Chapter I: Part 1

ARCHAEOLOGY SERIES, NO. 2

THE HARROUN SITE

A Fulton Aspect Component of the Caddoan Area, Upshur County, Texas

By Edward B. Jelks and Curtis D. Tunnell

This report was prepared in accordance with a Memorandum of Agreement between The University of Texas and the National Park Service providing for salvage excavations in advance of construction at Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir, Texas.

Department of Anthropology
The University of Texas • Austin, Texas • 1959

Foreword

Excavation and analysis of the Harroun Site were carried out in 1957, 1958, and 1959 as a part of the nationwide Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Project. Mound A was excavated by the National Park Service in 1957; Mounds B, C, and D were excavated by The University of Texas in 1958 and 1959 under the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement between the National Park Service and The University of Texas providing for archeological salvage at Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir.

This report was prepared in accordance with the terms of the Memorandum of Agreement (Contract No. 14-10-333-422) and was submitted to the National Park Service in April, 1959, under the title, “The Harroun Site: A Fulton Aspect Component, Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir.” As provided in Article I (f) of the contract, the letter of transmittal from The University of Texas and the letter of acceptance from the National Park Service are here reproduced.

Letter of Transmittal

The University of Texas
Austin, Texas
April 16, 1959

Mr. Hugh M. Miller
Regional Director
National Park Service
P. O. Box 1728
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Dear Mr. Miller:

Three copies of the report, _The Harroun Site: A Fulton Aspect Component, Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir_, by Edward B. Jelks and Curtis D. Tunnell, are enclosed herewith. This report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the provisions of Contract No. 14-10-333-422, Article 1d, between the National Park Service and The University of Texas.

Sincerely yours,
(Signed)
T. N. Campbell, Director
Texas Archeological Salvage Project

Letter of Acceptance

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Region Three
Santa Fe, New Mexico
May 1, 1959

Dr. T. N. Campbell, Director
Texas Archeological Salvage Project
University of Texas
Austin 12, Texas

Dear Dr. Campbell:

Thank you for the three copies of the report, _The Harroun Site: A Fulton Aspect Component, Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir_, by Edward B. Jelks and Curtis D. Tunnell.

Please convey our thanks to Messrs. Jelks and Tunnell for this excellent report prepared under Contract No. 14-10-333-422. It is in keeping with the fine work you are doing in the Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir.

Sincerely yours,
(Signed)
Hugh M. Miller
Regional Director

Table of Contents

_Introduction_ 1
_The Site_ 5
Environment 5
Site Description 5
Geological Context 6
_Excavation and Recording Methods_ 8
_Mound A_ 9
Structure of Mound A 12
Occupational Features 12
Feature No. 1 12
Burial No. 1 14
Discussion 16
_Mound B_ 17
Structure of Mound B 17
Occupational Features 20
House No. 3 20
Discussion 22
_Mound C_ 23
Structure of Mound C 25
Occupational Features 28
House No. 1 28
House No. 2 30
Discussion 31
_Mound D_ 32
Structure of Mound D 34
Occupational Features 35
House No. 4 35
Discussion 35
_Description of the Artifacts_ 38
Ceramics 38
Brushed Pottery 39
Incised Pottery 41
Appliquéd Pottery 42
Punctated Pottery 43
Engraved Pottery 43
Plain Pottery 46
Miscellaneous Ceramic Objects 46
Stone Artifacts 46
Dart Points 47
Arrow Points 48
Bifacial Blades 49
Worked Nodules 49
Drills 49
Fragmentary Chipped Stone Artifacts 49
Milling Stones 50
Grooved Stones 50
Pitted Stones 50
Miscellaneous Ground Stone Artifacts 50
_Provenience of the Artifacts_ 50
_Summary and Discussion_ 54
_Conclusions_ 61
_References Cited_ 62

List of Tables and Figures

TABLE PAGE
1. Provenience of the artifacts 52
FIGURES
1. Plan of site 2
2. Plan of Mound A area 11
3. Profiles of Mounds A and B 13
4. Plan of Mound B area 18
5. Plan of House No. 3 21
6. Plan of Mound C area 24
7. Profiles of Mounds C and D 26
8. Plan of Houses No. 1 and 2 29
9. Plan of Mound D area 33
10. Plan of House No. 4 36
11. Mound A prior to excavation (A); Mound C prior to excavation
(B) 64
12. Burial No. 1 (A); pottery vessels associated with Burial No. 1
(B and C) 65
13. Sherds 66
14. Sherds 67
15. Projectile points 68
16. Stone artifacts 69

Introduction

The Harroun Site (University of Texas Site No. 41UR10), in the extreme northeastern corner of Upshur County, Texas, is one of several sites excavated in the Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir area as a part of the Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Project. The site, which consisted of four small mounds on the south floodplain of Cypress Creek, was located and recorded by E. Mott Davis and Bernard Golden in October, 1957. It promised to produce valuable archeological data, and since it was scheduled to be completely submerged by Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir in the summer of 1959, immediate steps were taken to provide for salvage excavations prior to its inundation.

In December, 1957, a National Park Service field party excavated the smallest of the four mounds, Mound A. A single extended burial containing two pottery vessels and an arrow point, was found in a shallow grave beneath the mound. It appeared that Mound A had been erected for the purpose of covering the burial. While Mound A was being excavated, the entire site was mapped, several trenches and test pits were dug in the floodplain of Cypress Creek near Mound A, and some of the trees and bushes were cleared from the other three mounds.

