Analysis of Artifacts from a 2010 Surface Collection at the Pace Analysis of Artifacts from a 2010 Surface Collection at the Pace McDonald Site (41AN51), a Probable Middle Caddo Mound Center McDonald Site (41AN51), a Probable Middle Caddo Mound Center in Anderson County, Texas in Anderson County, Texas

The Pace McDonald site (41AN51) is a prehistoric Caddo mound center on Mound Prairie Creek in Anderson County, Texas, in the upper Neches River Basin. With the permission of one of the landowners, Mr. Johnny Sanford, the Friends of Northeast Texas Archaeology has initiated an archaeological research effort at the site in 2010, the first part of which was an April 2010 surface reconnaissance of the Sanford lands at the site, and the surface collection of artifacts exposed there following shallow disking of several tracts within the known boundaries of the site. This article discusses the character of the artifacts collected in the spring 2010 work. The purpose of this work at the Pace McDonald site is to learn more about the native history of this mound center-when it was occupied and used, and by which prehistoric Caddo group-and its intra-site spatial organization. Ultimately, we hope to be able to obtain site-specific archaeological information that can help us to better understand the site's place and role in the Caddo prehistory of this part of East Texas. The site is situated on a large and relatively flat upland landform (420-430 feet amsl) not far north of Mound Prairie Creek, in central Anderson County, Texas, in the East Texas Pineywoods. Mound Prairie Creek is a southwardand eastward-flowing tributary to the Neches River; the confluence of these two streams lies about 20 km to the east of the site. When the site was first visited and recorded in the 1930s, it was in a large cotton field. In more recent years, it is in an improved pasture, and the site is apparently owned by several landowners, including the Texas Historical Commission.

. With the permission of one of the landowners, Mr. Johnny Sanford. the Friends of Northeast Texas Archaeology has initiated an archaeological research effort at the site in 2010.the first part of which was an April 20 I 0 surface reconnaissance of the Sanford lands at the site, and the surface collection of artifacts exposed there following shallow disking or several tracts within the known boundaries of the site.This article di scusses the character of the artifacts collected in the spring 2010 work.
The purpose of this work at the Pace McDonald site is to learn more about the native history of this mound center-when it was occupied and used, and by which prehistoric Caddo group-and its intra-site spatial o rganization.Ultimately, we hope to be able to obtain site-specific archaeological information that can help us to better understand the site's place and role in the Caddo prehistory of this part of East Texas.
The site is situated on a large and relatively flat upland landform (420-430 feet amsl) not far north of Mound Prairie Creek, in central Anderson County, Texas, in the East Texas Pineywoods (Diggs et al. 2006).Mound Prairie Creek is a southward-and eastward-flowing tributary to the Neches River; the confluence of these two streams lies about 20 km to the east of the site.When the site was first visited and recorded in the 1930s, it was in a large cotton field (Pearce and Jackson 1933:2).In more recent years, it is in an improved pasture, and the site is apparently owned by several landowners, including the Texas Historical Commission.
The site is on an expanse of Elrose fine sandy loam, 1-3 percent slopes (Coffee 1975: 17 and Sheet 34 ).This is a relatively fertile upland soil thai "formed under a pine-hardwood forest in stratified marine and alluvial sediment high in glauconitic sandstone'' (Coffee 1975:17 and Table 2).A typical profile of the Elrosc fine sandy loam is a 25 em thick A-horizon that ranges from reddish-brown to yellowish-red fine sandy loam developed atop a thick (ca.165 em) Bt horizon composed of red, dark red, yellowish-red, or strong hrown sandy clay loam and sandy loam.The underlying C horizon is a massive red loamy fine sand with an occasional fragment of glauconitic sandstone.
Limited archaeological investigations at the Pace McDonald site since the 1930s indicates that the site covers L"a.11 acres (45,000 m 2 ) of the upland landform adjacent to Mound Prairie Creek.The site has two deliberately constructed prehistoric Caddo earthen mounds, a large and associated habitation area (including several midden areas) and surface scatters of ceramic and lithic artifacts.and prohably at least one associated cemetery area (Figure 1 ).There are also a number of small depressions, with an average depth of 30-60 em.visible on the landform that may represent borrow pits for sediments used by the Caddo to build the two earthen mounds (Mounds No.I and No. 2) that were constructed over special purpose structun:s with significant accumulations of ash ( Perttula 20 ll ).In 1978. the depressions ranged from 6. 1-25 m in diameter (Thurmond 1978). Analysis

