ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN THE NORTHERN PORTION OF ANCIENT TULA

Salvage excavations along the right of way of a 2 km stretch of proposed highway crossing the northern part of the Postclassic city of Tula, Hidalgo utilized a multi-phase investigation strategy, featuring pedestrian survey and exploratory test-pitting. This fieldwork led to extensive excavation in five localities, which uncovered significant portions of both elite and non-elite residential compounds, a possible administrative structure, and two temples, one of which is the earliest example of a twin temple pyramid in western Mesoamerica. The diversity of structures and corresponding functions encountered in excavation are comparable to those found in previous excavations that suggest the city was organized into barrios, each with its own political, religious, social, and other institutions that mimic those of the larger urban polity. While these investigations confirm previous evidence of considerable destruction of the ancient city in recent decades, they also demonstrate that significant portions are still intact.

Detecting Classic Maya Settlements with Lidar-Derived Relief Visualizations

In the past decade, Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) has fundamentally changed our ability to remotely detect archaeological features and deepen our understanding of past human-environment interactions, settlement systems, agricultural practices, and monumental constructions. Across archaeological contexts, lidar relief visualization techniques test how local environments impact archaeological prospection. This study used a 132 km2 lidar dataset to assess three relief visualization techniques—sky-view factor (SVF), topographic position index (TPI), and simple local relief model (SLRM)—and object-based image analysis (OBIA) on a slope model for the non-automated visual detection of small hinterland Classic (250–800 CE) Maya settlements near the polities of Uxbenká and Ix Kuku’il in Southern Belize. Pedestrian survey in the study area identified 315 plazuelas across a 35 km2 area; the remaining 90 km2 in the lidar dataset is yet to be surveyed. The previously surveyed plazuelas were compared to the plazuelas visually identified on the TPI and SLRM. In total, an additional 563 new possible plazuelas were visually identified across the lidar dataset, using TPI and SLRM. Larger plazuelas, and especially plazuelas located in disturbed environments, are often more likely to be detected in a visual assessment of the TPI and SLRM. These findings emphasize the extent and density of Classic Maya settlements and highlight the continued need for pedestrian survey to ground-truth remotely identified archaeological features and the impact of modern anthropogenic behaviors for archaeological prospection. Remote sensing and lidar have deepened our understanding of past human settlement systems and low-density urbanism, processes that we experience today as humans residing in modern cities.

Cultural Resources Survey of Portions of the Rio Bravo LNG Pipeline on Port of Brownsville Lands, Cameron County, Texas