In September, 1958, under terms of a co-operative agreement between The University of Texas and the National Park Service, a crew of the Texas Archeological Salvage Project returned to Harroun to complete the investigation of the site. Because of time limitations it was apparent that all three of the remaining mounds (B, C, and D) could not be entirely excavated. Therefore, it was decided to concentrate on Mound C since it appeared superficially to be the least disturbed of the three. After excavation of Mound C was well under way, a portion of the crew was moved to Mound B and it was also opened. Both mounds were found to contain burned remains of house structures.

HARROUN SITE
41 UR 10
PLAN OF SITE
solid lines mark measured locations
dashed lines mark approximate locations]

LOW MARSHY AREA
FENCE
MOUND C
BORROW PIT
LAKE
high water drainage channel
MOUND B
CYPRESS CREEK
MOUND A
MOUND D

Investigation of Mound D was begun late in September a few days before the termination of the dig. Time did not permit complete excavation of Mound D that season, but it was tested sufficiently to reveal that it—like Mounds B and C—contained the burned remains of at least one house.

During the 1958 season, in addition to the work at Mounds B, C, and D, several trenches and test pits were dug in the floodplain near the mounds in a fruitless search for additional occupational features.

A final trip was made to the site in February, 1959, by L. F. Duffield, W. A. Davis, and E. Mott Davis of the Texas Archeological Salvage Project. They spent three days exposing and recording the portion of the house at Mound D which had been left unexcavated the previous fall.

As a result of the investigations at the Harroun Site in 1957, 1958, and 1959, all four of the mounds were completely excavated except for certain marginal portions and several check blocks. In addition, the area surrounding the mounds was tested sufficiently to show that there was no general area of occupation near the mounds. The excavation of the Harroun Site was supervised by the senior author. The junior author served as an assistant archeologist during both the 1957 and 1958 seasons.

The artifacts recovered indicate affiliation with the Fulton Aspect of the Caddoan Area (Suhm _et al._, 1954: 151-161). The Fulton Aspect is the later of two aspects that have been recognized in the Caddoan Area as belonging to the agricultural, ceramic Mississippi culture pattern of the Southeastern United States.

To the Corps of Engineers, whose personnel at Ferrell’s Bridge extended many courtesies and co-operated with the archeological field parties in every possible way, we express our sincere gratitude. Special acknowledgment is due Dr. E. Mott Davis and Dr. J. F. Epstein, staff archeologists of The University of Texas, who visited the site while the dig was in progress, and who not only aided the progress of the excavations by flexing their muscles over shovels and wheelbarrows, but also offered much valuable advice toward solving the technical problems encountered in the field. Their prowess with their guitars contributed greatly to the conviviality of the field camp in the evenings.

A word of thanks and appreciation is due the shovel hands who worked at the Harroun Site in 1957, 1958, and 1959. All extended themselves beyond normal expectation in order to accomplish a maximum amount of work in the limited time available. They are John B. Johnson, Robert L. Brockman, Thomas V. Loveday, W. Brent Hempkins, Floyd W. Sharrock, Andrue Moore, A. C. Harvey, and W. C. Jones. We wish also to thank Mr. Sam Whiteside of Tyler, Texas, a frequent visitor to the site who spent many hours on the dig as a volunteer shovel hand.

Especially to be commended are the assistant archeologists, John Allen Graham, L. F. Duffield, W. A. Davis, and LeRoy Johnson, Jr., all of whom carried out their duties in exemplary fashion despite the continuous pressure under which they were working.

The Site

ENVIRONMENT

Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir is located in the northwestern part of the Gulf Coastal Plain (Fenneman, 1938: 109-110), which is characterized topographically by rounded hills sculptured from the superficial clays and sands of the region. The subsoil—a sandy clay in various shades of yellow, orange, and red—is capped by a thin mantle of gray sand which evidently derived by differential erosion from the sandy clay. The exposed geological formations recognized in the general region are clays and sands of the Eocene Claiborne group (Sellards _et al._, 1958: 606-666).

The reservoir is situated in the Austroriparian Biotic Province (Blair, 1950: 93-117). The uplands are thickly timbered, principally with pines, while the stream valleys sustain heavy stands of mixed hardwoods (oaks, cypress, gum, walnut, hickory, holly, and others) in addition to some pines. All the virgin forests were completely timbered out years ago. Bear and panther, which were formerly common, have long since disappeared from the area, but a large population of deer, raccoon, opossum, fox, rabbit, beaver, and other small mammals survives to the present day. The streams abound with several varieties of fish.

The climate is relatively humid, the annual rainfall at the Gilmer station averaging 43.5 inches (U.S. Dept. of Commerce, _Climatological Data, Texas_, V. 63, No. 13: 361). The mean annual temperature for Upshur County is 65 degrees (_Ibid._: 357).

SITE DESCRIPTION

The Harroun Site was situated on the south floodplain of Cypress Creek on the outside of a large bend (Fig. 1). The only occupational features visible on the surface were four small mounds, round to slightly oval in shape, with rounded tops. They were designated Mounds A, B, C, and D. A long, narrow lake, evidently surviving from an old cut-off channel of Cypress Creek, lay beside the creek channel in the northwestern part of the site.

Mound A, located 75 feet south of the creek and 350 feet east of the lake, was by far the smallest of the four mounds. It measured about 30 feet in diameter and rose to a maximum height of approximately two feet above the surface of the floodplain. Mound B stood at the south end of the lake, Mound C was on the west bank of the lake, and Mound D was situated in a precarious position on the brink of the floodplain at the creek channel, 150 feet downstream from Mound A. A shallow depression beside Mound C and two small depressions by Mound B marked possible borrow areas. Mounds B, C, and D were all approximately the same size, about 50 feet in diameter and 2.5 to 3.5 feet high.

