Hinds Cave (Smithsonian catalog no. 41VV456) is a dry rockshelter located in the Still Canyon of southwestern Texas, about 1.3 kilometers north of its confluence with the Pecos River. The large cave (37 meters high by 24.5 meters deep, with a ceiling of 4-5 meters above the existing ground surface) was excavated in the mid-1970s by Texas A&M, led by Harry J. Shafer and Vaughn M. Bryant.
Hinds Cave has archaeological evidence of occupation from about 9280 years BP to 1820 years BP. The site includes excellent preservation of organic material, including several buried living floors and over 300 human coprolites (fossil feces).
Hinds Cave Archaeology
Two Early Archaic fire-cracked rock features within the cave dated to between 6160 and 6230 years BP appear to represent earth ovens, and contain a diverse range of seeds, fruits, pads, pods, nuts, flower stalks, leaf fragments and bulbs of over 120 taxa of plants, with a preference for lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) and sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri), which served as carbohydrate sources during frequent seasonal periods of stress.
One infant burial is known of from the site, non-professionally removed from the site in the 1950s and dated to 2135 BP.
Hinds Cave and Coprolites
Most important, for archaeologists that is, is that Hinds Cave was used as a latrine beginning about 5700 years ago. Approximately 300 human coprolites (fossil feces) have been recovered from Hinds Cave, which were deposited between 5710 and 5590 years ago. The cave continued use as a latrine throughout its occupation. The coprolites represent one of the earliest of such data sets, and information concerning diet, disease and gender use of the cave has been collected.
Most recently, researchers investigating the coprolites have identified possible hallucinogenic species including Fouquieriaceae, Rhamnaceae, and Solanaceae. This important discovery may reflect the use of the cave as a vision quest location, and certainly reveals evidence concerning the use of hallucinogens by prehistoric peoples of the American southwest.
Sources
Dean, Glenna W. 2006 The science of coprolite analysis: The view from Hinds Cave. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 237(1):67-79.
Goodfriend, Glenn A. and G. L. Ellis 2000 Stable carbon isotope record of middle to late Holocene climate changes from land snail shells at Hinds Cave, Texas Quaternary International 67(1):47-60.
Reinhard, Karl J., Sergio M. Chaves, John G. Jones, and Alena M. Iñigue in press Evaluating chloroplast DNA in prehistoric Texas coprolites: medicinal, dietary, or ambient ancient DNA. Journal of Archaeological Science in press.
Steelman, Karen L., et al. 2004 Non-Destructive Radiocarbon Dating: Naturally Mummified Infant Bundle from SW Texas. American Antiquity 69(4):741-750.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
