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Article Title
Agency
Texas Historical Commission
Abstract
During May of 2018, TAS Inc. conducted a cultural resources survey of proposed electrical conduit realignments on the Indian Mesa Wind Farm located east of Fort Stockton in northeast Pecos County. The project is north of Interstate 10 approximately 6 miles northeast of Bakersfield, on University Lands Block 16; Sections 11-14. The project was sponsored by Permian Environmental Services acting as agents of Indian Mesa Wind Farm, LLC and was authorized by Texas Antiquities Permit 8422 with Dr. Jeff Turpin acting as Principal Investigator. The project entailed the examination of nine conduit realignments within an existing windmill farm. The entire project covered approximately 3.26 linear miles (5258 m) of 100 ft (30 m) wide survey corridor. The realignments approached six previously recorded archeological sites with the nearest (41PC531) located 80 ft (25 m) south of the survey corridor. This area has been altered by previous construction and no trace of the site was found along the proposed realignment.
Only minimal evidence of prehistoric occupation or use was found in the study area. None of the previously recorded archeological sites were encountered along the realignment corridors and no additional work was conducted at any of the purported locations. The only cultural remains found within the survey area were isolated artifacts such as a crude uniface tool, a chert core, a tertiary flake and two modified flake tools. Given the distance between these artifacts and the lack of associated features, they were considered Isolated Finds (IF). The artifacts, along with the more numerous ones found at the recorded sites in the earlier survey, reflect minimal human occupation of the mesa. The artifacts were not diagnostic of a specific time period and contribute little to our understanding of local or regional prehistory. As a result, no National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) designations were considered. Thus, significant cultural resources will not be affected by corridor realignment.
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