The floodplain of Cypress Creek in the vicinity of the Harroun Site was overgrown with an almost impenetrable tangle of underbrush and second growth timber. Old-timers, however, reported that many years ago, before the virgin timber was cut, the stream valleys in this region supported a tall growth of timber with virtually no underbrush.

GEOLOGICAL CONTEXT

The geology at the Harroun Site may be summarized in tabular form as follows:

Zone II. A stratum of sand forming the surface of the floodplain,
varying from about 5 to 12 feet thick. Zone II was divided into three
parts, IIa, IIb, and IIc.

Zone IIc. Humus-stained topsoil, the superficial portion of the Zone
II sand member, 0.6 to 1.1 feet thick.

Zone IIb. Grayish to whitish sand with irregular-shaped patches of
brownish sand. The brown patches probably represent subsurface
staining of the gray-white sands by iron salts carried by percolating
water. Zone IIb was 2.0 to 3.1 feet thick where exposed.

Zone IIa. Grayish to whitish sand similar to IIb, but without the
patches of brown sand. This zone was heavily saturated with subsurface
water wherever encountered, and the presence of the water may have
kept the iron salts in solution, thereby explaining the absence of the
stains. The thickness of Zone IIa was not determined since seeping
ground water prevented excavating down to its base.

Zone I. A reddish clay member observed in natural exposures along the
edge of the creek channel. The top of Zone I was undulating, and it
lay at a depth of approximately 5 to 12 feet below the surface of the
floodplain in the exposures examined. The thickness was not
determined, but was in excess of 10 feet. The top of Zone I was not
reached in any of the excavated squares because seeping ground water
prevented carrying the excavations deeper than 4 to 5 feet.

Excavation and Recording Methods

The same general procedure was followed in excavating each of the four mounds at the Harroun Site. A stake was placed near the center of the mound and a grid of 5-foot squares was established which tied in with the centrally located stake. Then each quadrant of the mound was excavated separately. Beginning at the top of the mound, an entire quadrant was taken down by regular vertical intervals, usually of 0.5 feet each. The floor of the excavation was cleaned and examined after each level was removed, and measured drawings were prepared to record any zoning or occupational features that were observed in the excavation floor.

The four profiles radiating in the cardinal directions from the central stake were always left intact until measured drawings had been prepared, and other profiles were recorded when deemed necessary. Strategically located check blocks were left at all the mounds, at least until the structure of the mound was determined. In some cases the check blocks were ultimately removed in order to completely expose a house floor or other feature.

For vertical reference, the base stake at Mound A was assigned an arbitrary elevation of 100.0 feet, and all vertical measurements for the entire site were keyed to that stake. For horizontal control a separate grid of 5-foot squares was established for each mound and the area adjacent to it. While the use of a separate grid for each mound had some disadvantages, this method was adopted for two main reasons: (1) so that a key stake with co-ordinates in whole numbers could be located at the center of each mound, and (2) to avoid the use of unwieldy 4-digit numbers for co-ordinates. For each grid a base stake, set well away from the mound, was assigned an arbitrary designation of 0-0, and all other stakes of that grid were labeled with the co-ordinates measured from the base stake in the cardinal directions (as N100-W50, N85-W80, etc.). All the grids were oriented on magnetic north. The designation for each 5-foot square was taken from the co-ordinates at its southeast corner.

Because of the press of time it was impossible to screen all of the excavated soil. Each structural component was spot screened, however, in order to obtain a representative sample of artifacts and other material. Both ⅓-inch and ¼-inch hardware cloth were used for screens.

All artifacts and other specimens were placed in paper bags, on which were recorded the square, vertical interval, geological or structural zone (wherever possible), associated features (if any), appropriate grid, date, and any other pertinent data. For specimens found _in situ_ the exact vertical and horizontal position was also recorded to the nearest ¹/₁₀th foot.

In addition to work in the mounds themselves, several exploratory trenches were dug in the immediate vicinity of Mounds A, C, and D. In each case these tests were tied in to the grid for the appropriate mound. Small tests were made with a post hole digger or a shovel over the entire area between the mounds, and also for some distance beyond the general mound area. These small tests were irregularly spaced from 10 to 100 feet apart. Recording the location of each of them would have required the clearing of a vast amount of underbrush; consequently, since they were all unproductive, only the general areas tested were noted.

Measured drawings, descriptive notes, and photographs were made of the mounds, the burial at Mound A, the house plans at Mounds B, C, and D, and the other occupational features. General site notes were also taken, and a daily log of activities was maintained.

Mound A

Mound A, the smallest of the four mounds, was situated 75 feet south of Cypress Creek and 100 feet west of Mound D (Fig. 1). It was roughly oval in shape with the long axis running due east and west (Figs. 2 and 11). The length at the base was 35 feet; the basal width was 28 feet. The maximum height above the modern floodplain was approximately two feet. No potholes or other disturbances were evident from the surface.

After several trees and bushes had been cleared away, the Mound A area was staked on a grid of 5-foot squares. A stake near the base of the mound on the south side was arbitrarily selected as the base or 0-0 stake, and the designations for the other stakes were determined by measuring their distance from the base stake in terms of the cardinal directions. The elevation of the ground surface at the 0-0 stake was assigned an arbitrary value of 100.0 feet, and all vertical measurements for the entire site were keyed to that point.

