Evaluation of Archaeological Sites at Camp Bullis and Lackland AFB, Joint Base San Antonio, Bexar County, San Antonio, Texas

From November 22, 2019, to August 23, 2020, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) conducted Phase II testing and evaluation at 16 sites located on Camp Bullis and Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), San Antonio, Texas, in support of Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) for Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA). Seven sites (41BX432, 41BX1013, 41BX1445, 41BX1211, 41BX1277, 41BX1322, and 41BX1344) were located on Camp Bullis, and nine sites (41BX1069, 41BX1092, 41BX1093, 41BX1107, 41BX1121, 41BX1122, 41BX1125, 41BX1127, and 41BX1130) were located on Lackland AFB. The work was conducted in accordance with and in partial fulfillment of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (PL-96-515); the Archeological and Historical Preservation Act of 1974, as amended (PL-93-291); the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (PL-90-190); Executive Order #11593, “Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment;” the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978; the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990; guidelines and standard operating procedures on the curation of Department of Defense Archeological Collections (Griset and Kodack 1999); and Air Force Manual (AFMAN) 32-7003, Environmental Conservation. The work was carried out under Archaeological Resources Protection Act permit JBSA2019-AF001. Dr. Raymond Mauldin, CAR Director, served as the Principal Investigator (PI), and Sarah Wigley served as the Project Archaeologist. Camp Bullis and Lackland AFB are United States military installations that are part of JBSA. Camp Bullis, a US Army Training Camp, provides Base Operations and Training Support to JBSA. Lackland AFB is a USAF base providing basic training. JBSA is a United States military facility located in San Antonio, Texas, which includes Camp Bullis, Fort Sam Houston, Lackland AFB, and Randolph AFB. Camp Bullis consists of 27,990 acres (11,327 ha) in northwest Bexar County. Lackland AFB encompasses 7,000 acres (2,833 ha) in southwest Bexar County. Sites selected for testing at Camp Bullis spanned the installation. Sites chosen for testing at Lackland AFB were primarily concentrated along Medio Creek in the Chapman Training Annex, with the exception of one site located on Gateway Hills Golf Course on the main portion of Lackland AFB. Testing was conducted to provide a recommendation of eligibility for each site for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The nine sites located on Lackland AFB additionally required geo-archaeological evaluation, with testing to a minimum of 2 meters below surface (mbs; 6.6 ft) based on the recommendation of the Texas Historical Commission (THC). 41BX1211, a historic system of stone fences spanning Camp Bullis, had not previously been fully recorded. The site was recorded and an evaluation of its eligibility for listing in the NRHP provided. The sites chosen for testing on Camp Bullis ranged in type from prehistoric sites to Works Progress Administration (WPA)-era training bunkers, while the sites chosen for testing at Lackland AFB were primarily prehistoric in nature. Of the seven sites chosen for archaeological testing and evaluation on Camp Bullis, five sites (41BX432, 41BX1013, 41BX1211, 41BX1277, and 41BX1445) are recommended eligible for listing in the NRHP. All five eligible sites are historic in nature and are associated with periods of historic significance in the Texas Hill Country. Two sites (41BX1322 and 41BX1344) are recommended not eligible. Of the nine sites chosen for geoarchaeological testing and evaluation on Lackland AFB, four (41BX1093, 41BX1122, 41BX1125, and 41BX1127) are recommended eligible for listing in the NRHP, and five (41BX1069, 41BX1092, 41BX1107, 41BX1121, and 41BX1130) are recommended not eligible. Sites 41BX1093 and 41BX1122 contain buried, intact features. Site 41BX1125 contains deeply buried, stratified deposits as well as diagnostic artifacts, and 41BX1127 also contains buried, stratified deposits. All four sites contain material suitable for radiocarbon dating, and dates were successfully returned during this project. Following laboratory processing and analysis, selected items that had no remaining scientific value were discarded with the concurrence of the JBSA Cultural Resources Manager. This discard conformed to THC guidelines. Remaining artifacts collected and records generated during this project are curated at the CAR in accordance with JBSA requirements and THC and federal guidelines.