Archeological Investigations at the Lang Pasture Site (41AN38) in the Upper Neches River Basin of East Texas

Archeological testing at the Lang Pasture site (41AN38) and nearby Site 41AN159, was carried out in 2004 by a team of archeologists from Coastal Environments, Inc. and Archeological & Environmental Consultants, LLC, working under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 3333. Based on these efforts, it was determined that the Lang Pasture site had considerable research potential, as it contained remains of prehistoric Caddo domestic habitation and associated burial features. 41AN159 was found to have been seriously disturbed by historic agricultural activities, and to thus have no significant research potential. Data recovery investigations were recommended for the Lang Pasture Site in anticipation of planned widening of State Highway 155, within the right-of-way of which a significant portion of the site was located. The data recovery work sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation and completed in 2006 by a team from Coastal Environments, Inc. and Archeological & Environmental Consultants, LLC at the Lang Pasture site (41AN38) was carried out under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4040. This work obtained a wealth of new archeological, bioarchaeological, and paleoenvironmental information about the lives and practices of prehistoric ancestors of the Caddo Indian peoples. This multidisciplinary work has cast a new light on the character and pace of native history of the Caddo in the East Texas region. The data recovery investigations have been particularly important in advancing the field of Caddo archeology in several different respects: (1) work completed in 14th to early 15th century A.D. domestic habitation contexts resulted in the identification of a well-defined series of features from prehistoric Caddo houses, specialized structures (i.e., granaries or ramadas/arbors), and ancillary outdoor activity areas, such that the character of a rural domestic Caddo household in much of East Texas (or at least the Neches-Angelina River basins) has come into better focus; (2) the exposure and excavation of a Caddo family cemetery— and the attempt to determine the regional context for changes in Caddo diet and health—has contributed to an understanding of the bioarcheological character of the Caddo people in the upper Neches River basin that is unparalleled anywhere in the larger Caddo archeological area. The bioarcheological information on diet, health, and pathologies obtained during the course of the Lang Pasture site work provides a sweeping view of more than 800 years of Caddo life that will be relevant to understanding different Caddo peoples and groups in other parts of the Caddo world; (3) the Lang