As an initial test, most of the southwestern quadrant of the mound was excavated to undisturbed sub-mound soil so that two radial profiles were left standing, one running south, the other west, from the approximate center of the mound. Since time did not permit complete excavation of Mound A, the only squares excavated in the remaining three quadrants were the three 5-foot squares cornering on the approximate center point of the mound and square N10-E5 which was excavated in order to expose Burial No. 1 (Fig. 2). Two additional 5-foot squares (N15-W40 and S25-E0) beyond the limits of the mound structure were carried down several feet below the surface of the floodplain. Each of the latter squares was aligned with one of the two major profiles radiating from the center of the mound. A 1-foot wide check strip, running east-west along the N20 line, was left standing.

All squares were dug in 0.5-foot levels. Those squares in the mound structure were leveled successively on each ½-foot interval of the vertical reference system, while the two squares dug into the floodplain near Mound A were dug by 0.5-foot levels measured from the surface of the ground. All the soil from squares N15-W40 and S25-E0, and an estimated 50% of the excavated mound fill from other squares, was screened through hardware cloth of ¼-inch mesh. All digging was done with shovels except for close work around Feature No. 1 and Burial No. 1 where trowels were used.

In the mound, horizontal plans were drawn to scale at 0.5-foot intervals as the squares were leveled, all features, soil changes, and major disturbances being recorded. Representative profiles were also drawn to scale so as to provide a record of the mound structure and of the relationship of the mound to the floodplain on which it rested.

The major profiles, the burned area near the center of the mound (Feature No. 1), and the sub-mound burial (Burial No. 1) were photographed in both color and black and white.

HARROUN SITE
41 UR 10
MOUND A
contour interval = 0.5 feet
shading indicates excavated area]

STRUCTURE OF MOUND A

The profiles revealed that the bulk of the mound fill comprised a single structural member composed of dark gray, humus stained, sandy, midden soil (Fig. 3). It reached a maximum height of 1.4 feet above the surface of the surrounding floodplain and extended down to an average depth of 1.4 feet below the floodplain surface. The fill of Mound A contained many tiny fragments of mussel shell, bone, charcoal, and stone chips, as well as a few potsherds, projectile points, and other artifacts. Some of the shell and bone fragments showed evidence of burning. The mound fill was unquestionably derived from an occupational area containing an appreciable quantity of cultural detritus.

The top of soil Zone IIb in the area surrounding the mound was, on an average, about 0.7 feet below the surface of the floodplain. The bottom of the mound structure, however, extended to an average depth of 1.4 feet below the floodplain surface where it terminated within Zone IIb (Fig. 3). Thus the surface of Zone IIb immediately beneath the mound formed a shallow, saucer-shaped depression which must have resulted from digging away of the topsoil before the mound was erected. This shallow pit (perhaps originally 1.0 to 1.5 feet deep) was approximately the same size and shape as the base of the mound.

OCCUPATIONAL FEATURES

Besides the mound itself, two occupational features were found in the Mound A area: (1) an area of burned soil within the mound fill (Feature No. 1), and (2) a sub-mound burial (Burial No. 1). Each is described separately below.

_Feature No. 1_

This was an elongated area of heavily burned, sandy clay lying within the matrix of the mound fill (Fig. 3). Since the northern end of Feature No. 1 was not completely excavated, the exact dimensions were not determined; but the maximum length was evidently between 9 and 10 feet, while the maximum width was 4.3 feet. The long axis ran approximately north-south. Profiles revealed a lenticular cross section with a pronounced thickened area near the mid-point of the east edge. Near the center the burned zone was 0.5 feet thick; the thickened area near the east edge reached a maximum thickness of 1.5 feet.

HARROUN SITE—41UR10
PROFILE OF MOUND A
(ALONG N20 LINE)
dark gray, sandy mound fill
Feature No. 1
Zone IIb sand, sub-mound
Zone IIa sand

HARROUN SITE
41UR10
PROFILE OF MOUND B
(IDEALIZED SECTION THROUGH CENTER OF MOUND)
floor of House No. 3
central hearth
post molds
stump disturbance
humus
gray, sandy mound fill
whitish, sandy mound fill
undisturbed sub-mound soil]

The surface of Feature No. 1 was burned to a conspicuous degree of hardness and was sharply demarcated from the soft, unfired mound fill which overlay it. Beneath the central portion, heat had produced a thin zone of reddish sand which merged gradually with the underlying grayish sand of the mound fill.

Feature No. 1 was situated in the lower portion of the body of the mound. It did not have the appearance of a carefully prepared hearth, but the presence of clay in the burned soil suggests that an irregular-shaped clay base had been laid down where the fire was to be built. It appears that after a layer of sand about a foot thick had been piled up to form the base of the mound, further work on the mound was temporarily interrupted, a crude hearth of sandy clay was prepared near the center of the basal layer of sand, and a fire of considerable intensity was kindled on it. The hardness of the burned, sandy clay of the hearth indicates that the fire was quite a hot one and that it must have burned—continuously or intermittently—for a period of many hours at least. After an unknown interval of time the fire was extinguished and the construction of the mound was resumed and carried to completion. The sharp definition of the hearth surface and the homogeneity of the mound fill above and below the hearth indicate that no appreciable time elapsed between the extinguishing of the fire and the addition of the upper part of the mound fill: otherwise the surface of the hearth should have shown evidence of weathering and the two different stages of mound construction should have been visible in the profiles as separate zones.

