Arenosa Shelter

Credits & Sources

This exhibit was planned and written by TBH Assistant Editor Carly Whelan and TBH Co-Editor Steve Black. The web development was done by Mai-Thi Le, David Choi, and Kathy Chung of the Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Service, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin.

The exhibit was sponsored by the Amistad National Recreation Area of the National Park Service (ANRA NPS). NPS archeologist Joe Labadie conceptualized and facilitated the project with NPS funding prior to his retirement from the Park Service. The web exhibit was done in conjunction with a major upgrade of the ANRA NPS Arenosa collection and records at TARL. The exhibit demonstrates the continued importance of the Arenosa data and its outstanding future research potential.

The exhibit owes much to the generous help of others. Chris Jurgens freely provided graphics and photographs from his dissertation research. Anne Dibble found a large set of long-missing Arenosa photographs which have now been incorporated in the ANRA-NPS Archives at TARL. Peter Patton provided images of the Arenosa monoliths he studied. Elton Prewitt contributed his recollections of work at Arenosa with the late Dave Dibble. Labadie, Jurgens, and Prewitt carefully reviewed the exhibit and provided many helpful comments.

Carly Whelan holds a B.A. in anthropology from UT Austin. For a year and a half, Whelan worked her way up the ranks at TBH, starting as an intern in late 2007. During the Arenosa exhibit preparation she worked half time on TBH and half time for TARL Collections where she worked with Monica Trejo on the Arenosa materials. Soon after completing her work on the Arenosa exhibit, Whelan departed for the University of California at Davis where she entered the Ph.D. program. Today (2019) Dr. Carly S. Whelan is an assistant professor of anthropology at California State University, Chico.

Arenosa Shelter Bibliography

Below are all of the major Arenosa publications, theses, dissertations, and most of the articles and book chapters that focus on data from Arenosa.

Bement, Leland C.
1991   The Statistical Analysis of Langtry Variants from Arenosa Shelter, Val Verde County, Texas. In: Papers on Lower Pecos Prehistory, edited by Solveig A. Turpin, pp. 51-64. Studies in Archeology, Number 8, the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas, Austin.
[Analysis of Middle Archaic dart points from Arenosa.]

Collins, Michael B.
1974   A Functional Analysis of Lithic Technology among Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of Southwestern France and Western Texas. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, The University of Arizona, Tucson.
[Analysis of the patterns of stone tool manufacture at Arenosa through time.]

Dibble, David S.
n.d.   Unpublished field notes from Arenosa Shelter. Manuscript on file, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas, Austin.

1974   A Report on Additional Archeological Investigations in the Amistad International Reservoir Area, Texas. Texas Archeological Survey Technical Bulletin No. 4, The University of Texas, Austin.
[Discusses Arenosa�s radiocarbon dates and the results of faunal matrix processing.]

1997   Excavations at Arenosa Shelter, 1965-66. Reprinted. Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas, Austin. Originally published 1967, report prepared by the Archeological Salvage Field Office, National Park Service, Austin.
[Reprint of the report submitted by Dibble to the National Park Service in 1966, reporting the results of the first field season at Arenosa.]

Graham, John A. and William A. Davis
1958   Appraisal of the Archeological Resources of Diablo Reservoir, Val Verde County, Texas. Report prepared by the Archeological Salvage Field Office, National Park Service, Austin.
[Contains the first description and documentation of Arenosa.]

Hester, Thomas R., Frank Asaro, Fred Stross, Anne C. Kerr, and Robert D. Giauque
1991   Trace Element Analyses and Geologic Source Studies of Obsidian Artifacts from Arenosa Shelter, Val Verde County, Texas. In: Papers on Lower Pecos Prehistory, edited by Solveig A. Turpin, pp. 191-198. Studies in Archeology, Number 8, the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas, Austin.
[Sources three obsidian flakes from the Late Archaic component of Arenosa to the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico.

Jurgens, Christopher J.
2005   Zooarcheology and Bone Technology from Arenosa Shelter (41VV99), Lower Pecos Region, Texas. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas, Austin.
[Comprehensive analysis of Arenosa�s faunal assemblage and bone tool and ornament manufacture and use through time.]

2008   The Fish Fauna from Arenosa Shelter (41VV99), Lower Pecos Region, Texas. Quaternary International 185:26-33.

Mock, Shirley B.
1987   The Painted Pebbles of the Lower Pecos: A Study of Medium, Form, and Content. Master�s thesis, Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas, San Antonio.
[Analysis of painted pebbles from Arenosa and other Lower Pecos sites.]

Patton, Peter C.
1977   Geomorphic Criteria for Estimating the Magnitude and Frequency of Flooding in Central Texas. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Geology, The University of Texas, Austin.
[Reconstructs the hydrologic record of Arenosa based on its sedimentation pattern.]

Patton, Peter C. and David S. Dibble
1982   Archeologic and Geomorphic Evidence for the Paleohydrologic Record of the Pecos River in West Texas. American Journal of Science 282:97-121.

Prewitt, Elton R.
1997  Forward. In: Excavations at Arenosa Shelter, 1965-66, by David S. Dibble, pp. ix-x. Reprinted. Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas, Austin. Originally published 1967.

Turpin, Solveig A.
1991   Time Out of Mind. In: Papers on Lower Pecos Prehistory, edited by Solveig A. Turpin, pp. 1-49. Studies in Archeology, Number 8, the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas, Austin.
[Discusses the integrity of Arenosa�s radiocarbon dates and their implications for the chronology of the Lower Pecos.]

Valastro, S., Jr. and E. Mott Davis
1970a   University of Texas at Austin Radiocarbon Dates VII. Radiocarbon 12(1):249-280.
[pp. 268-269: Contains 2nd set of Arenosa radiocarbon dates.]

Valastro, S., Jr. and E. Mott Davis
1970b   University of Texas at Austin Radiocarbon Dates VIII. Radiocarbon 12(2):617-639.
[pp. 636: Contains 3rd set of Arenosa radiocarbon dates.]

Valastro, S., Jr., E. Mott Davis, and Alejandra C. Varela
1977   University of Texas at Austin Radiocarbon Dates XV. Radiocarbon 19(2):280-325.
[pp. 308-309: Contains 4th set of Arenosa radiocarbon dates.]

Valastro, S., Jr., F. J. Pearson, and E. Mott Davis
1967   University of Texas at Austin Radiocarbon Dates V. Radiocarbon 9:439-453.
[Contains 1st set of Arenosa radiocarbon dates.]

Wilson, Dave
1966   41VV99, A Great Place to Dig. Texas Engineering and Science Magazine 2(3):15-19.
[Popular article about the 1966 excavations at Arenosa.]