GLOSSARY

Fig. 9. Burleson Plantation house as seen today. This mid-nineteenth century upper class dwelling, although covered with sheet metal, is much larger than contemporary log cabins.

Fig. 10. Interior of the mid-nineteenth century Burleson Plantation house illustrating architectural details more elaborate than less affluent dwellings of the same era.

Fig. 11. Mid-nineteenth century log cabin partially restored for use as a hunting cabin.

Fig. 12. The remains of a log cabin as seen today. Several suchsiteswere found during the survey of the project area.

Fig. 13. Fragments of hand made bricks from a brick kilnsite. Brick fragment at center top is covered with a crusty burned coating. Brick fragment at bottom lower left has a smooth light green-gray glaze on its outer surface.

The archaeological record shows another effect of railroads on the local residents. Investigations so far suggest that there was an increase in the consumption of such items as bottles (Figure 15), plates (Figure 16), personal possessions and the like in the few decades after the railroads entered this area. By the early twentieth century, the archaeological record suggests that rural households had been partly, but not entirely incorporated into the patterns of commercial consumption. It seems that many were able to retain some of their rural folkways well into the twentieth century.

Fig. 14. Iron shoe last used in cobbler work from ahistoric site.

The battle played locally between rural American lifeways and their urban counterparts may be inferred from a close look at thesites, structures, andartifactsthese people have left behind. For example, the pattern of intensive yard use by families in this area remains unchanged until well into the twentieth century. Many fragments of pottery and glass lie scattered around these rural dwellings. In other more settled parts of the country, such as the northeast, rural farmers had shifted away from this pattern of intensive yard use toward a pattern reflecting commercial consumption. In the Reservoir area, swept dirt yards were still being used for various daily activities, from processing food to discarding refuse, while cosmetically treated and manicured lawns were being kept in New England, New York, and much of the mid-Atlantic region. In this regard, domestic life in much of East-centralTexas had changed very little. In other parts of the country,archaeologyreveals dramatic reorganization to keep pace with a society moving towards increased consumption and disposable material culture. Denser rural populations and a greater consumption of disposable material culture forced many communities to organize town dumps and mass collections to cope with the excess products. The Richland Creek area did not experience this transition until well into the twentieth century. Lower population density and a stronger tie to more traditional lifeways kept many aspects of rural life the same until the advent of better roads and electricity in the mid-1930s.

Fig. 15. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century bottle fragments recovered fromhistoric sitesin the project area.

The persistence of an unpretentious and traditional aspect of rural life in this area can be observed in the dwellings found throughout. TheCumberlandandHipped Roof Bungalowsfound here reveal a blend of traditional southern lifeways and local folk elements. Figures17and18show two examples of early twentieth century dwellings.Figure 19illustrates the traditional cultural overtones of this region and shows an early twentieth century log barn.

Several other aspects of traditional Southern lifeways have been captured in the archaeological record. Thesitesin the Richland Creek area indicate that foodways did not change as quickly in this area as in others. For example, the archaeological record suggests that home canning with commercial fruit canning (Figure 20) jars was slow to penetrate thisarea. Wide use of glass fruit jars does not appear until the second decade of this century, unlike other parts of the country that used them as early as 1870 or 1880.

Fig. 16. Fragments of late nineteenth and early twentieth century ceramics. The printed marks designate the manufacturer. The mark seen in the top row is typical of many late nineteenth century British potteries.

Last of all, the consumption of commercially produced alcoholic beverages, liquors, and patent medicines does not appear to be anywhere near that observed in the refuse discarded by contemporaneous residents of the northeast or frontier southwest. Whether this indicates local adherence to southern temperance or the widespread use of “homemade” products is not known at this time.

When segments of the archaeological record are combined, the picture emerges of an area rich intraditional Southern lifeways. From dwellings and patterns of yard use to foodways and the late participation in a society based on consumption, the archaeological record reveals a rural style of life that changed little for a period of about 100 years. In this regard, this area avoided the less desirable aspects of changing popular American culture and allowed local folk cultures to flourish. After the great depression and World War II, all of this changed. Today rural East-central Texas is not much different than many other parts of the country, but has an archaeological heritage of which to be proud.