_Burial No. 1_

Beneath the southeast quadrant of Mound A a single burial was found (Fig. 12, A). The skeleton lay in extended, supine position, with the head to the northeast and the feet to the southwest. Preservation of the bones was poor, and several of them (including the left femur, most of the arm and hand bones, the lumbar vertebrae, and the foot and ankle bones) had been destroyed or displaced by gophers whose runs interlaced the entire burial area. As a result of this disturbance the original position of the arms could not be determined.

Two pottery vessels—a carinated bowl and a bottle, both of the type Ripley Engraved (Fig. 12, B-C) had been placed beside the left hip as burial offerings, and an arrow point of the Perdiz type (Fig. 15, O), lying near the outer side of the left knee, appeared also to have been included intentionally with the burial.

The first evidence that a burial was present was the discovery of several foot and ankle bones in a rodent run in square N10-E0. The burrow was traced toward the north for several feet where the distal end of a human tibia was exposed in the northeast corner of square N10-E0. Since it was apparent that the major portion of the burial lay in square N15-E5, that square was taken down. At 0.5-foot intervals the floor of the square was scraped clean with trowels and carefully examined for evidence of a grave outline. However, none was detected in the mound fill.

The burial was finally exposed at a depth of 3.6 feet below the surface of the mound, the floor of the grave lying at an average depth of 1.0 feet below the base of the mound. A vague area of discolored soil (which contrasted faintly with the surrounding undisturbed IIb sand) marked the location of the lower portion of the grave. The edges of the burial pit were quite indefinite, having been considerably disturbed by roots and rodents, but its appearance—both in flat plan and in profile—suggested that a shallow grave about a foot deep and just large enough to accommodate the body had been dug from the floor of the shallow sub-mound pit, the body had been placed in the grave, and then earth had been heaped over both the body and the shallow pit to form the mound.

The skeletal remains from Burial No. 1 were examined by Dr. T. W. McKern, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, The University of Texas. He has kindly provided the following statement:

“The skeletal material from Burial No. 1, Site 41UR10, Upshur County, Texas, consists of one skeleton in a state of poor preservation. Not only are the bones highly fragmented but not one, including the skull, has escaped the destructive teeth of rodents. The brain case is complete but the entire face is missing. Only parts of the mandible are present including both left and right molars (3rd not erupted) and a lower left 2nd premolar. The lower left dentition is _in situ_. No single bone in the postcranial skeleton is anatomically complete. Also, due to the young age of the remains, most of the epiphyses are missing.

“So far as possible, metric and morphological observations were taken and recorded. But because of the incomplete nature of these observations, they will not be reproduced here.

“The skeleton is that of a 14 year old male with a cranial index of 82 (brachycranic). Although the cranium is slightly distorted there is no evidence of artificial deformation.

“For pathology, the teeth show very little wear which is consistent with the observed age. One pronounced cavity was found on the mesio-disto-occlusal surface of the lower left 2nd molar.

“Because of the almost complete lack of knowledge concerning the range of physical types for the prehistoric populations of Texas it is impossible to associate this skeleton with any known Indian group on a strictly morphological basis.”

DISCUSSION

Mound A was erected on an alluvial terrace of Big Cypress Creek for the purpose of covering a grave. Prior to construction of the mound approximately a foot of humic topsoil was dug away from the surface of the terrace at the selected spot. A shallow grave was then dug in the excavated area, the body was placed in the grave along with two pottery vessels and an arrow point, and the mound was formed over the grave. When the basal portion of the mound was in place, the work was halted temporarily while a fire of considerable intensity was kindled on the incompleted mound—perhaps for ritual purposes. After the fire had been extinguished work on the mound was resumed and brought to completion.

The presence of artifacts in the sub-mound Zone IIb formation indicates that the surface of the terrace in the Mound A area had been lightly occupied prior to construction of the mound. The fill of the mound contained artifacts similar to those in the sub-mound formation, but also contained burned bone scraps, mussel shells, and fragments of charcoal in some quantity. This circumstance shows that the soil of which the mound was built came from a more intensively occupied area than any discovered in the terrace around or under the mound. The source of the mound soil was not determined.

Mound B

This low, approximately circular mound was located on the floodplain of Cypress Creek, about 125 feet south of the stream channel, at the south end of the lake (Fig. 1). A shallow depression about eight feet across lay just southwest of the mound, and a similar but smaller depression was recorded at the northeast edge of the mound. These features probably are borrow sources. An intrusive pothole, located near the center of the mound, was three to four feet in diameter at the surface, but fortunately it proved to be quite shallow and damage to the mound was slight. The maximum diameter of Mound B, measured north-south, was 55 feet (Fig. 4), and the mound reached a maximum height of 2.8 feet above the floodplain.

Mound B was staked for excavation with the usual grid of 5-foot squares oriented on magnetic north. The base stake was 100 feet south and 100 feet east of the approximate center of the mound. Excavation was carried out by the quadrant method as previously described, the southeast and northwest quadrants being excavated first, the southwest and northeast quadrants last. Each quadrant was taken down by ½-foot levels which were keyed to the vertical reference datum. In addition to work in the mound itself, the area immediately south of the mound was tested by means of trenches (Fig. 4). The trenches were dug in ½-foot levels measured from the surface of the floodplain at each square.

The excavating and recording methods used at Mound B were generally the same as described for Mound A.

STRUCTURE OF MOUND B

The excavations in Mound B revealed clearly its internal structure (Fig. 3). An old soil surface, unmistakably defined by a dark humic zone, underlay the entire mound at an average elevation of 99 feet, or approximately the same elevation as the modern surface of the floodplain. This evidently represents the surface humic zone (Zone IIc) of the floodplain at the time the mound was built. Yellow-brown sand (Zone IIb) extended below the buried humic zone to an undetermined depth. Zones IIb and IIc beneath the mound contained a few scattered stone chips and an occasional artifact, but there were no concentrations of cultural material.

