The Toyah Phase of Central Texas: Late Prehistoric Economic and Social Processes

3. Defining Hunter-Gatherer Sociocultural Identity and Interaction at a Regional Scale: The Toyah/Tejas Social Field

three Defining Hunter-Gatherer Sociocultural Identity and Interaction at a Regional Scale the toyah/teJaS Social Field John W. Arnn III Toyah represents one of the largest and, arguably, least understood Late Prehistoric archaeological records in North America. Centered in the extreme Southern Plains in what is today central and south Texas, Toyah material culture is distributed across approximately 25 percent of the state (174,000 km2) in a region characterized by wide seasonal fluctuations in precipitation and temperature (Ellis et al. 1995; Hall 1998; Hester 1981, 1995; Stahle and Cleveland 1995). Archaeologists have long recognized Toyah as a distinct archaeological phenomenon dating between ad 1250 and 1700 and ringed by several other distinct prehistoric material cultures as well as early historic Native American groups (fig. 3.1).1 In general,Toyah material culture is characterized by the broad distribution of open campsites containing specific lithic and ceramic assemblages in central and south Texas (Black 1986; Creel 1990; Hester 1995; Jelks 1962; Johnson 1994; Lintz et al. 1993; Quigg 1997; Quigg and Peck 1995).The lithic assemblage (fig. 3.2) consists of Perdiz arrow points, beveled knives, scrapers, and perforators based primarily on a flake/blade technology (Johnson 1994:269). The ceramic assemblage (fig. 3.3) consists of primarily undecorated bone tempered bowls, jars, and constricted neck ollas, often with buff- or red-slipped or burnished oxidized exteriors (Ricklis 1995a:196–97). In addition, some researchers (Creel 1990; Johnson 1994) include burned rock features and mussel shell features along with the lithic and ceramics assemblages as representative of the Toyah material culture. The origins of Toyah are not immediately or obviously visible in the archaeological record; theyappear to have emerged suddenlyacross the region, according to one archaeologist as if “sprung from the brow of Zeus” (Johnson 1994:277). The Late Prehistoric period in Texas is generally divided into the Austin phase, or Late Prehistoric I period (ad 700–1250), and the Toyah phase, or Late Prehis- Figure 3.1. Toyah and various material cultures and historic groups of the very late prehistoric and early historic periods (ca. ad 1250–1700). Redrawn from Aten (1983), Boyd (1997), Cordell (1980), Drass (1997), Krieger (1946), Lehmer (1948), Mallouf (1999), Perttula (1992), Ricklis (1994, 1995b), Suhm (1957), and Treece et al. (1993). Figure 3.2. Toyah lithic assemblage: A–D, Perdiz arrow points; E–I, scrapers; J–K blades; L–N, beveled knives. Redrawn from Ricklis (1994). 46 arNN toric II period (ad 1250–1650).2 The issue of Toyah antecedents is compelling in that Texas is geographically centered between the cultural traditions of Mesoamerica , the American Southwest and Southeast, and the Great Plains and shares much with these regions in terms of biology, geology, and climate. Thus, few regions in North America present a better example of both cultural diversity and a cultural crossroads, suggesting multiple possibilities for Toyah ancestors. Equally compelling is the ultimate fate of Toyah peoples. Although Toyah is Figure 3.3. Toyah ceramics. Above: various bone-tempered pottery forms from select Toyah sites in central and south Texas: A, bowl (41KM16); B, jar with vertical brushing under horizontal rows of punctuations (41HY209); C–E, ollas (d has loop handles) (41LK201, 41RF21); redrawn from Ricklis (1995a). Below: two bowls, the most common ceramic form known for the Edwards Plateau. Top bowl from 41TG346, redrawn from Quigg and Peck (1995); bottom bowl from 41KM16, redrawn from Johnson (1994). the toyah/teJaS Social Field 47 considered a “prehistoric” phenomenon by many archaeologists (Collins 1995; Johnson 1994), radiocarbon assays of Toyah sites across approximately 25 percent of Texas generally fall between approximately ad 1300 and 1700. Direct European contact with Native Americans in Texas began as early as 1528 with the shipwreck of Cabeza de Vaca and his companions on the Texas coast. Thus, more than 170 years (almost half) of theToyah interval falls within the historic period. Moreover, despite the uniformity inToyah material culture recognized byarchaeologists, historians document significant cultural diversity among Native American groups in this same region during the latter portion of the Toyah interval (referred to by some as the Protohistoric or Early Contact period). Thus, Toyah presents something of a paradox in which archaeologists have identified one archaeological or material culture in the same region where historians have documented numerous Native American groups and significant cultural diversity. This chapter addresses the dichotomy between prehistoric and historic interpretations and, on the basis of ethnographic, environmental, historical, and...