SITE IMPRESSIONS FROM THE 2010 SURFACE COLLECTIONS
Based on the surface collecting work.it is apparent that the main concentration of surface artifacts on the Sanford lands at the Pace McDonald site is in a ca.150 x 150 m area (5.5 acres) north of Mound No. I, the mound owned by the Texas Historical Commission (Figure 2).This concentration apparently extends to the north and west off of the Sanford lands an unknown distance, but probably at least another I 00+ m to the west on the landform and towards Mound Prairie Creek (see Figure 1; Thurmond 1978; Pcrttula 20 II).Midden deposits have heen previously noted in this same area.as well as a possible borrow pit depression (No. 5) (see Figure 1 ).The density of Caddo artifacts is very low in surface contexts cast of Mound No.I and around Mound No. 2, as had been previously noted by Thurmond (1978).
Amidst the primary artifact concentration north and northeast of Mound No.I are three possible low mounds (see Figure 2), each about 40 min diameter and l m in height.These possible mounds arc approximately the same size as Mound No.  1).There is only a limited range of other artifact categories represented in the surface collection assemblage, including humed clay, chipped stone tools, animal bones.and a small assortment of 19th century Anglo-American artifacts.

Ceramic Vessel Sherds
Approximately 78% of the vessel shen.ls in the 2010 surface collection are from undecorated vessels or the undecorated portions of decorated vessels; 21.7% of the sherds, including both fine wares (engraved and red-slipped shcrds) and utility wares (wet paste decorations).are decorated (Table 2).These proportions are almost identical to that documented in the larger assemhlage of Caddo ceramic sherds in the TARL collection (Perttula 20 11 :Table 1 ).
The plain to decorated sherd ratio (P/DR) in this surface-collected assemblage is 3.60.The P/DR in the TARL collections from Pace McDonald is 3.43 (Perttula 20 11 ), clearing indicating that both collections derive from tht: same prehistoric Caddo sherd sample, a sample with a high proportion of plain sherds, likely plain vessels, and/or vessels with There are 13 rim sherds in the 2010 surface collection of vessel shcrds.More than 531/C arc from plain wan: vessels (n=7); another 30.8% are from decorated fine ware vessels (n=4.engraved vessels), and only 15.4% are from utility ware vessels.If we combine the TARL and 2010 surface collection sherds, the 52 rim sherds are di~tributed amongst the three ware~ as follows: plain wm•e (n=22, 42.3% ); utility ware (n=22, 42.3% ); and line ware (n=8, 15.41/C').
In the 20 I 0 surface collections from the Pace McDonald site.fine wares are well represented (35%) in the decorated sherd sample (Table 3).Slightly more than half of the line wares have engraved decorations, with the remainder comprised of red-slipped bottle and bowl/carinated bowl sherds.The combined TARL and 2010 sherd samples indicate that approximately 26% of the decorated sherds from rhe site are from fine wares.with the fine ware~ divided into shcrds that arc engraved (57o/" of the line wares); engraved and red-slipped (1.3%); and red-slipped (41.8%).
The utility wares a<:count for 65% of the 2010 surfa<:e collection decorated sherds, and 73.9% of the combined sherd samples (see Table 3).Sherds from vessels decorated with incised, tool punetatcd, fingernail punetated, and incised-punctated elements are the most popular in both collections, with 43% *There is also one vessel section comprisctl of 12 booy shertls and one rim sherd: it is not induded in the total number of decorated shcrds.
As with the TARL sherd sample from the Pace McDonald site (Pcrttula 20ll:Table 3), red-slipped sht:Tds from bottles (i.e., those with an exterior red slip) and carinated howls/howls are common in the fine ware sherds in the 20 I 0 surt'acc collection (Table 4).They comprise 44.8% uf the line wares in this small sherd assemblage.In East Texas, the manufacture and use of red-slipped pottery unembellished with engraved decorations is ml)st commonly seen in Middle Caddo ceramic traditions.whether it be in Caddo sites on the Red River or in parts of the upper Sulphur, Big Cypress.and Sabine River basins.
