ADAPTATION:

The process of change to better conform with environmental conditions or other external stimuli.

ANTHROPOLOGY:

The scientific and humanistic study of man's present and past biological, linguistic, social, and cultural variations. Its major subfields are archaeology, physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, and anthropological linguistics.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT:

The physical setting, location, and cultural association of artifacts and features within an archaeological site.

ARCHAEOLOGY (also spelled ARCHEOLOGY):

The scientific study of the physical evidence of past human societies recovered through the excavation. Archaeologists not only attempt to discover and describe past cultures, but also to formulate explanations for the development of cultures.

ARCHAEOLOGIST:

Anyone with an interest in the aims and methods of archaeology. A professional archaeologist usually holds a degree in anthropology with a specialization in archaeology and is trained to collect archaeological information in a proper scientific way.

ARTIFACT:

Any object manufactured, used or modified by humans. Common examples include tools, utensils, art, food remains, and other products of human activity.

ASSEMBLAGE:

A group of artifacts related to each other based upon some recovery from a common archaeological context. Assemblage examples are artifacts from a site or feature.

ATLATL:

A wood or bone shaft implement, held in one hand, and used to propel a spear. The tool functions as a lever, giving greater thrust and distance.

BENTONITES:

A clay formed by the decomposition of volcanic ash, having the ability to absorb large quantities of water and to expand to several times its normal volume.

BOTANIST:

A person who pursues the scientific study of the structure, growth, and identification of plants.

 

CADASTRE (CADASTER):

A public record of the extent, value, and ownership of land within a district for purposes of taxation.

CADDO:

A shortened form of the tribal name Cadohadacho, referring to three main Native American tribal groups spread along wide fertile prairies bordering the great bend in the Red River. The three cultures are- the Cadohadacho and the Natchitoches along the Red River, and the Hasinai along the banks of the upper Neches and Angelina Rivers in East Texas. Each tribe within these three regional groupings had an individual identity and was independently governed, but all had a common language, followed the same social and religious customs, and shared traditions. Their direct descendants are listed on the tribal roll of the Caddo Indian Tribe of Oklahoma in the twentieth century. (From Caddo Indians: Where We Come From (1995pg4) by Cecile Elkins Carter, Cultural Liason for the Caddo Tribes of Oklahoma.)

CADDOAN:

A family of North American Indian languages spoken in the upper Missouri Valley in North Dakota, in the Platto Valley in Nebraska, in southwestern Arkansas, and in neighboring parts of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana.

CADDOAN CULTURE AREA:

The geographical region that encompasses eastern Oklahoma, southwestern Arkansas, western Louisiana, and eastern Texas which was the homeland of the Native American Caddo people.

 

CALCAREOUS CONCRETIONS:

A rounded mass of mineral matter occurring in sand stone, clay, etc., often in concentric layers around a nucleus.

CENTRAL HALL:

A frame house consisting of two rooms and an enclosed central hall. When this house type is two story it is called an "I" house.

CHERT:

A very fine grained rock formed in ancient ocean sediments. It often has a semi-glassy finish and is usually white, pinkish, brown, gray, or blue-gray in color. It can be shaped into arrowheads by chipping. It has often been called flint, but true flint is found in chalk deposits and is a distinctive blackish color.

CHRONOMETRY:

The art of measuring time accurately.

CONSERVATION ARCHAEOLOGY:

A subfield of archaeology which focuses on the preservation of archaeological resources. This position encourages the stabilization and preservation of archaeological sites as opposed to their immediate excavation.

 

CUESTAS:

A long, low ridge with a relatively steep face, escarpment on one side and a long, gentle slope on the other.

CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

A branch of archaeology that is concerned with developing policies and action in regard to the preservation and use of cultural resources.

CULTURAL RESOURCES:

Sites, structures, landscapes, and objects of some importance to a culture or community for scientific, traditional, religious, or other reasons.

DAUB:

Clay used to fill in the holes and gaps between the wood or thatching of a wall. It was used by both Indians and European settlers in North America to construct houses.

DENDROCHRONOLOGY:

The scientific study of the annular growth of trees. Trees produce rings of various thickness annually in response to rainfall. Tree-rings therefore, can be used to reconstruct fluctuations in rainfall in the past, reflecting past climatic conditions.