HARROUN SITE
41 UR 10
MOUND B AREA
contour interval = 0.5 feet
shading indicates excavated area]

Resting directly on the old floodplain surface was the basal structural component of the mound, a rather compact, circular lens of dark brown sand up to a foot or more thick and averaging about 17 feet in diameter. This lens, which contained abundant charcoal, burned clay daub, bone, shell, and a few artifacts, represented the floor level of a house, designated House No. 3. In and above the floor level were the remains of several charred poles, presumably derived from the burned framework of the house. A burned area approximately four feet in diameter in the center of the lens proved to be the remains of a central fire hearth. It was filled with complex lenses of various shades and textures. A large post mold was found beneath the hearth in the approximate center of the house.

Completely encircling the house outline was a poorly defined zone of yellow-brown sand which lay directly on the buried surface of the floodplain and extended upward a foot or two where it gradually blended into the upper component of the mound fill. This light-colored sand may have been banked against the outside of the house while it was still standing; or it may have resulted from uneven, subsurface staining by charcoal and other organic material of that portion of the mound lying directly above the house. In any event, it was virtually devoid of cultural material, only a very few stone chips, widely scattered, being found in it.

A well defined humic zone, resulting from organic staining after the mound was built, appeared at the surface of the mound. It averaged about 0.5 feet in thickness.

Except for the clay in the hearth and in the house floor, the entire mound was constructed of sandy soil like that of the surrounding floodplain, whence it undoubtedly was derived. The depressions on the northwest and southeast sides of the mound are probably the borrow sources for the sandy soil. The clay could have easily been obtained from exposures in the cut banks at the edge of the creek channel.

OCCUPATIONAL FEATURES

Besides the two possible borrow pits mentioned above, the only occupational feature found at Mound B was House No. 3.

_House No. 3_

This house was erected on the surface of the floodplain before the mound was built. The purpose of the mound apparently was to bury the remains of the house after it had burned.

Beneath the house floor zone, which was described in the preceding section, were found 59 post molds measuring from 0.25 to 1.3 feet in diameter and extending from 0.3 to 2.5 feet below the floor (Fig. 5). The faint gray stain of the post molds was quite dim and difficult to distinguish. They were located by cutting a vertical face completely around the house area, then carefully cutting the face inward from all sides. As the post molds were located, they were plotted on a horizontal plan and a measured profile drawing of each was prepared.

Twenty-three of the post molds formed a circular outline representing the perimeter of a house approximately 17 feet in diameter (Fig. 5). The peripheral molds averaged 0.5 feet in diameter and were spaced, as a rule, about two feet apart. At the southeast edge of the house were two parallel lines of three molds each which defined an extended entranceway. Because of disturbance in the entranceway area by tree roots, only the bottom portions of the entrance molds were preserved. Their arrangement suggests that some of the post molds related to the original entranceway were not discovered.

Within the external ring of post molds were 30 irregularly spaced molds, including four very large ones which probably held the bases of relatively heavy roof supports. Two concentrations of smaller post molds (one on the northeast side of the house, the other on the southwest side) possibly mark the location of interior structures such as sleeping or storage platforms. In the center of the house was a relatively large post mold, over which the fire hearth had been built. This probably represented a center post used in construction of the house and then removed when the house was completed.

The hearth was located in a shallow depression at the center of the house. It was in the form of a basin about four feet in diameter and one foot deep. The sandy soil underlying the hearth had been burned to a deep reddish color.

HARROUN SITE
41 UR 10
PLAN OF HOUSE NO. 3
MOUND B
post mold, exterior wall
post mold, interior
post mold, entrance
central hearth
stump disturbance]

From all indications this house was constructed in a manner similar to that described by early Spanish and French explorers in the Caddoan Area (Swanton, 1942: 148-154). A ring of poles, each with its base end set in a deep hole, was placed in upright position around a tall center post used as a work platform. The tops of the poles were drawn together at the center and bound. Small tree branches were then woven, horizontally, between the upright poles, grass thatching was applied, and, in some cases, the exterior was plastered with a coat of clay mud. (Many pieces of burned clay daub, some bearing impressions of sticks and grass, were found on and above the floors of all the houses at the Harroun Site.) After the house was completed, the center post, used only to facilitate construction, was removed. Interior support posts may have been added, and platforms for sleeping or storage were built inside the house.

DISCUSSION

House No. 3, a circular, wattle-and-daub structure with a southeastern entranceway, was built on the surface of the Cypress Creek floodplain. There were probably four interior roof support posts, two or more interior platforms for sleeping or storage, and a centrally located, prepared hearth with a clay base. Possibly, a low embankment of sand was thrown against the wall around the exterior of the house.

The period of occupation at the house is unknown, but the scarcity of artifacts suggests that it was of short duration, or else that it was used for specialized—perhaps ceremonial—purposes. A domiciliary structure ordinarily would have much more cultural refuse about it than did House No. 3, unless it was occupied for only a very brief period of time. Stone chips and a few artifacts in the floodplain beneath the house floor indicate that the spot had been lightly occupied prior to the construction of the house.

That House No. 3 burned is evident from the charred poles and bits of heavily burned, wattle-impressed, clay daub lying on and above the house floor. Shortly after the burning, a mound of sandy soil, undoubtedly derived from the adjacent surface of the floodplain, was heaped over the house ruins.