On behalf of Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E & E), Rio Grande LNG, LLC, and Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC (RB Pipeline), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted cultural resources surveys of portions of the Rio Bravo Pipeline on lands owned or controlled by the Port of Brownsville in Cameron County, Texas. Rio Grande LNG, LLC proposes to construct a natural gas liquefaction facility and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal (Terminal) in Cameron County, Texas, along the north embankment of the Brownsville Ship Channel. In concert with the Terminal, RB Pipeline proposes to construct an associated pipeline system (Pipeline System/Project) within Cameron, Willacy, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Jim Wells Counties, Texas to allow for interconnection with a network of existing pipelines that traverse the northern end of Kleberg County and Jim Wells County. The proposed Pipeline System/Project will collect and transport natural gas to the Terminal site. In compliance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting requirements and oversight, SWCA conducted cultural resources investigations in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108) and its implementing regulations in 36 Code of Federal Regulations 800. Although the entire Project is subject to compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA, this stand-alone report specifically addresses portions of the alignment that will be located on lands owned by the Port of Brownsville (Port). Since the Port is a political subdivision of the state, investigations were conducted in compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) under ACT Permit No. 8588 administered by the Texas Historical Commission (THC). The data in this report is also presented in Addendum IV (Carpenter et al., 2020) to the final report (Nielsen et al., 2016) of the overall investigations. The investigations covered 0.58 mile (0.93 kilometers [km]) of proposed pipeline corridor within a 200-foot-wide (60.96-meter [m]-wide) pipeline survey corridor, and 0.31 mile (0.50 km) of proposed access roads within a 50-foot-wide (15.24-m-wide) access roads survey corridor, for a Project Area total of approximately 15.8 acres within Port property. The cultural resources investigations included a background and historical map review, and an intensive pedestrian survey with subsurface testing. The background review identified nine previously conducted archaeological surveys within a 1-mile radius of the Project Area, three of which intersect the current Project Area. The background review identified no previously recorded archaeological sites within the Project Area; however, seven archaeological sites are within a 1-mile radius none of which are immediately adjacent (within 300 feet [91.44 m]) to the Project Area. In addition, a review of historical maps determined that there are no historic-age structures or features mapped within or immediately adjacent to the Project Area. SWCA archaeologists conducted the cultural resources intensive pedestrian survey on October 22, 2018. The investigation revealed an extensively disturbed setting due to historic & modern development in the area mainly associated with the Port. SWCA archaeologists excavated a total of nine shovel tests within the Project Area all negative for cultural materials. No cultural materials or features or historic-age structures were identified within the Project Area during the field survey. In accordance with the ACT and Section 106 of the NHPA, SWCA has made a reasonable and good faith effort to identify cultural resources within the Project Area of Potential Effects (APE). No cultural resources were identified within the Project Area during the current investigations. Accordingly, no further investigation is recommended for the assessed sections of the Project Area. The THC concurred with these findings and recommendations on January 14, 2020. No artifacts were recovered; documentation will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory of The University of Texas at Austin.

An Intensive Archeological Survey of the Owl Hills-Tunstill 138-KV Transmission Line Route

Oncor Electric Delivery Company, LLC (Oncor) is planning to construct the Owl Hills—Tunstill 138-kV Transmission Line Route in Culberson, Reeves and Loving Counties, Texas. Oncor contracted with Halff Associates, Inc. to conduct an intensive pedestrian survey of 18.5 miles of new 138-kV transmission line on private property. The survey was conducted January 20-24, 2020 and a total of 102 shovel tests were excavated in areas where buried archeological deposits where expected, and two 15-meter (32.8-foot) transects underwent pedestrian survey within the 70-foot (21.3-meter) wide survey corridor, which measures approximately 157 acres. Three archeological sites (41RV208, 41RV209 and 41RV213) were identified and recorded during the archeological survey. Site 41RV208 is a prehistoric occupation containing a surface deposit of 12 lithic debitage, 6 flake tools, 6 cores, 2 groundstone fragments and 40 fire cracked rocks (FCR). The site is situated on a gravelly and deflated upland that forms the western rim of the Pecos River valley. Site 41RV209 consists of a prehistoric occupation containing a surface deposit of 12 FCR, 6 lithic debitage, 3 flake tools, 2 cores, 1 uniface, and 1 biface. This site is situated on the heavily eroded west bank of Salt Creek and has been disturbed by construction activities associated with an adjacent pipeline corridor. Site 41RV213 is an abandoned section of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) Railway that parallels U.S. Highway 285 to the east. The section of railroad in the surveyed area has undergone extensive disturbance and consists of a narrow linear piling of fill, railroad gravels and non-descript metal debris. It is Halff’s recommendation that sites 41RV208, 41RV209 and 41RV213 are ineligible for National Register of Historic Places consideration in the surveyed area and no further cultural resources investigations are warranted for the project. While shovel testing within the lower terraces of the Pecos River valley floor resulted in negative findings, most of the shovel tests in this area did not encounter restrictive deposits soil or geologic deposits that antedate the Holocene. Therefore, the installation of the transmission line poles located along the lower alluvial terraces of the Pecos River was recommended for archeological monitoring. Halff recommends that construction of the remainder of the proposed transmission line route be allowed to proceed and that no additional archaeological investigations are recommended outside of the monitoring area. However, if the proposed transmission line route alignment changes, additional archeological survey may be necessary. In addition, should any cultural resources be discovered during the construction or maintenance activities associated with the project, work in the immediate area shall cease and the Texas Historical Commission be notified of the discovery.

