Robert E. Forrester Jr. papers
name: label: Creator
content: Forrester, Robert E., Jr. (Robert Early), 1924-1996
topic: label: Topic
content: Archaeology -- Texas
label: Topic
content: Archeology -- New Mexico -- Mimbres Valley
label: Topic
content: Excavations (Archaeology)
label: Topic
content: Lithics -- American Indian
label: Topic
content: Mimbres culture
label: Topic
content: Archaeology
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These papers were donated with associated artifacts to NMNH's Department of Anthropology by Kelly Hallmark and Kimberly Molidor in 2009. The papers were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives in 2025.
creator: label: Creator
content: Forrester, Robert E., Jr. (Robert Early), 1924-1996
culture: label: Culture
content: Mogollon Tradition: Mimbres (archaeological culture)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Robert E. Forrester Jr. papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Robert E. Forrester Jr. (1924-1996) document his archaeological excavations in central Texas and western New Mexico. The collection contains field notes, data and analyses, manuscript drafts, correspondence, photographs, and illustrations pertaining to his excavations and artifact collection.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Robert Early Forrester, Jr. (1924-1996) was a chemist and avocational archaeologist who conducted archaeological field work in western New Mexico and central Texas. He held a wide-ranging collection of archeological specimens from across the United States. He was married to Billie Jean Reynolds and had two daughters. 

Forrester was an active member in the Texas Archaeological Society, the Dallas Archaeological Society, the Tarrant County Archaeological Society, the Southern Texas Archaeological Association, the Oklahoma Anthropological Society, the Plains Anthropological Society, and the Archaeological Society of New Mexico. In 1955, Forrester and other members of the Dallas Archaeological Society established the Tarrant County Archaeological Society. He formally published 12 articles in the societies' journals and newsletters and privately printed 18 additional reports. 

Between 1961 and 1977. Forrester excavated a series of Pueblo ruins atop the Garcia Mesa in Cibola (previously Valencia) County, New Mexico on behalf of the Kow-Ina Cultural Research Foundation. The foundation dissolved in 1977 and the land was sold to the Pueblo of Acoma in 1979. 

In 1968, Forrester joined Albert Redder and Frank Watt in excavating Horn Shelter #2 (41BQ46), an archeological site that showed evidence of occupation from paleo through the Prohibition era, located along the Brazos River in Bosque County, Texas. The site was excavated primarily by Redder, Watt, and Forrester, who found and documented lithics, bone tools, faunal remains, and several burials. The site was split along a balcony ledge that had created a natural divide in the rock shelter: the south-end was excavated by Redder and Watt while the north-end was excavated by Forrester and starting in 1974, L.T. Francis. Over the course of this excavation, Forrester and L.T. Francis became close friends, with the pair working together on future excavations. At Horn Shelter #2, Forrester documented 29 stratified layers reaching bedrock at points as deep as 22 feet. Forrester excavated the site until approximately 1988. 

From 1980 to 1991, Forrester excavated the XSX Ranch site (LA 50702), an occupation site along the East Fork of the Gila River in the Gila National Wilderness Area in Grant County, New Mexico. Forrester excavated 10 pithouses and 32 rooms, containing 91 burials. The ranch was sold in 1989, which led to the destruction of the site by new owners. The property was sold again in 1990 and Forrester was allowed to attempt further excavation but ceased excavating the site in 1991.  

Robert Early Forrester, Jr. died on January 20, 1996. 

Chronology

28 August 1924 -- Born in Corsicana, Texas, USA

1939 -- Joined the Texas Archaeological Society

1943-1946 -- Served in the Army in World War II

1949 -- Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology (TCU, Fordham University, NYU, McMurray College, UT Galveston)

1955 -- Co-founded the Tarrant County Archaeological Society

1961-1977 -- Excavated Garcia Mesa area (Los Pilares sites)

1968-1988 -- Excavated the north end of Horn Shelter #2 (41BQ46)

1980-1991 -- Excavated XSX Ranch site (LA 50702)

19 January 1982 -- Retired after 26 years as a chemist at General Dynamics

20 January 1996 -- Died at the age of 71

Sources Consulted

Forrester, Robert E. "Archaeological Excavations at Sites Near Los Pilares 2:24-D". Unpublished manuscript, 1985. 

Forrester, Robert E. "Archeological Excavations at the X-S-X Ranch, Northern Grant County, New Mexico". Unpublished manuscript, 1992. 