There arc several different engraved decorative.dements in the 20 I 0 surface collection from Pace McDonald (see Table 4 ).Of those that have more than horiLOntal engraved lines (from Hickory Engraved vessels?), or just straight or parallel lines of uncertain orientation (see Figure 3g), this indudes a diagonal engraved rim sherd (see Figure 3t), a body sherd with opposed engraved lines, and two hottle sherds with curvilinear engraved lines.
There is a possihlc post-A.D. 1400 rim sherd from a bowl or carinated howl with a horizontal engraved line below the lip.and that has at least two small hatehed triangles pendant from that line (see Figure 3c and Table 4).This decorative element is reminiscent of at least two varieties of Hume Engraved (see Suhm and    5).Minor decorative methods do.:umented in the site's utility wares are brushed (3.7%) and pinched ( 1.9%.•)categories.These proportions for each decorative methods/elements categories arc not significantly dif• fcrent than the utility ware assemblage in the TARL .:olle.:tions from the site (Pcrttula 2011 :Table 4 ).
The punctated sherds from the site arc comprised of a mixture of tool ( 46% of the punctated sherds), fingernail ( 46% ), circular ( 4°#>), and cres-.:cnt-shapcd( 4'7c>) punctatcd elements (sec Table 5).There arc no punctated rim sherds, suggesting that the bodies of many utility ware vessels arc decorated with punctations; the decoration on the rims of these vessels was probably not punctatcd, but more likely had incised decorative clements (cf.Dunkin Incised or Weches Fingernail Impressed), typical or Caddo utility wares that have ditl"erent rim and body decorations.There is one Weches Fingernail Impressed, var.Alto body she.rd (see Stokes and Woodring 1981:185-186 and Figures 22m and 23bc) in the assemblage.This particular sherd has rows of crescent-shaped punctations.
Among the incised utility wares in the 2010 surface collection, there are sherds with widely-spaced cross-hatched lines (likely either from Canton incised or Dunkin Incised vessels), opposed incised lines (also probably from Canton Incised or Dunkin 6.9 3.4 6.9 l 00.0 Incised vessels), parallel or straight incised lines of uncertain orientation (possibly body decorative treatments) , diagonal (a rim shcrd), and horizontaldiagonal and opposed incised lines on another vessel rim (see Table 5 ).These incised shcrds may he from Davis Incised, Dunkin Incised, or Canton Incised vessels, or from other Caddo ceramic types with incised elements that have not been typologically identified to date in the region.
The incised-punctated sherds in the 20 I 0 surface collection sample from the Pace McDonald site have opposed or opposed diagonal incised lines with associated tool punctated zones (likely below the incised decorative element) or triangular zones filled with tool punctations (see Figure 3a).These utility wares arc likely from Canton Incised and Pennington Punctated-Incised vessels.Other sherds have a zone of punctations adjacent to simple geometric incised elements, with the punctated elements apparently limited to the body of the vessel and the incised elements restricted to the rim.
A distinctive characteristic of the Pace McDonald utility wares is the occurrence of sherds from brushed and pinched jars, but only in low frequencies (see Table 4).These two categories of decorated utility wares together comprise only 5.6% of the assemblage.They apparently represent different means of rim and/or body decoration on jars, with parallel (likely vertical) or curvilinear brushing on 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 and humed hone temper added to the clay paste (Tahle 6).Proponionally.bone temper is used most frequently in the plain wares and utility wares.ahout twice as frequently as is the case for the fine wares.

Burned Clay
Only a single piece ofhumed clay is in the 2010 surface collection.This piece is a product of a localized burning evt:nl at Lht: site where a piect: of day was hardened through exposure to fire, perhaps an earth oven or hearth.

