Archeological Significance Testing at Site 41SR191, Starr County, Texas

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) conducted archeological significance testing at Site 41SR191, within the right-of-way of proposed improvements to US 83 in Starr County. The site was recorded in 1991 during an archeological survey of additional rights-of-way required for highway improvements. At that time, the site was recorded as a surface scatter of burned rock fragments and lithic debitage in a fallow field, covering an area approximately 50 meters east-west by 150 meters north-south. Although it was thought that the site was unlikely to yield substantial significant information, the site was considered to be one of the two (out of a total of 25 recorded during the survey) most likely to yield significant information. Thus, additional testing was recommended for this site as the project involves federal funding. As the improvements will utilize federal funding, the testing was undertaken under the guidelines of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and its implementing regulations, 36CFR, Part 800, and the National Environmental Policy Act. A total of 120 work-hours was spent on hand-excavation of eight square meters and machine excavation of two trenches, each approximately 40 meters in length and two meters in depth. The testing yielded only five prehistoric biface fragments, none of which was temporally or culturally diagnostic, and relatively small quantities of lithic debitage, all confined within approximately 30 cm of the surface. Historic artifacts were found throughout the same depths of deposit. Thus, it was concluded that the site was extremely disturbed by historic land clearing and cultivation activities, and that the site was unlikely to yield any significant information. It is recommended that no additional cultural resources investigations be carried out at the site, and that the project be allowed to proceed