AT23-216 Excavations at the Crane Dune Site, Kerrville

Event Title: Excavations at the Crane Dune Site

VMS-AT: AT: Hill Country Chapter Other Approved Training (Enter AT#, Class Title as posted, Location, and Presenter)
Comments: AT23-216 Excavations at the Crane Dune Site, Kerrville, Presenter: Robert Lassen (AT=1h)

Event Date: 7/15/2023
Event Time: 11:30a-1:30p

Event Summary
HCAA General Meeting and Presentation: Excavations at the Crane Dune Site
Excavations at the Crane Dune Site (41CR61), a Prehistoric Habitation, Lithic Cache, and Burial Site in Crane County, Texas

Event Description:
The Crane Dune site (41CR61) was identified by archaeologists working for AmaTerra, an environmental consulting firm, during a survey on behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) prior to the widening of Highway 385 in Crane County, Texas.
The site is primarily Late Prehistoric in age, but a diffuse Archaic component and a possible Paleoindian occupation were also encountered. The site is centered on stabilized sand dunes, and the densest cultural occupation spans a 40-50 cm thick dark anthrosol layer consisting of charcoal-stained sand with abundant cooking features. Also identified at the site was a lithic cache of flake blanks and two human burials. Other artifacts from the site include dart and arrow points, occasional groundstone and ceramic sherds, chert and quartzite debitage, occasional obsidian flakes and tools, faunal material ranging from rodents to bison, and kaolinite and turquoise pendants and beads from the burials.
The Crane Dune site provides a wealth of archaeological data in an under-studied region of West Texas.

Dr. Lassen earned an MA in anthropology from Texas A&M and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. He is currently Principal Investigator for AmaTerra Environmental, Inc., an Austin-based company that deals with cultural resources such as archaeology and historical architecture as well as biology and hazardous materials, to assist with construction projects that have state or federal involvement and therefore have to account for archaeology, historic buildings, and endangered species. Robert specializes in lithic analysis, with a particular interest in Paleoindian lithics and the peopling of the Americas.

Cost: no charge

Register @: not required

Location:
Riverside Nature Center
150 Francisco Lemos
Kerrville, TX

Instructor/Presenter:
Robert Lassen, Ph.D.

Contact Information:
https://hcarcheology.org/contact-us/

Organization Website:
https://hcarcheology.org/

Sponsoring Organization:
Hill Country Archeological Association