5.4 FS-4 (El Catrín Site)

UTM: Zone 13R, E199XXX N3519XXX (NAD 27) [Redacted]

USGS Quadrangle: Victorio Ranch, NM

PLSS: SW ¼, NE ¼, NE ¼, Section 4, T29.5S R13W

Cultural Affiliation: Late Nineteenth Century

Site Type: Isolated Find

Nearest Water Source: Toro Prieto, 510 m W

Environmental Setting: Foothills/Talus

Soil type: Molina-Mars Complex, 10-20 percent slopes

Elevation: 1329 m (4360 ft) amsl

Site Size: 5-meter diameter

NRHP Eligibility Recommendation: Unknown

Field Site-4 was first identified within visual inspection of Section 4 (T29.5S R13W) which is fully incorporated into MCD. Survey transects at 30-m increments were traversed west (270°), perpendicular to the eastern MCD perimeter fence. The site was first identified as a silver pocket watch lying on the foot path along the base of the Sierra Rica between the former location of La Mojina mine and Toro Prieto, a spring outpouring from the mountain (Figures 5.7 and 5.8; Table 5.4).

FS-4 was discovered on the surface while archaeological crews were scouring the area looking for signs of the reported asbestos mine in this area. A local tributary to Wamels Draw lies 510 m to the west of FS-4 along the path. Here, the stream forms a small cataract known as the Toro Prieto, likely named due to the staining on the rock face from the fibrous anthophyllite leeching into the spring. This stream flows seasonally under the MCD perimeter fence at a point one km north of the site; it exits the facility near MCD Gate Neptune. The vegetation in this portion of the base is primarily juniper and mesquite.

Although identified on the surface, a shovel test was excavated within at the watch’s location as well as at 10-m and 20-m increments in four cardinal directions. Soils were comparable to the expected NRCS designation for this area, Molina-Mars Complex, 10-20 percent slopes. Two general strata can be defined for the site as a whole: 

·         Stratum I – 15 cm of pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) sand (Cg1 Horizon)

·         Stratum II – 10-50+ cm of fine black (7.5YR 2.5/1) sand (Cg2 Horizon).

Figure 5.7. FS-4 shown in NE ¼, Section 4, T29.5S R13W.

FS-4 is comprised of a remarkably well-preserved silver toned pocket watch. It late nineteenth century design with blue hands and black Roman numerals printed on a white face with Hampden Watch Co. (Canton, Ohio)  written on the dial. There is a sunken seconds register at the base with black Arabic numbers. Notably, the original crystal is in very good condition with only light surface wear. The inside of the back case is stamped “Keystone Watch Case, Guaranteed Silveroid.”  The back of the case is engraved “For 33 years of Service, Chicago & West Michigan, 1899.” The front of the case is monogrammed JFT.[1]

Unfortunately the description of the watch as contained in this report is based on cursory lab notes, recovered from an internal email attachment. This artifact was among the materials lost when TCCRC’s temporary field office in Roswell Junction was inundated in a flash flood in December 2012.

No other artifacts were found along the trail; it is likely that this chance find represents a casual discard i.e. a dropped item.  Given the time period of the watch, it is suggested that it may have been lost by one of the miners at La Mojina, traversing the path back and forth for water. Unfortunately we have yet to ground-truth the mine itself.

Figure 5.8. General view of area surrounding FS-4, looking west towards Toro Prieto.

Regardless, given no other evidence of the La Mojina exists, further investigations in the areas surrounding FS-4 may hopefully produce additional clues as to the mine’s whereabouts.  Investigations of the La Mojina operation, if found can provide valuable information on mining in Loteria Township and southern New Mexico in general. Particularly the existing and additional future collection of personal items may provide significant information on the origin and socioeconomic make up of mining camps in this remote area.

However the NRHP eligibility of this site cannot be firmly established at the Phase I level of data collection. Further Phase II investigations, including additional documentation, sampling and research in historic retirement gifts and asbestos processing in the southwestern desert, is required to fully assess this site’s potential significance. Therefore pending additional study, FS-4 remains of unknown eligibility for the NRHP.

