Archaeological survey of the proposed Medina River Park, Bexar County, Texas

From July to August 2003, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted an archaeological survey of the proposed 363-acre Medina River Park located in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The 100 percent pedestrian survey was performed for Carter & Burgess, Inc. on behalf of the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department. The proposed park will consist of several hike and bike trails, roads, and parking facilities. CAR staff revisited eight previously recorded sites, all of which were originally recorded between 1981 and 1984 during the Applewhite Reservoir survey (41BX346 [A & B], 41BX347, 41BX348, 41BX350, 41BX519, 41BX675 [Thompson Cemetery], 41BX837, and 41BX857 [Palo Alto Crossing]). During the 2003 survey, four new sites were recorded by CAR (41BX1577, 41BX1578, 41BX1579, and 41BX1580). One of the sites (41BX675) was determined to be eligible or potentially eligible for nomination to the National Register ofHistoric Places or for listing as a State Archeological Landmark. Site 41BX675 is the location of a cemetery identified during previous archaeological work, though no surface indications of graves were noted during the current survey. The National Register of Historic Places and State Archeological Landmark eligibility of site 41BX1577 remains unknown. CAR recommends the avoidance of disturbances to both sites. No further eligibility-related work is recommended on the remaining 10 sites. Nonetheless, given that some of the sites possessing high archaeological visibility may be subject to secondary impacts once the park is opened, a program of site management is proposed including systematic surface collections and the monitoring of collection and erosion impacts to surface-exposed archaeological materials. All artifacts collected during these investigations are curated at the CAR facility according to Texas Historical Commission guidelines. These investigations were conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 3163, with Dr. Steve A. Tomka serving as Principal Investigator.