The Harroun Site: A Fulton Aspect Component of the Caddoan Area, Upshur County, Texas

In Short

This volume serves as a formal archaeological record of the Harroun Site in Upshur County, Texas, excavated between 1957 and 1959 under the auspices of a federal salvage project. It details the methodical recovery of artifacts and structural data from four mounds threatened by reservoir construction. By documenting the site's unique pottery, projectile points, and house floor layouts, the text provides a foundational reference for understanding the Fulton Aspect of the Caddoan area, preserving essential cultural data that would have otherwise been lost to the rising waters of the Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir.

The Story

The narrative arc of the site begins not with discovery, but with the impending construction of the Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir. As part of a nationwide salvage mandate, the University of Texas dispatched field parties to the Harroun site to document what could be recovered before the land was permanently submerged. The work unfolds across three years, as teams systematically dismantle four distinct mounds—labeled A through D—located on the floodplain of Cypress Creek.

The investigation starts with Mound A, where the team uncovers a grave covered by a small earthen structure. Here, they observe a sequence of events: the builders first removed topsoil, interred a young male, and began mounding earth, only to pause for a ritual fire of significant intensity before completing the work. As the teams progress to Mounds B, C, and D, the focus shifts from singular burials to the discovery of circular house floors. These structures, revealed by post molds, show signs of intentional destruction by fire, followed by the deliberate heaping of sand mounds over the ruins.

A central tension in the research is the interpretation of these "casts" of houses. The authors argue against the theory that these were earth-covered lodges, suggesting instead that they were wattle-and-daub structures. They conclude that the mounds were likely formed after the houses burned, with sand banked against the exterior walls preserved as a mold of the original construction.

The final phase of the project involves the painstaking classification of thousands of ceramic sherds and stone points. The findings reveal a complex cultural picture, linking the site to the Titus Focus—a late prehistoric Caddoan manifestation. However, the data also presents anomalies, such as the unexpected absence of certain "diagnostic" traits and the presence of pottery types usually associated with earlier periods. The investigation concludes by synthesizing these findings, reconciling the Harroun site’s unique material assemblage with existing regional frameworks. Despite the pressure of the impending flood, the authors provide a comprehensive analysis, leaving the reader with a clear picture of an agricultural society that carefully managed its space and ritual life, even as its physical remains were being prepared for permanent submergence.

How It Unfolds

The mandate for salvage The project begins with a formal agreement between the National Park Service and the University of Texas to mitigate the loss of cultural heritage at the Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir. The opening sections establish the administrative and logistical framework, detailing the grid systems and excavation methods required to maintain precision under a strict deadline.

The excavation of the mounds The middle beats move from mound to mound, detailing the physical uncovering of structural features like post molds, hearths, and embankments. The authors describe the removal of soil in vertical intervals, ensuring that every find, from a charred pole to a tiny mussel shell fragment, is mapped with exacting care.

The synthesis of findings The final chapters transition from raw site data to broad archaeological interpretation, where the artifacts are compared against regional typologies. The authors conclude by evaluating how the specific pottery and tools recovered from Harroun expand and challenge existing theories regarding the Caddoan area's chronology and cultural focus.

The People

The text focuses on the professional and volunteer team members who conducted the work, highlighting their roles as both investigators and manual laborers. The senior author, Edward B. Jelks, along with Curtis D. Tunnell, directs the site, maintaining the objective, technical tone required for such a report. They are supported by assistant archaeologists like John Allen Graham and L. F. Duffield, whose ability to work under pressure is noted as essential to the project's completion.

The "shovel hands," including men like John B. Johnson and Robert L. Brockman, appear as the unsung participants, having extended themselves beyond expectations to ensure the site was fully recorded. The authors also pay tribute to Dr. E. Mott Davis and Dr. J. F. Epstein; these staff archaeologists serve as both technical mentors and sources of morale, credited for their physical labor and for their ability to foster "conviviality" in the field camp through guitar playing. These figures are not characters in a drama, but rather a dedicated cohort united by the common goal of salvaging history before the reservoir's deadline, working with trowels and wheelbarrows to solve the architectural mysteries of the Harroun site.

In Its Own Voice

"The fill of the mound contained artifacts similar to those in the sub-mound formation, but also contained burned bone scraps, mussel shells, and fragments of charcoal in some quantity."

This observation, made during the analysis of Mound A, explains how the researchers determined that the mound soil was sourced from an area of intense daily occupation.

"Because of the press of time it was impossible to screen all of the excavated soil."

This candid admission appears in the methodology section, highlighting the practical difficulties of archaeological salvage work.

What It's Really About

At its core, the book is about the tension between the fleeting nature of human occupation and the scientific obligation to preserve a record of the past. It addresses the fundamental questions of how prehistoric societies organized their domestic spaces and rituals, and how archaeologists reconstruct those lives from degraded fragments. By examining the nuances of pottery styles and structural footprints, the text explores the fluidity of cultural identity within the Caddoan area. It argues against rigid, pre-existing models, suggesting that a site's identity is better understood through its own specific material evidence rather than by forcing it into established, and potentially flawed, regional categories.

Why Read It Today

Readers with a deep interest in the history of North American archaeology or those seeking a granular look at Caddoan material culture will find this a fascinating, albeit dense, document. It offers a rare, "behind-the-scenes" look at the 1950s salvage era, revealing the intense, collaborative effort required to perform high-stakes field science. To read this book is to witness a specific moment in time—the intersection of mid-century academic rigor and the pragmatic necessity of the federal reservoir program.

The prose is professional, dry, and highly technical, which may prove difficult for readers looking for a narrative history or popular science. It makes no attempt to simplify the complexities of site grids, soil zones, or ceramic typology. However, for the patient reader, the book provides a profound sense of place and a meticulous record of a landscape transformed by both the original inhabitants and the later, dam-building generation. The lasting value of the work lies in its unflinching honesty about the gaps in the record and its commitment to documenting the minutiae of the past, ensuring that even as the Harroun site vanished under the reservoir, its story remained intact for future scholars.