Intensive Cultural Resources Survey of the Brushy Creek Sewer Line Phase 3 Project in the City of Ingram, Kerr County, Texas

On behalf of the City of Ingram, Texas, SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted an intensive cultural resources survey of the proposed Brushy Creek Sewer Line Project (Project) in Kerr County, Texas. The approximately 1-mile-long sewer main extension line is being developed by the City of Ingram, a political subdivision of the State of Texas; therefore, the Project requires compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). In addition, the Project will receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); therefore, the work was conducted to comply with requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This cultural resources investigation was conducted under ACT Permit No. 9243. The Project begins just south of Winona Street West and terminates just south of Highway 27. The Project Area includes the proposed linear alignment situated within a 25-foot-wide corridor and lies on undeveloped land. Proposed impacts are expected to include widespread surficial modifications with deeper impacts in location of sewer lines. The cultural resources investigation consisted of a background and historical map review, followed by intensive pedestrian survey augmented by shovel testing conducted by SWCA archaeologists. SWCA’s background review determined that there are no known cultural resources within the Project area. SWCA also reviewed a 0.5-mile study area surrounding the proposed Project. This review determined there are a total of five previously conducted surveys and six previously recorded archaeological sites within 0.5 mile of the Project area. None of the six previously recorded sites have been recommended as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Additionally, no NRHP districts or properties, sites designated as State Antiquities Landmarks, historical markers, cemeteries, or local neighborhood surveys were identified within the Project area or the larger study area. During field investigations conducted on February 4, 2019, SWCA conducted an intensive archaeological pedestrian survey augmented with shovel testing of the Project area. For linear projects, the Texas Historical Commission (THC)/Council of Texas Archaeologists (CTA) survey standards require a minimum of 16 shovel tests per mile with thorough documentation of all exceptions noted (e.g., disturbance, slope, and impervious surfaces). Based on these standards, SWCA exceeded the requirements by excavating a total of 34 shovel tests within the 1-mile Project area. No cultural materials were identified on the ground surface or within any of the shovel tests excavated within the Project area. In accordance with the ACT and with Section 106 of the NHPA (36 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 800.4 (b)(1)), SWCA has made a reasonable and good faith effort to identify historic properties within the area of potential effects. SWCA recommends a finding of No Historic Properties Affected per 36 CFR 800. 5(b) and no further archaeological investigation of the current Project area is recommended. No artifacts or samples were collected during this survey. All survey-related documentation will be curated at the Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas at San Antonio.

HUBUNGAN FUNGSI DAN KENYAMANAN JALUR PEDESTRIAN (STUDI KASUS : JALUR PEDESTRIAN JALAN JENDRAL SOEPRAPTO MUKA KUNING KOTA BATAM)