DEMOGRAPHY:

The study of the distribution, density, and vital statistics of populations.

DOUBLE CRIB:

Two rooms or chambers connected by a single roof to form a barn used for storage of grains or stabling of animals.

EASTERN CROSS TIMBERS:

A relatively narrow, north-south strip of forested land that divides the Grand Prairie to the west from the Blackland Prairie to the east in North Central Texas. The Eastern Cross Timbers are associated with the sandier soils of the Woodbine geologic formation.

ECOLOGY:

The study of interrelationships of organisms and their environment.

 

EMPRESSARIO SYSTEM:

A land grant system in the early Republic of Texas in which four contracts were made to designate "colonies" and bring immigrants to the Texas frontier. Contractors were to receive 10 sections of land for each 100 colonists introduced and up to half of the colonists' grants. Colonists were to receive grants similar in amount and requirements to fourth class headrights (a status issued to those who arrived to Texas between January 1, 1840 and January 1, 1842.), with the requirement of placing 15 acres into cultivation. The four colonies were Peters' Colony, Fisher and Miller's Colony, Mercer's Colony, and Castro's Colony. (Link to).

END SCRAPER:

A stone tool formed by chipping the end of a flake of stone which can then be used to scrape animal hides and wood.

FAUNA:

A Latin term which refers to animals remains, as opposed to flora which refers to plant remains.

FEATURES:

Evidence of human activities visible as disturbances in the soil. Such disturbances are produced by digging pits for storage, setting posts for houses, or by constructing a hearth for cooking. These disturbances are often distinguished by soil discolorations.

FLOTATION:

A method of obtaining seeds and other organic materials from soil by using liquids.

FLUTE:

A long, narrow flake removed from a spear point to aid in the binding of the point to the spear shaft.

GEOLOGIST:

A person who studies the history of the earth and its life, especially as recorded in rocks.

GORGET:

An ornament usually worn over the chest which may be either suspended on a cord or attached directly to clothing.

GRIT AND GROG TEMPERED POTTERY:

Sand (grit) and crushed pottery sherds (grog) mixed in the unfired clay to make ceramic vessels stronger. These inclusions prevented the rapid expansion of the paste as the clay's water content was boiled away when the pottery was fired.

HEWN:

Wood shaped by heavy cutting or chopping blows struck by hand tools such as axes or adzes.

HISTORIC SITES ACT of 1935:

Public Law 74-292; 49 Statute 666 enabling the authorized expenditure of funds for archaeological studies on major land modification projects.

HORTICULTURE:

The science and art of growing fruit, flowers, ornamental plants, and vegetables in small gardens.

INCISED:

A decoration found on pottery consisting of lines drawn into wet clay. When fired, the arrangement of lines leaves a permanent design on the vessel surface.

INTERACTION SPHERE:

This term refers to prehistoric groups who shared social interaction and exchanged material goods, through a network made up of long distance trade contacts.

MIDDEN:

The layer of soil which contains the byproducts of human activity as the result of the accumulation of these materials on their living surface. For prehistoric sites, a layer of soil that was stained to a dark color by the decomposition of organic refuse which also contained food bones, fragments of stone tools, charcoal, pieces of pottery, or other discarded materials. For historic sites, a similar layer of soil but with appropriate historic material remains often in a much thinner deposit.

MORTISES AND TENONS:

A method of carpentry joinery where holes are chiseled as receptacles (mortises) for chiseled projections (tenons) on wooden beams.

NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT of 1966:

Public Law 89-665, as amended by Public law 96515, National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980, 94 Stat. 2987. This act and its amendments clearly established the basic funding and implementation of archaeological work in federally funded projects.

NATIONAL REGISTER of HISTORIC PLACES (NRHP):

The administrative branch of the Department of Interior that officially reviews nominations of archaeological and historic sites and structures, and guides the federal implementation of cultural resources legislation.

OBSIDIAN:

A volcanic glass which is one of the finest raw materials for the chipping of stone tools.

ORAL HISTORY:

Verbally transmitted information about past events. Although often providing information about non-written events, such history is subject to the vagaries of human perceptions and mental recall.

