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 Plaza"
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Item Archaeological Monitoring Associated with Geotechnical Boring for the Cenotaph Relocation in Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2020-05) Zapata, José E.On October 21, 2019, in response to a request from the City of San Antonio (COSA) Transportation and Capital Improvements (TCI), The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) conducted archaeological monitoring of geotechnical boring associated with the Cenotaph Relocation project in the Alamo Plaza complex in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The boring samples will be used by Terracon Consultants, Inc. (Terracon) to evaluate the soil bearing pressure, the active soil load, the location of the groundwater table, and the soil characteristics. The archaeological work consisted of monitoring two geotechnical bores that formed the Area of Potential Effect (APE), which covered less than 0.004 hectare (0.01 acre). The APE is located within the Alamo Plaza Historic District. The district includes Alamo Plaza, located immediately west of the Alamo (41BX6), a site that originally functioned as the third and final location of Mission San Antonio de Valero. Site 41BX6 is a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL), listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As a public municipal property, undertakings that might affect archaeological or historical sites are subject to regulatory review. At the municipal level, the property falls under COSA's 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 assigned Texas Antiquities Permit No. 9098. Cynthia Munoz served as Principal Investigator, and José E. Zapata served as the Project Archaeologist. CAR monitoring activities did not locate any cultural material or features. However, the 7.6 cm (3 in.) diameter bores greatly restricted this assessment. Consequently, CAR recommends that any future ground disturbance plans in Alamo Plaza include archaeological monitoring and/or testing. The THC concurs with CAR's recommendation that any additional ground disturbances in this area should undergo archeological investigation. All project related material, including the final report, are permanently stored at the CAR facilities in accession file number 2235. Terracon submitted a separate geotechnical report to TCI.Item Archaeological Monitoring of Geotechnical Boring Associated with the Alamo Museum in Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2020-05) Zapata, José E.In November 2019, in response to a request from the City of San Antonio (COSA) Transportation and Capital Improvements (TCI) Department, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) conducted archaeological monitoring of geotechnical boring associated with the Alamo Museum project adjacent to the Alamo Plaza complex in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The boring samples will be used by Terracon Consultants, Inc. (Terracon) to evaluate the soil bearing pressure, the active soil load, the location of the groundwater table, and the soil characteristics. The archaeological work consisted of monitoring four geotechnical bores that formed the Area of Potential Effect (APE), which covered less than 0.004 hectare (0.01 acre). The project area is located on COSA-owned property. As a public municipal property, undertakings that might affect archaeological or historical sites are subject to regulatory review. At the municipal level, the property falls under COSA's Unified Development Code (Article 6 35-630 to 35-634). The project is also located within the Alamo Plaza Historic District. The project requires review by the Texas Historical Commission (THC), under the Antiquities Code of Texas, and was assigned Texas Antiquities Permit No. 9125. José Zapata was the Project Archaeologist, and Cynthia Munoz served as Principal Investigator. CAR monitoring activities did not locate any cultural material or features. However, the 7.6 cm (3 in.) diameter bores greatly restricted this assessment. Consequently, CAR recommends that any future ground disturbance plans adjacent to the Alamo Plaza include archaeological monitoring and/or testing. The THC concurs with CAR's recommendation that any additional ground disturbances in this area should undergo archeological investigation. All project related material, including the final report, are permanently stored at the CAR facilities in accession file number 2236. Terracon submitted a separate geotechnical report to TCI.Item 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 Historical survey of the lands within the Alamo Plaza - River Linkage Development Project(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 1979) Fox, Anne A.; Ivey, James E.In December 1977 the Center for Archaeological Research, The Untversity of Texas at San Antonio, entered into a contract with the City of San Antonio to compile a history of a section of the city bounded by Alamo Street, Crockett Street, the San Antonio River and Houston Street. Plans for the area include removal of a number of buildings and construction of a major hotel, a parking garage, and a park linking Alamo Plaza with the San Antonio River Walk. The area to be affected includes the sites of a number of important historical structures, including the southwest corner of Mission San Antonio de Valero and the site of one of the first commercial ice plants in the city. The document produced by this study is to be used as a basis for planning archaeological excavations in the area to be disturbed by construction. Research has been carried out by the authors under the supervision of Dr. Thomas R. Hester, Director of the Center and Jack Eaton, Assistant Director.Item The archaeology and history of Alamo Plaza(Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 1976) Fox, Anne A.; Bass, Feris A., Jr.; Hester, Thomas R.In the Spring of 1975, the Center for Archaeological Research was approached by the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of San Antonio regarding possible archaeological and historical research at Alamo Plaza. The proposed investigations were in connection with the city's plan to renovate the plaza, to coincide with the American Bicentennial. There were two major reasons for the Center's involve-ment: (1) the architects desired to learn, as a part of the renovation plans, the precise locations of the south wall of the original Alamo (San Antonio de Valero) compound; (2) in order to aid in the planning of the renovation, it was necessary to determine if subsurface archaeo-logical resources existed in Alamo Plaza. To achieve these goals, a contract was agreed upon between the City of San Antonio and the Center for Archaeological Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio. A State Antiquities Permit (No. 94) was secured and all investigations were conducted under the terms of that permit.