HUBUNGAN FUNGSI DAN KENYAMANAN JALUR PEDESTRIAN (STUDI KASUS : JALUR PEDESTRIAN JALAN JENDRAL SOEPRAPTOMUKA KUNING KOTA BATAM)Harry Kurniawan1 dan Dodot Pramasahe2Program Studi Teknik Sipil, Universitas Riau Kepulauan Batam, Jl. Batu Aji Baru BatamEmail: [email protected] Pedestrian yang berada di ruas jalan Letjend Soeprapto Kota Batam mempunyai peranan penting bagi para pekerja yang bekerja di Kawasan Industri Batamindo Kota Batam. Berdasarkan Undang-Undang Nomor 22 Tahun 2009 pasal 45, definisi trotoar adalah salah satu fasilitas pendukung penyelenggaraan lalu lintas. Pada pasal 131 diatur bahwa pejalan kaki berhak atas ketersediaan fasilitas pendukung yang berupa trotoar, tempat penyeberangan dan fasilitas lain. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui fungsi jalur pedestrian bagi pejalan kaki dan untuk mengetahui aspek-aspek kenyamanan yang berada pada jalur pedestrian di ruas jalan Letjend Soeprapto Kota Batam. Tahapan-tahapan survey yang dilakukan pada penelitian ini meliputi Survey kondisi fisik jalur pedestrian, survey pejalan kaki dan wawancara pejalan kaki. Pengolahan data berdasarkan hasil penelitian dengan deskripsi persentase, terlebih dahulu mengkualitatifkan skor setiap hasil pilihan responden. Supaya memudahkan dalam menganalisis data, perlu diketahui skor yang diperoleh responden dari hasil pengisian kuesioner yang diberikan. Hasil perhitungan analisis mengenai prioritas utama fungsi jalur Jl. Letjend Soeprapto Muka Kuning Kota Batam memberikan pilihan prioritas fungsi jalur khusus pejalan kaki. Dari jumlah responden sebanyak 177 responden dapat ditarik kesimpulan rata-rata bahwa persepsi pengguna jalur pedestrian terutama pejalan kaki termasuk pengguna lain non–pejalan kaki pada umumnya merasa cukup nyaman dalam pemanfataan jalur pedestrian di Jl. Letjend Soeprapto Muka Kuning Kota Batam. Kondisi saat ini di jalur pedestrian Jl. Letjend Soeprapto Muka Kuning Kota Batam ditinjau dari aspek kenyamanan menunjukkan bahwa responden menyatakan persepsi yang masuk pada kriteria cukup nyaman (CN), tentang kenyamanan yang diperoleh saat melakukan aktifitas terutama pengguna jalur pedestrian utama yaitu pejalan kaki di jalur pedestrian Jl. Letjend Soeprapto Muka Kuning Kota Batam. Aspek yang menjadi perhatian utama pengguna jalur pedestrian yaitu pejalan kaki memberikan persepsi kondisi teduh dan bersih menjadi aspek penting kenyamanan pada jalur pedestrian. Terutama di jalur pedestrian Jl. Letjend Soeprapto Muka Kuning Kota Batam.Selain sebagai jalur khusus untuk berjalan kaki, pengguna jalur mengharapkan atau lebih senang menggunakan jalur pedestrian digunakan sebagai ruang keindahan kota. Aspek yang diharapkan responden dalam hal untuk meningkatkan kenyamanan jalur pedestrian Jl. Letjend Soeprapto Muka Kuning Kota Batam yaitu penambahan lampu penerangan..Kata kunci: Jalur Pedestrian, Aspek Kenyamanan dan Pejalan Kaki.

Locating Cave Entrances Using Lidar-Derived Local Relief Modeling

Lidar (Light detection and ranging) scanning has revolutionized our ability to locate geographic features on the earth’s surface, but there have been few studies that have addressed discovering caves using this technology. Almost all attempts to find caves using lidar imagery have focused on locating sinkholes that lead to underground cave systems. As archaeologists, our work in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, a heavily forested area in western Belize, focuses on locating potential caves for investigation. Caves are an important part of Maya cultural heritage utilized by the ancient Maya people as ritual spaces. These sites contain large numbers of artifacts, architecture, and human remains, but are being looted at a rapid rate; therefore, our goal is to locate and investigate as many sites as possible during our field seasons. While some caves are entered via sinkholes, most are accessed via vertical cliff faces or are entered by dropping into small shafts. Using lidar-derived data, our goal was to locate and investigate not only sinkholes but other types of cave entrances using point cloud modeling. In this article, we describe our method for locating potential cave openings using local relief models that require only a working knowledge of relief visualization techniques. By using two pedestrian survey techniques, we confirmed a high rate of accuracy in locating cave entrances that varied in both size and morphology. Although 100% pedestrian survey coverage delivered the highest rate accuracy in cave detection, lidar image analyses proved to be expedient for meeting project goals when considering time and resource constraints.