Location
Culp Ballroom
Start Date
4-7-2022 9:00 AM
End Date
4-7-2022 12:00 PM
Poster Number
75
Faculty Sponsor’s Department
Geosciences
Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor
Eileen Ernenwein
Competition Type
Competitive
Type
Poster Presentation
Project's Category
Archaeology
Abstract or Artist's Statement
Presidio Los Adaes (16NA16), located in present day northwest Louisiana, once served as the capital of Spanish Texas for much of the 18th century. Named after the Adaes Native Americans who inhabited the region, Los Adaes consisted of both a Presidio (fort) and a mission that occupied two adjacent hilltops. Ostensibly constructed to act as a deterrent to French expansion, Los Adaes would instead come to serve as the epicenter of illegal trade between imperial holdings of Spain and France as well as the local Native Americans. Los Adaes presents a unique archaeological opportunity: a Spanish colonial capital that has not been continually inhabited and developed. Previous archaeological investigations revealed intact earthworks of fortifications and structures as well as evidence of a cooperative relationship between the European inhabitants and the Native Americans through artifacts. Maps and other historical documents provide architectural plans for the fort as well as other buildings on the site. A multi-instrument geophysical survey was conducted in 2009, but the results were never published. Geophysical survey allows for large areas of site to be surveyed in a noninvasive manner that traditional archaeological investigation could not accomplish. This project seeks to critically examine the 2009 data by performing a new analysis of the geophysical data using more modern processing techniques where possible and comparing the results to the historical documents and archaeological evidence to help create a more nuanced understanding of the subsurface remains of the fort of Los Adaes.
Mapping the Buried Fort of Los Adaes, Capital of Spanish Texas 1729-1770, Using Geophysics
Culp Ballroom
Presidio Los Adaes (16NA16), located in present day northwest Louisiana, once served as the capital of Spanish Texas for much of the 18th century. Named after the Adaes Native Americans who inhabited the region, Los Adaes consisted of both a Presidio (fort) and a mission that occupied two adjacent hilltops. Ostensibly constructed to act as a deterrent to French expansion, Los Adaes would instead come to serve as the epicenter of illegal trade between imperial holdings of Spain and France as well as the local Native Americans. Los Adaes presents a unique archaeological opportunity: a Spanish colonial capital that has not been continually inhabited and developed. Previous archaeological investigations revealed intact earthworks of fortifications and structures as well as evidence of a cooperative relationship between the European inhabitants and the Native Americans through artifacts. Maps and other historical documents provide architectural plans for the fort as well as other buildings on the site. A multi-instrument geophysical survey was conducted in 2009, but the results were never published. Geophysical survey allows for large areas of site to be surveyed in a noninvasive manner that traditional archaeological investigation could not accomplish. This project seeks to critically examine the 2009 data by performing a new analysis of the geophysical data using more modern processing techniques where possible and comparing the results to the historical documents and archaeological evidence to help create a more nuanced understanding of the subsurface remains of the fort of Los Adaes.