Forrester, Robert E. "Horn Shelter Number 2: The North End. A Preliminary Report," Central Texas Archeologist 10 (1985): 21-35.

Forrester, Robert E., Calvin B. Smith, and Albert J. Redder. "Horn Shelter Number 2, the North End: a Stratified Rock Shelter in Bosque County, Texas." Occasional Papers of the Strecker Museum Complex 3 (1996).

"Pueblo of Acoma Landholdings". Pueblo of Acoma. Accessed 23 January 2025. https://www.puebloofacoma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Acoma-Landholdings_Final.pdf.

Redder, Albert J. "Horn Shelter Number 2: The South End, A Preliminary Report." Central Texas Archeologist 10 (1985): 37-65. 

Vastine, Paula. Editor. TCAS Benchmark, 10 (1995): 2-3.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 13.72 Linear feet (25 boxes and 1 map folder)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1951-1996
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.2025-05
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged in 3 series: (1) Texas Field Research, 1951-1996; (2) New Mexico Field Research, 1961-1994; (3) Artifact Records, 1988-1994, undated.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Folders were generally organized by subject matter. Original folder titles were retained.

Processed and encoded by Sidney Ascher, February 2025.
bibliography: label: Selected Bibliography
content: 1951. "A Series of Eighteen Indian Skeletons Excavated in Shackelford County, Texas."  -- Texas Archeological and Paleontological Society Bulletin --   22: 132-143. 

1957. "Report on an Unknown Type of Implement."  -- Texas Archeological Society Bulletin --  28 (1957): 122-126. 

1959a. "A Method for Making Plastic Replicas of Flint Artifacts."  -- Tarrant County Archeological Society Newsletter --  (1959). 

1959b. "Report on Local Distribution of Hiarse Points (Satire)."  -- Tarrant County Archeological Society Miscellaneous Papers  -- 1 (1959). 

1959c. "Fish in the Diet of Prehistoric Indians; Observations from Personal Excavations in the Area of Lake Whitney, North Central Texas."  -- Tarrant County Archeological Society Miscellaneous Papers  -- 2 (1959). 

1964.  -- The Ham Creek Site, An Edwards Plateau Aspect Site in Johnson County, Texas.  --  Tarrant County Archeological Society, 1964. 

1985a. "Horn Shelter Number 2: The North End. A Preliminary Report,"  -- Central Texas Archeologist --  10 (1985): 21-35. 

1985b. "Archeological Investigations at Sites Near Los Pilares 2:24-D." Unpublished manuscript, 1985. 

1987. "The Moran Point from North-Central Texas."  -- Oklahoma Anthropological Society Bulletin --  36 (1987): 131-136. 

1988. "Analysis of Non-Perishable Remains from Two Adjacent Rock Shelters in Northern Bosque County, Texas."  -- The Record --  42, no. 3 (1988): 36-53. 

1991. "Pestles for Boat-Shaped Mortars in Texas."  -- Texas Archeological Society Bulletin --  60 (1991): 191-207. 

1992. "Archeological Excavations at the X-S-X Ranch, Northern Grant County, New Mexico." Unpublished manuscript, 1992. 

1994. "Two Henrietta Focus Sites on the Brazos River in North Central Texas."  -- Texas Archeological Society Bulletin --  62 (1994): 249-266. 

1996. With Calvin B. Smith and Albert J. Redder. "Horn Shelter Number 2, the North End: a Stratified Rock Shelter in Bosque County, Texas."  -- Occasional Papers of the Strecker Museum Complex --  3 (1996).
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Robert E. Forrester Jr. document his archaeological investigations and subsequent analyses of various sites in central Texas and western New Mexico, and his private collection of artifacts from across the United States. Notable sites include but are not limited to Horn Shelter #2 (41BQ46), Los Pilares (2:24-D), and XSX Ranch (LA 50702).  

The collection contains material relating to his excavations including field notes, photographs, illustrations, and artifact documentation. There are also site reports that Forrester sent to the Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory to register sites he surveyed and excavated. Additionally, there are research files, correspondence, and manuscript drafts associated with his publications.  

Please note that the collection contains images of human remains. 

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Artifacts and other archaeological materials from Robert E. Forrester's excavations are held in the Anthropology collection of the National Museum of Natural History in accession 2092737.

Archival material from Albert J. Redder's excavation of the south-end of Horn Shelter #2 are held in the National Anthropological Archives in accession NAA.2023-09. Artifacts and other archaeological materials from the excavation are held in Anthropology's accessions 2055811 and 2084039.