(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 1986) Labadie, Joseph H.La Villita Earthworks is located in the heart of downtown San Antonio, Texas. The site appears to have been formed initially in late February1836, by Mexican soldiers with General Santa Anna's invading forces during the second battle of the Alamo. The outcome of this battle has been the topic for literally thousands of books over the past 149 years. Now, for the first time, archaeological evidence has been discovered which provides the first real glimpse at the Mexican side of the battle of the Alamo. The ramifications of the discovery are yet to be fully realized. Military historians and other scholars now have material evidence from the actual battle by which to evaluate the accuracy of the several eyewitness accounts of the battle. For archaeologists, the site represents the most comprehensive look yet afforded at San Antonio during this famous period.Item Report on the archaeological investigations conducted between 1992 and 1993 at the Alamo Sales Museum (41BX6), Bexar County, Texas(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2008) Tomka, Steve A.; Fox, Anne A.; Figueroa, Antonia L.; Thompson. Jennifer L.Lone Star Archaeological Services, under the direction of Alton K. Briggs, conducted archaeological investigations in the vicinity and under the Sales Museum preceding the Sales Museum expansion project. The work was carried out between July 1991 and April 1993 under Texas Antiquities Committee permit number 1033 with Briggs serving as the Principal Investigator. Following the completion of the fieldwork, Briggs submitted several draft reports in order to fulfill permit requirements. The Texas Historical Commission rejected the draft reports and the permit lapsed into default. In 2003, the Center for Archaeological Research acquired the collection of artifacts recovered during the project and a fraction of the notes generated by the project. This report summarizes the results of the analysis conducted on the collection and describes the excavation results as they can be reconstructed based on the information available to the CAR staff. All artifacts collected during this project and all project-associated documentation is permanently curated at the Center for Archaeological Research according to Texas Historical Commission guidelines.Item The 2006 UTSA Field School at Mission San Antonio de Valero (41BX6), the Alamo, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2017) Zapata, José E.The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), the Texas General Land Office (GLO), and the Alamo Complex Management collaborated to finalize this study of Mission San Antonio de Valero (41BX6), also known as the Alamo. The study was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4194, with Dr. Raymond Mauldin serving as Principal Investigator. Dr. Steve Tomka was the original principal investigator on the project. In February 2006, the UTSA-Department of Anthropology’s Center for Archaeological Research approached several agencies regarding the possibility of hosting the 2006 Archaeology Summer Field School. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT), at that time custodians of the Alamo for the State of Texas, expressed immediate interest. Following the initial contacts, the CAR’s representatives met with David Stewart of the Alamo and Carolyn Peterson of Ford, Powell and Carson, Architects. Ford, Powell and Carson had been hired by the DRT to develop a Master Plan that would outline the direction of future developments within the Alamo Compound. The goal of the meeting was to identify areas of the compound that were to be impacted by short- and long-term improvements within the boundaries of the compound. Since archaeological testing would be required in advance of such disturbances and given the availability of UTSA-Department of Anthropology students and staff during the summer, it was agreed that areas be selected based on Areas of Potential Effect (APE). Area 1 was located along the east end of the north wall. Area 2 was located at an interior corner along the south edge of the Long Barrack. Area 3 was located along the east wall of the Convento Courtyard. In summary, the areas investigated reflect portions of the compound that had been slated for impacts during future improvements to the compound, as identified within the Alamo Master Plan Report (Ford, Powell and Carson 2011). The five-week field school was carried out from July 12 through August 7, 2006. A total of 10 units were excavated, and only 3 of these had intact Spanish Colonial deposits. Two features were located and recorded at the north wall, with no other features noted in the other two areas. The two features were likely trash pits or middens and were found in association with Spanish Colonial deposits. The investigations at Mission San Antonio de Valero (41BX6) accomplished two principal goals: 1) the collection of additional information concerning the construction and use of the structures and grounds at Mission San Antonio de Valero; and 2) it served as a training ground for the development of aspiring archaeologists under the supervision of professional staff.Item The Alamo restoration and conservation project: excavations at the south transept(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 1996) Meissner, Barbara A.In January 1995, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, as custodians of the Alamo Shrine for the state of Texas, contracted with the Center for Archaeological Research of the University of Texas at San Antonio to excavate and/or monitor excavation of approximately 29 square meters outside and 11 square meters inside the south wall of the south transept of the Alamo church. The excavations were made necessary by a plan to insert metal plates into the wallsof the Alamo near the foundation, to prevent further damage being caused by groundwater in the lower part of the walls of the 250-year-old building. Excavations in January and February 1995 determined that artifacts inside the church were largely of nineteenth century origin; however, in one area numerous Colonial-period artifacts were found. The sediment inside the church, uner the flagstone floor, was found to be broken stone rubble mixed with loose sandy clay. Exterior sediments from the ground surface to the top of the foundation, approximately 60 cm below ground surface, were severely disturbed. One 10-cm level east of the south transept appears to be an intact nineteenth-century level. Most dateable artifacts from the exterior can be assigned to the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. On the final day of excavations, the sediments at the bottom of the excavations inside the church collapsed in three places. What appeared to be human remains were seen in two of these openings, approximately 20cm below the lowest excavated level. These holes were backfilled and no further investigation of the remains was attempted.