532 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1960 



ment types and record a possible modification of hunting and butcher- 

 ing techniques through the change in the fonns of projectile points 

 and other stone tools. The stratigraphic materials also make it pos- 

 sible to place a number of the open sites in their proper relative 

 chronology. The top level in one of the shelters contained some pot- 

 sherds from vessels of the so-called Woodland type which are signifi- 

 cant because they extend much farther westward the known range of 

 that kind of Indian pottery and show that the peoples living in the 

 area at that time either were under the influence of tribes located at a 

 considerable distance to the east or possibly had trade relations with 

 them. The material from the shelters also provides the basis for cor- 

 relating a number of important sites scattered between that portion 

 of Wyoming and central Nebraska. 



Three shelter-cave sites were excavated at the "Wliitney Reservoir 

 on the Brazos River in Texas. One, locally known as Pictograph 

 Cave because of a series of symbols painted on one wall in red and 

 yellow ochre, gave evidence of two definite periods of occupation. 

 The top level seems to have been pre-Columbian in age although quite 

 late in the prehistoric period. The lower level suggests that it was 

 prior to approximately A.D. 1200 but it is not possible to say how 

 long it was before that date. There were distinct difTerences between 

 the upper and lower levels and good evidence was obtained concern- 

 ing changes in food habits and population density during the two 

 occupations. Since Pictograph Cave was a dry shelter, vegetal re- 

 mains were preserved in all levels. It is curious, however, that no 

 perishable artifacts, such as matting, basketry, or cord, were found 

 in either horizon. Such objects undoubtedly were made and used 

 by the Indians in that area, and it is difficult to explain why there 

 was no evidence of them when plant materials were abundant and so 

 well preserved. The cultural material from the early occupation 

 is similar in many respects to that from what has been called the 

 Round Rock Focus in the central Texas region. The second or last 

 occupation has not yet been correlated with other known remains 

 although it may be possible eventually to determine its relationship. 

 Not far from Pictograph Cave was a location called Buzzard Shelter. 

 Digging there revealed that it also had been occupied at two different 

 periods and there was genera? similarity between the sequences in it 

 and at the first location. Some definite differences in artifact types 

 appeared, however, and it seems likely that the material in the second 

 site was left by somewhat different cultural groups. The specimens 

 from the lower level at Buzzard Shelter probably are attributable 

 to a fairly early complex and indicate a hunting-gathering form of 

 economy. The upper-level materials correlate rather satisfactorily 

 with what has been named the Toyah Focus in central Texas. The 