Chipped Slone Tools
The first chipped stone tool in the 2010 surface collections is an Alba point made from a non-local grayish-brown chert (Figure 4).This point has a parallel stem and a flat base.is bifacially chipped, and reworked on the tip (probably after it was broken during its first use after knapping).It is 20.1 mm in kngth, 15.0 mm in width, 2.9 mm in thickness, and it has a stem width of 4.3 mm.Alba points are generally considt:reJ Formative to Early Caddo pt:riod (ca.A.D. R00-1200) arrow points, although because they arc diagnostic of the Alto phase (Story 2000), they may date from as long a period of manufacture and use as ca.A.D. 850-1300.They arc particularly wdl-represented at the George C. Davis site on the Neches River (Newell and Krieger 1949:161 and Figure 56a-h), where they are con sidered the only .. resident type."In the TARL colle~tion s from Pact: M~Donald, 55% of the arrow points are of the Alba type (Perttula 2011:Table 6).
The second chipped stone tool is a graver/unilateral retoucht:d flake.It is made from a non-local gray chert.10).
Cortical pieccs-incluJing both stream-rolled, roughened, and with a limestone-covered cortexcomprise 45o/(' of all the lithic debris, including 4291.> of the non-local cherts and 67% of the local lithic raw materials (see Table 7).The high proportion of cortical flakes suggests that these lithic raw materials were brought to the site with significant amounts of cortex remaining on them (perhaps as pebbles).and knapped on-site; less Likely is the possibility that both non-local and local lithic raw materials were brought to the site as tools or near-complete tools with cortical remnants (or even as large Hakes with cortical remnants).The historic artifacts in the 20 I 0 surface collection were found in an area about 100-150 m northeast of Mound No. 1 (see Figure 2).These few artifacts are domestic/kitchen and architectural in character.and include a cut nail (1820-1 R91, see Wells 2000), a plain ironstone body shcrd (post-1~50s), a ca.post-1870s (sec Greer 1981) stoneware base shcrJ with a clear exterior glaze, and a blue 11own hlue body sherd.Flown blue vessels became popular in the United States in the 1840s-1850s (Samford 2000:79).Overall, the few historic artifacts from the Pace McDonald site suggest there may have been a midto late 19th century settlement/farmstead on one part of the 20 10 surface collection area.

Animal1 Bone
Five small pieces of poorly preserved burned ani mal bone were recovered in the 2010 surface collections.They may he refuse from prehistoric Caddo midden deposits or other areas of concentrated trash disposal at the site.

SUMMARY
In April 20 I 0, we were able to conduct a surface collection after a recent disking over a substantial portion of the known extent of the Pace McDonald site, a prehistoric Caddo mound center in the upper Neches River basin that may have been occupied from ca.A.D. 11 00-1400 ( Perttu Ia 20 II ).During the course of the surface collection, one substantial artifact concentration was identified in an area just north of Mound No. I, the larger of the two known mounds at the site.This area contained numerous Caddo ceramic vessel sherds, and much lesser amounts of chipped stone tools.lithic debris, burned clay, m1imal bone, and mid-to late 19th century ceramics and a cut nail.In this same area are three small and low rises that may be additional earthen mounds (see Figure 2); they have yet to he examined through shovel testing, coring, or any kind of excavations.
The eastern part of the Pace McDonald site (in the general vicinity of Mound No.2) appears to have a very low density or prehistoric Caddo artifacts, as was previously noted by Thurmond (1978).This area of the mound center may not have been a locale for domestic habitation during the Early to Middle Caddo period occupation.
The surface collection-recovered artifacts from the site arc very much the same in character and relative proportions as the larger sample of artifacts from the Pace McDonald site in the TARL collections (from both mound excavations and disparate surface collections).This indicates that the construction and use of the mounds was contemporaneous with the occupation of non-mound habitation areas.
The ceramic vessel shcrds in the 20 I 0 surface collection are predominantly grog-tempered.and plain ware vessels are particularly common (based on a P/DR ratio of 3.60 and a relatively high proportion of plain rims); sherds from decorated utility ware vessels outnumber fine wares about 3:l.ln the utility wares, decorative elements consist primarily of simple geometric patterns of incised lines and incisedpunctated designs (usually fean1ring diagonal opposed incised lines and triangles filled with tool punctations ), rows and/or wnes of tool, fingernail.and circular punctations; hrushed and pinched sherds are a minor aspect of the utility wares at Pace McDonald.The fine wares include engraved (i.e., geometric elements, hatched and cross-hatched elements.mainly triangles, and carinated howls and bottles) and red-slipped fine wares.Finally, the lithic artifacts found in the 20 I 0 surface collection also indicate the manufacture and usc or chipped stom: tools mal.le from non-local cherts.