Burial of the house remains beneath a mound implies that the house had a special significance, possibly of a ceremonial nature. Consequently it may be conjectured that perhaps House No. 3 was a small temple or chapel which was ceremonially burned and buried.

Mound C

Mound C was situated on the west bank of the lake, 350 feet northwest of Mound B (Fig. 1). This mound was in the shape of a broad oval with its long axis oriented in an east-west direction. It measured 62 by 52 feet at the base and reached a maximum elevation of 102.6 feet, or slightly more than three feet above the modern surface of the floodplain (Figs. 6 and 11, B).

There was a circular depression approximately nine feet in diameter in the top of the mound where pothunters had been at work. Excavation revealed that the pothole had been dug to a depth of 4.8 feet and had later been partially filled by natural agencies. Unfortunately, the pothole had destroyed most of the central hearths associated with the two house floors found at the base of the mound.

After the trees and bushes had been cleared from Mound C the standard grid of 5-foot squares was established with a base stake set 125 feet south and 100 feet west of the approximate center point of the mound. The initial step in excavating the mound was to dig the southwest quadrant down to elevation 100.0 feet. Next, the southeast quadrant was excavated to the same level so that an east-west profile remained standing completely across the mound. After the profile had been studied and recorded, the other two quadrants were removed and the entire mound was levelled at elevation 100.0 feet, where a circular zone of dark soil containing a large amount of charcoal marked the outline of what later proved to be the remains of two houses, one superimposed on the other.

A narrow east-west trench was next dug across the house area, the north edge of the trench being on the N125 line so that it matched the bottom of the major east-west profile which had already been removed. This trench revealed two thin layers of dark midden soil, each of which represented the floor level of a house (Fig. 7). The two floor levels were separated by a layer of clean, yellow sand. The lower floor rested on undisturbed soil at the base of the mound. Numerous charred segments of poles lay in a jumble on and just above the upper floor as though the house walls had burned and collapsed.

HARROUN SITE
41 UR 10
MOUND C AREA
contour interval = 0.5 feet
shading indicates excavated area]

The house floors were completely excavated, the artifacts and other material associated with each floor being collected and sacked separately wherever possible. Two concentric rings of post molds at the periphery of the house area were exposed and recorded, as were several interior post molds (Fig. 8). An entrance passageway was delineated at the west side of the house area.

In order to determine the relationship of the mound to the floodplain several short trenches were carried from the edge of the mound out into the floodplain formation (Fig. 6). A depressed area in the surface of the floodplain between the mound and the lake was also trenched in an effort to determine whether it may have been a borrow pit. Several other trenches were dug south and west of the mound in an unfruitful search for any middens, houses, burials, or other occupational features that might have been located near the mound.

Throughout the excavation of Mound C, major profiles, horizontal plans at ½-foot intervals, and occupational features were described in the field notes and drawn to scale. Major profiles and features were photographed. Most of the digging was done with shovels, but trowels were used in part for excavating the two thin floor zones and for several other situations where close attention to detail was desirable. Because of time limitations only representative, spot screening was attempted.

STRUCTURE OF MOUND C

Profiles of Mound C revealed remnants of an old stabilized surface with a well developed soil profile (including a superficial humic zone) lying immediately beneath the mound fill (Fig. 7). The elevation of the old surface averaged approximately 99.4 feet which is also the average elevation of the modern floodplain surface around the mound: therefore it appears certain that the first of the two houses was built directly on the floodplain surface and that there has been no appreciable change in the surface elevation of the floodplain since the mound was built. The first house burned, after which the second house was built over its remains; then the second house burned and the mound was erected over the ruins of the houses.

HARROUN SITE
41 UR 10
PROFILE OF MOUND C
(IDEALIZED SECTION THROUGH CENTER OF MOUND)
pothole
floor of House No. 2
floor of House No. 1
sterile zone between house floors
post mold
humus (note buried humus zone between N130 and N140)
gray, sandy mound fill
whitish, sandy mound fill
undisturbed sub-mound soil

HARROUN SITE
41 UR 10
PROFILE OF MOUND D
(IDEALIZED SECTION THROUGH CENTER OF MOUND)
pothole
floor of House No. 4
dark brown sand
gray-brown sand
post mold
humus
gray, sandy mound fill
whitish, sandy mound fill
undisturbed sub-mound soil]

A low embankment of sand similar to that at Mound B encircled the house area just outside the peripheral ring of house post molds (Fig. 7). Apparently this embankment was built while one of the houses was still standing since its inner edge is almost vertical in places as though it had been banked against the outside wall of the house. After the later house burned, the mound was heaped over both this embankment and the house ruins.

The geologic structure of the floodplain at Mound C was apparently the same as previously described although none of the excavations were carried deep enough to expose Zone I, the basal member of reddish clay. The mound structure rested on the surface of Zone IIc (Fig. 7) and was composed of four distinct structural units as follows (in order from bottom to top):

1. _The lower house floor zone_ (House No. 1). This zone was composed
of blackish sand containing a large amount of charcoal and had an
average thickness of about 0.3 feet. It yielded some artifacts. This
lower house floor lay just above the surface of Zone IIc (the
floodplain surface) from which it was separated by a thin
(approximately 0.1-foot thick) lens of compact sandy clay. The thin
clay lens was apparently a subsurface formation resulting from the
deposition of clay by percolating water along the buried surface of
the floodplain.