Fig. 17. An example of an early twentieth century tenant farm dwelling; in this case, a four roomCumberland(side view).

Fig. 18. An example of an early twentieth centuryHipped Roof Bungalow. This was the dwelling of a local land owner and is more elaborate than the simpleCumberland(Fig. 17).

Fig. 19. An example of the rebirth of log barns in rural folk construction in the early twentieth century.

Fig. 20. Early twentieth century glass fruit jar (bottom) with milk glass cap liner (top). If one were to pick a singleartifactrepresentative of twentieth century tenant farming lifeway, it would undoubtably be the home glass canning jar.

Archaeology(also spelledarcheology): In the United States,archaeologyis taught and practiced as one of the four major subfields of anthropology (with anthropological linguistics, physical anthropology, and cultural anthropology). The aim of archaeology is the understanding of past human societies. Archaeologists not only attempt to discover and describe past cultures, but also to develop explanations for the development of cultures.

Archaeologist: Anyone with an interest in the aims and methods ofarchaeology. At a professional level, thearchaeologistusually holds a degree in anthropology, with a specialization in archaeology (seeArchaeology). The professional archaeologist is one who is capable of collecting archaeological information in a proper scientific way, and interpreting that information in light of existing scientific theories and methods.

Archaeological Survey: Thearchaeological surveyis a study intended to compile an inventory of archaeological remains within a given area. Usually a survey is an extensive rather than an intensive phase of archaeological study. The objective is to form the most complete and representative picture possible of the archaeological remains found within a defined area. Surveys may be based upon a wide variety of methods, including on-foot examinations of the ground surface, brief digging, talking with people who know where archaeologicalsitesare to be found, consulting historical records, and looking at satellite photos of an area.

Archaeological Testing:Archaeological testinginvolves carrying out limited-scale testing of archaeologicalsites(seeSite). Testing attempts to dig only enough to determine the extent, content and state of preservation within an archaeological site.

Artifact: Any object that shows evidence of modification by a human agency. Examples ofartifactsare spear points chipped from flint, animal bones burned during preparation of a meal, fragments of pottery vessels and coins. Whether ancient or recent, artifacts are the traces of human behavior, and therefore one of the prime categories of things studied by archaeologists (see alsoContext).

Conservation Archaeology: A subfield ofarchaeologywhose primary objective is informed management of archaeological remains and information. Working with private and public agencies, conservation archaeologists provide information that will allow archaeological properties and information to be effectively managed for the benefit of future generations. In thiscontext, archaeological values are a natural resource of the nation, to be wisely conserved for the future (seeCultural Resource Management).

Context, orArchaeologicalContext: The setting from which archaeological objects (seeArtifacts) are taken. Usually the meaning of archaeological objects cannot be discerned without information about their setting. One example is determining how old an object is, given that the age of objectsexcavated from asitevaries with their depth in the ground. Unless the depth of an object is carefully recorded against a fixed point of reference, it may be impossible to relate objects to the dimension of time.

Cultural Resource Management: Development of programs and policies aimed at conservation of archaeological properties and information. Such programs exist within the federal and state governments, academic institutions and private agencies.

Cumberland Dwelling: An architectural style named for its common occurrence throughout middle Tennessee. These dwellings have two front rooms of about equal size and front doors, with any additional rooms added onto the rear of the building.

Data Recovery: In thecontextof cultural resource management (see definition) studies,data recoveryrefers to relatively large-scale excavation designed to remove important objects and information from an archaeologicalsiteprior to its planned destruction. Data recovery is only undertaken after it is shown that preservation of the site in place is not a feasible course of action in the project in question. Scientific data are recovered to answer important scientific and cultural questions.

Debitage: A term meaning the characteristic types of stone flakes produced from manufacture of prehistoric stone tools by chipping (as, for example, stone spear and arrow points). One of the most common types of prehistoricartifacts, these distinctive flakes frequently alert thearchaeologistto the presence of aprehistoric site.

Feature, orArchaeologicalFeature: Many things of archaeological interest are portable, such as fragments of bone, pottery and stone tools. However, archaeologicalsitesfrequently contain man-made things that are not portable, but are part of the earth itself. Examples of these features are hearths, foundations of buildings, storage pits, grave pits and canals.

