RIVER BASIN SURVEYS — F. H. H. ROBERTS 359 



did not anchor their tents in that fashion, and a few archeologists 

 have reported that there was nothing within the circles to indicate oc- 

 cupation. In an effort to determine the actual status of such mani- 

 festations, a number were excavated in various localities. It was ex- 

 pected that a hearth or fire pit would be present near the center of 

 the circles if tents had actually been placed there. In the Boysen 

 area those investigated gave no indication of fires and the question 

 still remains as to whether or not tipis actually stood there. Evi- 

 dence elsewhere substantiates the tipi-ring concept in that fire basins 

 were found near the centers of the circles of stones. Occasional un- 

 excavated examples may be seen with a small circle of stones out- 

 lining a hearth still showing on the surface. An explanation is still 

 to be found for those where evidence of occupation is lacking. 



ROCK SHELTERS 



Rock shelters have been dug in several areas. At the Whitney 

 Reservoir on the Brazos River in Texas three such sites were investi- 

 gated. One of them, locally known as Pictograph Cave, showed 

 that it had been lived in during at least two different periods, the 

 first being prior to approximately A. D. 1200 and the second occurring 

 subsequent to that time but also pre-Columbian in age. There was 

 a well-defined cultural stratigraphy in the shelter, and good data 

 were obtained pertaining to changes in diet and population density 

 during the two periods. The early occupation is comparable in 

 many respects to the Round Rock Focus of the central Texas region 

 but the second has not yet been correlated with other known remains. 

 Although Pictograph Cave was a dry shelter and vegetal remains 

 were preserved in all levels, basketry, matting, cord, or other perish- 

 able artifacts were not found. That was a curious situation, and 

 its significance is not altogether clear. According to what is known 

 about the Indians in the general area, it would seem that such objects 

 should have been a part of the material culture. The second loca- 

 tion, known as Buzzard Shelter, is not far distant from the first and 

 the digging revealed that there also had been two periods of occupa- 

 tion with considerable general similarity between the cultural se- 

 quences. However, there were specific differences in artifact types, 

 and it would appear that the material in the second location repre- 

 sents slightly different cultural groups. The lower level at Buzzard 

 Shelter produced specimens that apparently are attributable to a 

 rather early complex. The upper level correlates fairly well with 

 what is called the Toyah Focus in central Texas. The third loca- 

 tion, known as Sheep Cave, was much larger but the cultural se- 

 quences seem to follow the pattern of the other two. Five flexed 

 burials were found there, however, and study of the physical type 



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