Figure I .
Figure I. Map of th~ Pact: M<.•Donald site (41AN51 ), based on a l'J7H sk~tch map by Ulrich Kkin!>chmidt and P~te Thurmond.and other information in the Texas Archeological Rt:sear<:h Labon1tory, The University of Texas at Austin files.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Visible features and artifact concentrations at the Pace McDonald site, April2010.
Absent in the engraved line wares at the site arc types such as Holly Fine Engraved or Spiro Engraved(Suhm and Jelks 1962).These line ware engraved types arc considered material culture hallmarks of the Early Caddo period (along with various decorated utility wares), and the Alto phase (e.g., Story 2000:14) in East Texas.Their absence at the Pace McDonald site may be indicative of the fact that the Caddo occupation here postdates the Early Caddo period.The decorated utility ware sherds in the 2010 surface collection at the Pace McDonald site are dominated by sherds from vessels decorated with punctations ( 44.4('/n of the utility wares), incised Table 4. Decorative elements in the fine ware sherds.Horizontal engraved line and hatched pendant triangles* Opposed engraved lines Parallt:l engraved lines, c.:losdy-spa.:edParallel and arcing engraved lines Curvilinear engraved lines** Total *rim shcrds; **bottle shcrds: +=carinated bowl shcrd lines ( 40.7% ), and sherds from vessels decorated with incised-pum:tated elements (9.3%) (Table

Tabk 5 .
Decorative elements in the utilit y ware sherds.Oecoratiw mcthtxh ~nd clements Brushed.parallel Brushed, curvilinear Subtotal.brushL~d Cross-hatched incised lines Diagonal incised lines* Horizontal.diagon~l.and opposed incised lines* Opposed im:ised lines Parallel incised lines Single straight incised line Straight incised line, bro~d line Suhtntal lines and tool punctatcd-filled triangles+ Straight incised line adjacent to 7.onc of tool punctatcs ; +=carinated bowl shcrd jar bodies and vertical pinched rows on both the rim and hody of jars.The pinched jar shcn.l may be from a l(jllough Pinched vessel (see Suhm and .Jelks 1962:Platc 46f).The very low frequency of brushed pottery at the Pace McDonald site is notable.Brushed utility wares like Bullard Brushed :~ccount for at least 50-go% of :.~11 the decorated sherds in upper N~.:.t:hes River hasin Frankston phase (ca.A.D. 1400-I 650) assemblages (Perttula 200g:Tabk 6-38), making it clear that Pace McDonald was likely not occupied in the Frankston phase.It was only by the early 9.D. that .. Caddo potters in the upper Neches River hasin hegan to manufacture considerable numhers ofjars with brw;hcd vessel bodies and rims" (Perttula 2008:6-247).The vast majority of ceramic vessel shcrd:s from the site, whether in the TARL ~.:ollcctions or the 20 I 0 surface collections, an: from vessels tempered with grog (i.e., fired and crushed clay), occasionally in association with other tempers (such as hematite or bone).This is the.principal prehistoric Caddo ceramic practice in the upper Neches River valley (see Pcrttula 2008:Figure 6-70).More than 13.9% of the sherds do have em shed Tabk 6. Use of bone temper in the Pace McDonald Caddo ceramic sherds, TARL cullections and 21110 surface collections.No.withPercent of total 'we: ...fc""fM J

1 Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Alba arrow point from the 20 I 0 surface collections at the.Pace McDonald site.Illustration by Lan<.:eTrask.

Table I .
Artifacts recovered in the April 2010 surface collection at thr Pace McOonafd site.
decorations confined principally to the rim.rather than being decorated commonly on the vessel rim and body.Comhining the TARL and 2010 surface collection assemblages (n=l357 sherds).the P/DR at the Pace McDonald site is 3.48 (i.e., only about 22% of the shcrds arc decorated).

Table 3 .
Decorated sherds in the 2010 surface collection and TARL collections.

Table 7 )
; R6% of the lithic dt:bris are made from these materials.The one piece of white novaculite lithic debris is from a southeastern Oklahoma Ouachita Mountains source

Table 7 .
Lithi(• debris from the 2010 surface collection at the Pace McDonald site.