Area C

Prior to the mid-1970s, a thick fiber zone approximately a meter thick extended some 3-4 m out from the rear wall in the central area of Hinds Cave where the deposits were relatively flat. Most of this upper fiber zone had been stripped by artifact collectors before the Texas A&M investigations. The remaining lower deposits in this area appeared undisturbed and were probed by a small, 1-x-1.5 m test pit (Unit C) dug in 1975 in arbitrary levels.

In 1976 Unit C was expanded to 2 m wide and Unit CW was added to provide an east-west profile looking southward into a sizable area of intact Early Archaic deposits. To sample these deposits, a relatively large excavation area, dubbed C South, was laid out in 4 quadrants measuring 2 m on a side except were the sloping rear wall. Only two of the quadrants (Units CS1 and CS3) could be excavated before time ran out in the 1976 season, creating a checkerboard-like pattern. Finally, deep looter hole was straightened by trench (Unit ACC) measuring 2.7-x-1 m was along the west wall of CS-3 to create an north-south stratigraphic profile.

Area C documented a series of small coprolite lenses (short-term latrines) and the northeast end of buried burned rock midden deposit (AU 6), as well as ash and fiber lenses. Perishable remains were well preserved in the Area C deposits and stone artifacts were numerous.