Kinsloe Focus Artifact Assemblages and Nadaco Caddo

The Kinsloe focus (now phase) was defined by Jones on the basis of seven sites in Gregg, Harrison, and Rusk counties in East Texas, in the middle reaches of the Sabine River basin. These sites are Ware Acres (41GG31), Kinsloe (4IGG3), Susie Slade (4IHSI3), Brown I (4IHS26I), C. D. Marsh (4IHS269), Millsey Williamson (4IRK3), and Cherokee Lake (41RK132). As currently understood, these historic Caddo sites were most likely occupied by Nadaco Caddo people between ca. A.D. 1680-1800. For our purposes here, my interest is in compiling in one place the characteristic material culture items found in the known Kinsloe phase sites as a whole, even though it is recognized that the seven sites probably were not all contemporaneously occupied and some of them may date as early as the late 17th century and others may date as late as the early 19th century. This compilation will be useful in any basic comparisons that may be made between the archaeology and material culture of the Nadaco Caddo and other historic Caddo groups living in East Texas, particularly in the diverse composition of cemrnic vessel assemblages and the abundance and range of European trade goods obtained by the various Caddo groups from the French, Spanish, and English traders.

For our purposes here, my interest is in compiling in one place the characteristic material culture items found in the known Kinsloe phase sites as a whole, even though it is recognized that the seven sites probably were not all contemporaneously occupied and some of them may date as early as the late J71h century and others may date as late as the early 19 1 h century. This compilation will be useful in any basic comparisons that may be made between the archaeology and material culture of the Nadaco Caddo and other historic Caddo groups living in East Texas, particularly in the diverse composition of ceramic vessel assemblages and the abundance and range of European trade goods obtained by the various Caddo groups from the French, Spanish, and English traders.
However, without a completely new and comprehensive reanalysis of the Kinsloe phase material culture, presuming that these assemblages can even be successfuJiy reassembled and made available for study, we must perforce rely on the information presented (sometimes sketchily) in Jones (1%8), the basic source on the Kinsloe phase. The Buddy Jones collection is now at the Gregg County Museum in Longview, Texas, and a documentation effort reported hy Perttula (2006) wall not successful in Joc;Jting much of the archaeological material from the seven Kinsloe phase sites discussed by Jones.
The compilation of Kinsloe phase material culture from Jones ( 1968) is provided in Table 1. Where numbers are provided among the ceramic vessels, the most common vessel types arc a grog-tempered plain ware (Henderson Plain), Simms Engraved, including a new variety of Simms Engraved (var. Darco) that replaces the type Darco Engraved defined by Jones (1%8), Natchitoches Engraved, and a punctated-indsed utility ware jar that closely resembles Emory Punctated-Incised. The presence of Patton Engraved in these burial collections points to contacts between the Nadaco and Hasinai Caddo groups in the Neches-Angelina River basin, while Taylor Engraved and Hudson Engraved vessels suggest interaction between the Nadaco and Caddo groups living in the Big Cypress and Red River basins to the north. The occurrence of Clemente; Brushed and Cass Appliqued vessels hints at some relationship/interaction with the Nasoni Caddo Jiving in the Sulphur River basin, as best known at the Clements (41CS25) and Goode Hunt (4JCS23) sites (Gonzalez et al. 2005).
That Womack Engraved is present in the Kinsloe phase vessel assemblages suggests northern and western contact with Caddo groups living in the upper Sabine, Sulphur, and Red River basins, as these distinctive engraved vessel forms arc found and likely made primarily in these areas.
The Simms Engraved, var. Darco vessels replace the Darco Engraved type defined by Jones (1968). These globular and lip-notched bowls and carinated bowls with a discontinuous engraved motif have been previously recognized as Simms Engraved from earlier protohistoric and early hi storic Caddo collections like the Clements site (Gonzalez et al. 2005: Figures 4.1 Oa and A.5 .44-45), Susie Slade (Perttula 2006: Figure  188), the Hatchel site (41BW3}, and Sam Kaufman (41RRI6, see Skinner et al. 1969: Figure 21c), hut not categorized as a distinctive variety of Simms Engraved until now. At the Clements site, Simms Engraved, var. Darco likely dates from the late 17th to the early l8'h century.
Bowls, jars, and bottles are the most common vessel forms, with only a few carinated howls ( Table 2). The utility wares (either plain or with wet paste decorations) are primarily jars, with some few bottles (n=5) or bowls (n=6) and one olla. All of the carinated bowls, 70% of the bottles, and 86% of the bowls are fine wares with engraved or trailed decorations or are specialized forms such as effigies (n=l) or rattle bowls (n::::l). Jones (1968) notes that shell temper is present in about 10% of the vessels, but only among the following types: Natchitoches Engraved, Simms Engraved, var. Darco, Emory Punctated-lncised, and Henderson Plain. Otherwise, the tempers utilized arc grog and bone (see Corbin, this volume).
There are also plain and engraved elbow pipes in Kinsloe phase sites, as well as marine conch shell beads, and a carved stone pipe (see Table 1). ll is not unusual to find clay pigments in prehistoric and early historic Caddo burials-sometimes placed in mussel shell containers-and the Kinsloe phase sites are no exception. Jones ( 1968) documented green, gray, and red clay pigments from the local clay sources, and also notes the presence of a rich vermilion pigment that was obtained from the French in trade.
Not too surprisingly, the most common European trade good in the Kinsloe phase sites is glass beads (see Table 1). The proportion of large beads in the glass beads (41%) suggests that the beads may primarily have been accumulated and placed with Kinsloe phase burials around the first quarter of the 18th century (see Perttula 2005: Table 2).
Other beads from Kinsloe phase dates described by Jones ( 1968) may indicate that the beads were accumulated throughout the 18th century.