A search for unmarked graves in the state-owned right of way and underneath the pavement of State Highway 332 resulted in the discovery and archeological excavation of 11 unmarked graves associated with Pioneer Cemetery, an African American burial ground in Brazoria, Texas. Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted the fieldwork for the Texas Department of Transportation’s Archeological Studies Program. Between 2008 and 2012, the 11 unmarked graves were discovered, exhumed, analyzed, and then reinterred in Pioneer Cemetery in September 2012. This report describes the bioarcheological investigations of those burials along with 3 other unmarked burials that were previously exhumed and reburied in 2003.
The mortuary remains, especially the manufacturing dates on the coffin hardware, indicate that the 14 exhumed burials date to the late-nineteenth century and early-twentieth centuries. Based on the osteological evidence, the deceased persons were 5 women, 2 men, 2 indeterminate adults, and 5 children. Seven of the 14 individuals display skeletal traits indicating that they are of African descent, but 2 indeterminate adults and 5 children do not. Based on historical evidence, it is likely that all 14 individuals were African Americans, and several of the older individuals may have been born into slavery.
These 14 burials do not constitute a representative sample of the African Americans in Brazoria County or the town of Brazoria, but they are an interesting and historically significant burial population nonetheless. The overall health status of these people was generally good, with no evidence of abnormally high pathologies. However, skeletal remains of several older individuals exhibited evidence of various forms of degenerative joint disease indicative of lives spent doing hard labor. One adult male had an amputated leg and an iron and wooden prosthesis; it is not known if the loss of his leg was due to violence, accidental trauma, or disease. Several of the Pioneer burials exhibit traits that may represent mortuary behaviors of African origin. Three individuals had vaulted burials, with the casket or coffin located inside a shaft under a protective wooden arch. One adult female was buried with a complete whiteware saucer and a bird talon that was partially wrapped in gold plating and may have been worn as a necklace.
This report describes archeological efforts done under six work orders for the development of Yanaguana Garden at HemisFair Park in downtown San Antonio, Texas. All of the projects were done by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI), for Adams Environmental, Inc. (AEI), and the City of San Antonio, Transportation and Capital Improvements (CoSA-TCI), under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 6846 (issued April 14, 2014). As described below, the Yanaguana Garden project is the first phase of a planned redevelopment of HemisFair Park for mixed-use purposes. Planning for how to deal with cultural resources during this redevelopment began in 2012 when PAI prepared two reports summarizing known archeological and historical resources and providing recommendations for future work (Dase 2013; Fields and McWilliams 2012). Almost all of the subsequent work reported here dealt strictly with the permitted archeological investigations, with limited effort going toward historical resources under a single work order.
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