 

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[1] I interject on a personal note; I had a very similar Hamden passed down from my great great paternal grandfather Jupiter from his retirement from the railroad in Traverse City. Regrettably, at the time of writing I have gone to retrieve it from my safety deposit and found it missing. It was not insured, it value mores sentimental than monetary. I expect some satisfaction from the Bank of Akron. The matter is not yet settled. [fjt]

 

 

3.0 Environmental and Cultural Overview, part VI.

3.2 Cultural Setting

Archival and historical research provides data necessary to put a project area within a broader context, and at times to narrow the focus down to specific sites, and often even to specific individuals. From a resource management point of view, an important objective of the archival research is to provide a historic context within which archaeological sites, cemeteries, and standing structures could be assessed and evaluated. At the same time, the research contributes to understanding lifeways, both past and present, within this region of New Mexico.

This study incorporates the results of archival research of primary and secondary documents, and cultural resource survey reports. Generally, the primary objective of archival research is to document the evolution of human settlement from the arrival of Native American groups through historical settlement and agricultural organization, to the modern era; however, this review focuses on the prehistoric pre-ceramic periods that represent the three sites tested. Detailed discussions of previous archaeological research have been presented within the current ICRMP (Foss 2001)[1] and will, therefore, not be summarized here, except when relative to discussion. It is notable here, that a large amount of archaeological data on the Southwestern Desert region of extreme southern New Mexico stems from large-scale excavations conducted by Mexican archaeologists in the 1930s before the construction of MCD, essentially solidifying the United States’ claim to the territory.  In particular, Tecate and Modelo (cf. 1937, for summary)[2] conducted excavations at multiple sites along Wamels Draw containing middens and campsites from the Paleoindian through Spanish Colonial periods.

As it is presently understood, human occupation and its associated cultural environment spans at least 12,000 years in the Southwest. This 12,000-year span is divided into a number of developmental stages. Each stage is characterized by its own settlement patterns, subsistence strategies, technology, and diagnostic artifacts and is divided into distinctive, temporal periods. Remnants of these temporal periods are left in the form of archaeological deposits.

Primarily by identifying various artifact stylistic traits, archaeologists have divided the prehistoric occupation of the region into five general stages, or periods, with approximate date ranges: The Paleoindian Period (10000-7000 BC); the Archaic Period (Cochise) (7000 BC- AD 200); the Mogollon Period (AD 200- 1540). Date ranges for these periods, which exhibit some overlapping timeframes, have been adapted from the 2001 ICRMP; however, as noted by Foss (2001: A-2), “much of the vagaries are derived from the diversity of the region, which despite a modicum of archaeological data, has largely been completed in Spanish.” According to the 2001 ICRMP, there are no archaeological sites within the facility that can be placed into any of these stages. The current study has both filled in and extended this timeline. The Historic period begins with the settlement of Euro-Americans to the study region in the sixteenth century, specially, the arrival of Coronado in in 1540. The following overview is organized within these time segments, each representing general patterns of land use and social relations.

The prehistoric occupation of the southwestern US can be best described in terms of changes in fundamental social systemics. During much of the past, prehistoric cultures maintained a lifestyle that focused on the acquisition of locally available wild resources (hunting and gathering). The hunting-gathering lifestyle selected for a social structure that emphasized small mobile groups that intensively exploited a given area for their preferred resources. During times of economic stress, secondary resources could be relied upon, along with increased mobilization and trade with neighboring groups, to supplement the diet.

The developmental stages most associated with this particular lifestyle are the Paleoindian and the Archaic. These periods are further subdivided into subperiods based on the particular resource procurement strategies, their inter-group relations, and the projectile point typologies that have been developed through the years.

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[1] Foss, Gene 2001. Mountweazel Chemical Depot Cultural Resources Management Plan. Prepared for the GloboMax, Inc., Richmond, Virginia, under contract with US Army Corps of Engineers, El Paso District. Third Square Consulting, LLC., Philadelphia.

[2] Tecate, C. and N. Modelo. 1937.  Huesos de lagarto desechados en la cuenca Laguna los Moscos. Diario de la Antigüedad Mexicana, 106: 1113-1368.