41BX274: Data Collection of Remote Sensing Anomalies and the Jacal Structure at the Perez Ranch in Bexar County, TX

Data collection was carried out at the Perez Ranch Site (41BX274), which is located on the Medina River in the southwestern portion of Bexar County, Texas. Initially, the land was owned by the Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo. However, due to secularization of the church and ranching operations in the late 18th Century, this land was sold to Juan Ygnacio Perez. Perez was a direct descendant of Spanish settlers, and was married to the granddaughter of Andres Hernandez, the first private rancher in Texas. Perez was well known for supporting the Spanish crown and for his role in the Battle of Medina. Although the property was officially granted to Perez by Colonel Antonio Cordero in 1808, Perez had been occupying the land since 1793. Previous archaeological investigations, conducted by the Center for Archaeological Research, uncovered the stone foundation of the Perez family house, while archival records indicated that the ranch had 5 jacals and several corrals during its occupation by the Perez family. The current project was conducted from March 14th to March 22nd, 2015, and was headed by Jonathan Welch, a master’s student in the Anthropology department at Texas Tech University, and excavated by volunteering students from the Texas Tech Anthropology Department. The project will be divided into two areas in order to assess different questions about the site. Area A will be located approximately 8m east of the previously excavated stone house foundation. The purpose of Area A is to determine the cause of the anomaly that was found in both the GPR and Magnetometer Surveys conducted by the THC during the previous excavations. In order to assess this anomaly, a 2m by 2m unit will be placed where the anomaly is the most intensely observed. Area B will be located to the 25-30m southwest of the stone house and consists of one of the five jacal structures discovered by previous investigations. The purpose of the excavations in Area B will be to determine the construction methods and age of the jacal as well as determine the occupational sequence of the jacal, by placing units inside the jacal, as well as one on the eastern side of the jacal.

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