An Intensive Pedestrian Survey for Proposed Greenway Extensions at Culebra and Helotes Creeks, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

In April of 2014, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) conducted an archaeological pedestrian survey of a proposed trail for the Greenway Extensions of Culebra and Helotes Creeks in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The proposed trail system is 2.7-km long and runs along Culebra and Helotes Creeks. The goal of the archaeological survey was to identify and document all prehistoric and/or historic archaeological sites that may be impacted by the proposed trail alignment. The archaeological work was performed under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 6850, with Dr. Raymond Mauldin serving as Principal Investigator and Cynthia Moore Munoz serving as Project Manager. Antonia Figueroa was the Project Archaeologist. The field work resulted in the excavation of 22 shovel tests along the proposed trail corridor. Ground disturbances in the Area of Potential Effect and modifications to the creek banks made shovel testing infeasible in some parts of the project area. Although several archaeological sites surround the project area, no new archaeological sites were documented during the archaeological survey. Since only one artifact, an isolated find, was encountered during the archaeological investigations, the CAR recommends the proposed trail alignment for the Greenway Extensions of Culebra and Helotes Creeks proceed as planned. In a letter dated June 26, 2014, the Texas Historical Commission (THC) agreed with these recommendations. The COSA Office of Historic Preservation also concurred with the CAR’s recommendations. Artifacts collected and records generated during this project were prepared for curation according to Texas Historical Commission guidelines and are permanently curated at the CAR at UTSA.