OUTBUILDINGS:

A term used to refer to all nonresidential structures on a site. These include animal pens, storage buildings, sheds, barns, etc.

OUTCROPS:

A term designating the surface exposure of rock layers, which have not been decomposed into soil.

PALYNOLOGIST:

One who studies plant pollen and spores. Since pollen may be preserved thousands of years it can be used to reconstruct the plant ecology of the past.

PARALLEL FLAKING:

A technique used in the production of stone tools that is often found on the earliest projectile points from North Central Texas. Long, consistent chipping scars run parallel on the flat sides of stone tools.

PEDOLOGY:

The science that deals with the study of soils.

PETROGLYPHS:

Carvings in rock which express artistic or religious meaning.

PICTOGRAPHS:

Paintings on rock which express artistic or religious meaning.

PLEISTOCENE:

A geologic period, usually thought of as the Ice Age, which began about 1.6 million years ago and ended with the melting of the large continental glaciers creating the modern climatic pattern about 11,500 years ago.

PREHISTORIC HUNTER:

Gatherers-Humans who lived prior to written history and depended upon the hunting of wild animals and the gathering of natural plant foods for their livelihood

PREHISTORIC SITES:

Locations where people who were alive before modern written records existed once lived, hunted, camped, or were buried. Painted or carved rock outcrops are considered sites as well.

PROVENIENCE:

The three-dimensional location of an artifact or feature within an archaeological site, measured by two horizontal dimensions, and a vertical elevation.

PSORALEA SSP.:

The prairie turnip, as it is commonly referred to, is actually several species of plants which grow underground tubers. Only one species was actually recorded as having been used by Plains Indians, and only recently has any archaeological evidence for the use of this plant been recovered.

PUBLIC ARCHAEOLOGY:

(see also Conservation Archaeology) A movement to increase public awareness and education about archaeology which advanced the legislative attempts to provide funding and protection for archaeological sites.

PUNCTATES:

Impressions in the surface of ceramic vessels made by implements or by fingernails as a form of decoration.

QUARTZITE:

A stone which was formed in water deposited sediments and consists of sand grains which have been cemented together. It can be chipped, but is difficult to work.

RADIOCARBON DATING:

A process that provides absolute dates by counting the radioactive decay of carbon in the remains of once living plants and animals (i.e., charcoal, wood, bone, shell).

RESCUE ARCHAEOLOGY:

A term applied to the emergency salvage of sites in immediate danger of destruction by major land modification projects such as reservoir construction.

SEDENTARY:

A term applied to human groups leading a settled, non-migratory lifestyle.

SHERDS:

The individual pieces of broken pottery vessels.

SITE:

A location where human activities once took place and left some form of material evidence.

SOIL SCIENTISTS:

One who studies the distribution, fertility, and chemical and organic composition of the upper layer of the Earth.

STATE ARCHAEOLOGIST:

An appointed official who is responsible for overseeing all potential impacts to archaeological resources and for reviewing and administering all archaeological work in order to insure compliance with state and federal regulations.

STONE BOILING:

A type of cooking that is done by heating stones in an open fire and then placing themin the liquid or substance to be cooked. This is often done in baskets or containers that cannot be placed directly in or over a fire.

SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY:

The means by which a group obtains the food and shelter necessary to support life.

TERRITORY:

The familiar surroundings or home range which is claimed by a group of people.

TEST EXCAVATIONS:

Subsurface excavations in areas which are either defined as sites based on surface artifacts or thought to contain buried deposits based on the landform.

TEXAS ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY:

An branch of the University of Texas at Austin that has been appointed as the official state registry for archaeological sites and the repository for archaeological collections.

TIMBER FRAME:

An early English building technique using sawn or hewn lumber (cut using hand tools) and joined with mortises and tenons (holes and pegs) instead of nails.

TOOL KIT:

The set of all weapons and tools that was created and used by a person or group of people.

WORKING PERIOD FARM:

A term usually associated with a working museum exhibit in which a full scale farm has been restored or reconstructed to depict the former lifeways, tools, and technologies of particular periods.

ZOOLOGY:

A branch of biology that is concerned with the scientific study of animals, including their biology, distribution, and identification.

Also see Barbara Stong's Precolumbian Glossary