Friday, October 23rd @ 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM                                    WILSON “DUB” CROOK

 “The Late Prehistoric of the East Fork:  A Redefinition of Cultural Concepts along the East Fork of the Trinity River, North Central Texas”

Wilson W. “Dub” Crook, III and Mark D. Hughston

Over the last 42 years, the authors have studied in detail the sites and archeological remains ascribed to the Late Prehistoric period of the East Fork of the Trinity River and its tributaries. This includes 20 major sites and a larger number of smaller campsites that occur within a 75 km by 15 km north-south corridor from Collin County in the north to northwestern Kaufman County in the south. As part of this study, we have accessed and examined all known collections from previous investigations with a combined artifact assemblage of nearly 32,000 specimens. In addition, we obtained access to the unpublished field notes and maps from many previous researchers and combined them with our own field and laboratory observations. The results of this study confirm the conclusion of previous researchers that the “Wylie Focus”, as originally proposed), is an outdated concept. A new chronological sequence consisting of a Woodland period followed by two Late Prehistoric period phases is proposed. In detailing the proposed new sequences, extensive information on each major site, site features such as the distinctive rim-and-pit structures, burials, hearths and caches, and the diagnostic artifacts that characterize each cultural phase are provided. We also detail how the Late Prehistoric of the East Fork is a unique culture, similar but yet distinctly different from all its surrounding neighbors.

Wilson W. “Dub” Crook, III recently retired after a 35 year distinguished career as a Senior Executive with the Exxon Mobil Corporation. Dub has traveled extensively throughout the world, starting his archeological adventures as a child with his father, Wilson W. “Bill” Crook, Jr. who was past President and Fellow of the TAS. A native of Dallas, Dub attended Southern Methodist University where he majored in Geology (Mineralogy). He is the author of over 150 papers in such varied fields as geology, mineralogy, archeology, natural science and the Soviet manned space program. Dub is a Life Member of the Dallas Archeological Society, a Fellow of the Houston Archeological Society, a long-time member of the TAS, the Center for the Study of First Americans, a Life Member of the Gault School of Archeological Research, a Research Fellow at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory in Austin, and a Fellow of the Leakey Foundation.

Mark D. Hughston is currently a senior partner and part owner of Brazos Gas, a successful independent oil and gas exploration company in Dallas. A native of North Dallas, Mark attended Southern Methodist University where he majored in Geology and Anthropology. After turning to Petroleum geology in graduate school, Mark has continued his dream of establishing both a successful private business as well as maintaining his research interests in archeology and vertebrate paleontology. He is the author of a number of scientific papers, many with his colleague Dub Crook. Mark is a member of the Dallas, Houston, and Texas Archeological Societies.

Publisher: CreateSpace, a DBA on On-Demand Publishing, LLC (an Amazon Company), Charleston, South Carolina, May 30, 2015, 
ISBN:  978-1508686521
Purchase Book