Hipped Roof Bungalow: These are square to rectangular dwellings with hipped gable roofs, one or two front doors and four to five rooms arranged in a modular design.

Historic Sites: Archaeologicalsitesdating to the historic era, or after about the early seventeenth century in the project area. The distinguishing characteristic of this period is availability of written documents. This era extends from the earliest period mentioned in histories to the present.

Midden: A word (adopted from the Danish language) meaning refuse heap. In many instances, one of the most apparent aspects of an archaeologicalsiteis “midden”, or a soil layer stained to a dark color by decomposition of organic refuse, and containing food bones, fragments of stone tools, charcoal, pieces of pottery or other discards. Archaeologists can learn a great deal about people’s lifeways by studying their middens.

Potsherds(orsherds): Pieces of ceramic vessels. Since the making of pottery did not begin in the project area until the first few centuries A.D., the presence of potsherds is a useful index of time. Also, the composition of the sherds and their decorative motifs are a highly useful way of detecting differentprehistoric cultural groups, since manufacture and design of pottery varied with cultural groups.

Prehistoric Sites: Archaeologicalsites(seeSite) that date to a time prior to European contact (that is, before written history). In the project area that would be prior to the early seventeenth century. Prehistory is a relative concept, varying from one area to another, depending on the first intrusion of Americans or Europeans.

Profiles: Detailed maps of the walls oftest pitsandtest trenches(see definitions). These are key records in understanding asite’s layers (stratigraphy) and distribution and age ofartifacts.

Site: Asite, or archaeological site, is the location of past human behavior. Sites vary tremendously in their size and content, ranging from cities to a few flakes of stone indicating the manufacture of a stone tool. As a relative concept, sites are defined in relation to specific research problems and needs.

Stratigraphy: A number of normal processes caused the earth’s surface to be built up over time in layer-cake fashion. Sometimes this is caused by floods or wind-carried soil. In other cases it may result from people piling up refuse of one kind or another. The layering effect here is calledstratigraphy, and is a major interpretive tool of thearchaeologist. Within a given stratigraphic sequence the most deeply buried layers are usually the oldest, and things found within a given level were usually from the same points in time. Stratigraphy is therefore a means of telling time (in a relative sense) for the archaeologist.

Test Pits: Rectilinear pits dug during excavation of asite(seeArchaeological Testing). Thearchaeologistworks with square or rectangular pits because they aid in keeping records of changes in soil types and other variables with depth. Extensive records, drawings and maps are kept oftest pits. The function of thetest pitis to provide a sample of a site’s contents at a particular point.

Test Trenches: Serving much the same function as atest pit, thetest trenchgive a more continuous record of asite’s contents over a larger distance than a pit. Trenches are useful for tracingstratigraphy(see definition) over distance.

There are several organizations that encourage interest and education inarchaeologyby members of the public. Some of these organizations are listed below.

The first is theTexas Archaeological Society, Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78285. This society is composed of avocational archaeologists from all walks of life. It holds an annual meeting in the fall during which members present papers on various aspects of Texasarchaeology. Each summer the society also organizes a field school where members can participate in excavation of an archaeologicalsiteunder the supervision of a professionalarchaeologist. The society also publishes a high-quality bulletin about Texas archaeology.

Another organization that promotesarchaeologyis theArchaeological Institute of America. This organization has its national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and schedules national lecture tours by archaeologists who visit local chapters in major cities. The lectures are offered six times a year, and present the results of archaeological investigations world-wide.

In addition, local or county archaeological societies can be contacted for information aboutarchaeologyin Texas. If such an organization does not currently exist in your community, perhaps you could start one!

Discovery of archaeological remains, particularly destruction of archaeological properties, deserves official attention. To report such events and to obtain information about the State’s efforts in protecting archaeological and historical resources, contact:Texas Historical Commission, P.O. Box 12276, Capitol Station, Austin, TX, 78711.

[1]Terms in italics are defined inGlossaryat end of report.[2]ArchaeologyResearch Program, Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, 75275.

[1]Terms in italics are defined inGlossaryat end of report.

[2]ArchaeologyResearch Program, Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, 75275.

Longhorn skull

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