2. _The upper house floor_ (House No. 2). This zone consisted of a
slightly compacted, brownish sand containing a large amount of
charcoal and a few artifacts. It lay above the floor of House No. 1,
and was separated from it by a layer of clean, sterile, yellowish sand
0.1 to 0.3 feet thick which probably was placed over the burned ruins
of the first house to provide a clean floor for the second one.

3. _The embankment of yellow-brown sand encircling the house area._ As
was previously pointed out, this member had the appearance of having
been banked against the exterior wall of the house while it was still
standing. Perhaps this provided extra protection from the winter
winds, or its primary purpose may have been to serve as a dike to
protect the house when Cypress Creek overflowed its banks. The maximum
height of this zone was 2.0 feet above the surface of Zone IIc, upon
which it rested.

4. _The final addition to the mound._ This was the sand member which
had been mounded over the house ruins. It was virtually sterile of
cultural material.

OCCUPATIONAL FEATURES

The only occupational features discovered at Mound C were the two house patterns.

_House No. 1_

The lower house floor at Mound C, designated House No. 1, rested directly on the old surface of the floodplain (Fig. 7). The floor zone was a circular lens of dark gray—almost black—sand with a greasy texture. It averaged 0.4 feet in thickness and measured some 18 feet across. This floor zone contained numerous bits of charcoal and burned clay daub, a few stone chips, mussel shells and garbage bones, and a small number of artifacts.

Around the perimeter of the floor was a ring of post molds representing the exterior house wall (Fig. 8). Average diameter of the ring was 18 feet. Each post mold extended downward below the floor level into the sub-mound floodplain. The individual molds ranged from 0.35 to 0.75 feet in diameter, the bottoms being from 1.3 to 2.0 feet below the floor level. There was a total of 29 definite molds plus one probable mold in the peripheral ring, and disturbances on the west and south sides of the house appeared to have obliterated at least five others. The posts had been set about 1.5 to 2.0 feet apart on an average. Time did not permit vertical sectioning of all the molds, but several were carefully sectioned and studied to determine the level from which they had been dug. All began at the floor of House No. 1, none extending above that level.

The large pothole observed in the top of the mound continued downward entirely through the floor of House No. 1, although it had narrowed to a diameter of less than four feet where it intercepted the floor (Fig. 8). Unfortunately the pothole had destroyed the major portion of a centrally located hearth that must have been associated either with House No. 1 or the overlying House No. 2. Actually, there was probably a hearth for each house, the later one constructed directly above the earlier one. But since only a narrow segment of burned soil remained to mark the eastern margin of the hearth (or hearths), the structural details could not be ascertained. As nearly as could be estimated by the surviving portion of the hearth, it must have been approximately three feet in diameter.

HARROUN SITE
41 UR 10
PLAN OF HOUSES NO. 1 & 2
MOUND C
post mold, House No. 1
post mold, House No. 2
post mold, House No. 1 or House No. 2
probable post mold
remnant of central fire pit
ash lens
disturbance
disturbance
pothole]

Beneath the pothole—which luckily terminated a foot or so below the floor of House No. 1—were the bottom portions of two post molds (Fig. 7). These were undoubtedly from the center posts used during construction of Houses No. 1 and 2. Although the exact circumstances could not be reconstructed because of disturbance, the center posts presumably were removed when the houses were completed and the hearths placed over the molds.

In addition to the two center molds, there were two other post molds within the interior of the houses at Mound C. One was just east of the hearth area, the other was northwest of the hearth (Fig. 8). Both were exposed in the excavation floor at the level of House No. 1, and since they were not encountered above that level both probably relate to the earlier house.

An extended entranceway on the west side of the houses was delineated by an elongated area of organically stained soil and by two parallel rows of post molds (Fig. 8). The stained area was clearly discernible in the mound fill above both house floors. Despite extremely careful excavation of this stained area, however, only the bottom portions of the post molds—well below the floor level of House No. 1—could be seen. Consequently the level from which the entranceway post holes were dug could not be determined and it is uncertain to which of the two houses they belonged. House No. 2 must have had its entranceway on the west side because the organically stained outline showed clearly in the mound fill well above the House 2 floor level. Possibly both houses had their entranceways in this same area.

_House No. 2_

House No. 2 was represented by a distinct floor zone and by a circle of post molds. The floor zone (Fig. 8) consisted of a lens of brownish sand averaging about 15.5 feet in diameter, with a maximum thickness near the center of almost a foot. It lay directly above the floor of House No. 1, but was separated from it by a thin layer of clean, sterile sand 0.1 to 0.3 feet thick. The sterile sand layer was possibly placed over the burned ruins of House No. 1 in order to provide a clean floor for House No. 2.

The peripheral ring of post molds (Fig. 8) averaged a little less than 14 feet in diameter (or almost four feet less than that of the underlying House No. 1) and lay entirely inside the exterior wall of House No. 1. The two rings were not quite concentric, however, the center point of House No. 2 being slightly to the west of the center point of House No. 1. The post molds of House No. 2 were from 0.45 to 0.85 feet in diameter, and they extended from 1.6 to 2.0 feet below the level of the related house floor. Several of the molds were sectioned vertically to determine the level from which they had been dug. They could be clearly traced from the floor of House No. 2 down through the floor of House No. 1 into the sub-mound floodplain.

As was pointed out above in the description of House No. 1, there was probably a circular, centrally located hearth associated with House No. 2, and one of the two center posts whose molds were found beneath the hearth area must have been used in the construction of the later house. There appeared to be no other interior post molds associated with House No. 2. The entranceway was probably on the west side.

DISCUSSION