Archeological Investigations Along the Proposed Alibates Tour Road

In August and September, 1987, archeologists from the Southwest Cultural Resources Center (SWCRC), Division of Anthropology (PCA), Branch of Cultural Resources Management (PCRM), Southwest Regional Office (SWRO) of the National Park Service (NPS) conducted archeological investigations at five areas along the proposed construction route for tour road improvements at A libates Flint Quarries National Monument, Texas. The investigations included detailed site mapping, controlled surface artifact collections and, at most sites, subsurface test excavations. The sites were located by surface indications during previous inventory surveys. Four sites were composed of surface lithic artifact scatters and one additional site contains potentially significant subsurface cultural horizons. This report summarizes the NPS archeological data recovery program and field methodologies employed to investigate the sites. A summary of the results of the fieldwork is provided. Analyses of the NPS field data and collections were carried out by Chambers Group, Inc. (CGI) during the winter of 1988-1989. A total of 5,052 lithic items were examined, classified, and analyzed. These analyses suggest that the four surface sites are dominated by lithic artifacts technologically unlike those produced during the Antelope Creek Phase exploitation of the Alibates quarries. Recommendations for further study of this newly-described technological manifestation are presented. NPS field assessments of significance of the subsurface deposits were confirmed by CGI analysis.