This series contains the meeting and hearing files of the Texas Antiquities Committee (TAC), dating from 1970 to 1978, 1983 to 1988, and 1990 to 1995. Materials present include minutes, agenda, materials presented to committee members for discussion or review, and materials presented as exhibits at the meetings. Types of materials present in addition to minutes and agenda include correspondence, memoranda, rules, regulations, the antiquities code and/or changes to the code, copies of contracts, budget requests, attorney general opinions, court documents, press releases, clippings, conference proceedings, reports, papers, brochures, site survey forms, maps, lists of antiquities permits to be issued, lists of sites nominated for state archeological landmark status, and attendance sheets. Correspondents include the chairman and commission members, the executive director and/or agency staff, professional staff at universities, professional archeologists, members of professional societies, officials at other state agencies, local officials, and others. Some of the earlier meeting files contain materials dated weeks or months after the meeting, presumably filed with that particular file because the document related to or resulted from an action or decision made at that meeting. Meeting files for a few of the earlier meetings are not present in this series, and minutes and/or agenda are not present in a few of the earlier files. See the series Texas Antiquities Committee minutes and exhibits for materials from the missing meeting files and for missing minutes/agenda.

At some of their meetings the commission conducted evidentiary hearings, such as to determine the status of a site nominated for or granted state archeological landmark status. For these hearings, transcripts and materials introduced as exhibits are present in addition to minutes and agenda, which can include petitions, drawings, photographs, correspondence, memoranda, and motions, requests, and other legal documents.

Topics discussed at the meetings included the status of antiquities permits, changes in or additions to antiquities laws, the Platoro litigation, field work and/or research undertaken by TAC staff, significant archeological discoveries, exhibition of artifacts, nominations for state archeological landmark status, requests to remove state archeological landmark status, budget, personnel, and other administrative issues relating to the operation of the TAC.

A related series which contains copies of minutes and materials filed as exhibits at the meetings of the Antiquities Committee is the series Texas Antiquities Committee minutes and exhibits. Most of the materials found in the minutes and exhibits series are present in this series of meeting files. However, there are several instances where reports and other exhibits presented at the meetings and hearing transcripts are not present in the original meeting and hearing files of the agency and there are a few meetings for which files are not present in the materials received from the agency. Because of this, both series of meeting files are being retained.

Materials present include copies of minutes, agenda, and materials presented as exhibits at the meetings of the Texas Antiquities Committee, such as correspondence, memoranda, rules, regulations, copies of the antiquities code and/or changes to the code, copies of contracts, attorney general opinions, court documents, press releases, clippings, reports, conference proceedings, brochures, site survey forms, maps, lists of antiquities permits to be issued, and lists of sites nominated for state archeological landmark status. Dates covered are 1969-1992. Agenda are not present for all the meetings. Minutes are missing in some early files, and not all the exhibits filed at the meetings are present in these files. Beginning in 1985 only minutes are present. For a more complete set of meeting files see the series Texas Antiquities Committee meeting and hearing files.

At some of their meetings the commission conducted evidentiary hearings, such as to determine the status of a site nominated for or granted state archeological landmark status. For these hearings, transcripts and materials introduced as exhibits are present in addition to minutes and agenda, which can include reports, petitions, drawings, correspondence, memoranda, and motions, requests, and other legal documents.

Topics discussed at the meetings included the status of antiquities permits, changes in or additions to antiquities laws, field work and/or research undertaken by TAC staff, significant archeological discoveries, exhibition of artifacts, nominations for state archeological landmark status, requests to remove state archeological landmark status, budget, personnel, and other administrative issues relating to the operation of the TAC.

The materials in this series were received from the Historical Commission (via the Legislative Reference Library) as part of a collection of minutes filed there by various agencies. The originals of most of the materials in this series and many other documents related to the TAC meetings can be found in the series of meeting files and supporting documentation received from the Historical Commission, see the series Texas Antiquities Committee meeting and hearing files. However, this series of minutes and exhibits are being retained as well because there are several instances where minutes, reports and other exhibits presented at the meetings, and hearing transcripts are not present in the files received from the agency.

This series contains files of members of the Texas Antiquities Committee, including lists of members, correspondence with the Texas State Historical Survey Committee about the formation of an antiquities board and initial appointments, correspondence with the members, letters of appointment, resumes, and clippings. Dates covered are circa 1969-1994. Correspondents include committee members, agency staff, other state agencies and officials, professional historians and archeologists, and other individuals. Topics covered include formation of the Texas Antiquities Committee, appointments, agenda items for upcoming meetings, budget concerns, archeological projects, underwater archeology, the Spanish shipwreck off Padre Island, etc.

Files do not appear to be present for all members who served during those years. The most significant files are those for Dr. Fred Wendorf and Dr. William Holden, both serving as chairmen of the committee, and Curtis Tunnell, who served on the committee for 14 years, several as vice-chairman, before leaving to become the director of the Texas Historical Commission. Some of the files, especially the files of later members, only contain letters of appointment and/or notification of upcoming meetings.

For the correspondence files of Dr. W.W. Newcomb, director of the Texas Memorial Museum and a statutory member of the Antiquities Committee, see the series Administrative correspondence files of Dr. W.W. Newcomb.

These are the correspondence files of Dr. W.W. Newcomb, the director of the Texas Memorial Museum and a statutory member of the Texas Antiquities Committee. The files date from 1969 to 1978. Types of materials present include correspondence, papers, reports, notes concerning the Platoro lawsuit, minutes, agenda, contracts, and budget data. Correspondents include commission members, agency staff, other state agencies and officials, professional historians and archeologists, and other individuals. Topics discussed include hiring of a marine archeologist, permit applications, upcoming meetings, archeological surveys, the Platoro lawsuit, treasure hunting, research, and the committee's budget. Dr. W.W. Newcomb served on the Texas Antiquities Committee from its inception in 1969 until 1978 when he resigned as director of the Texas Memorial Museum. As director of the museum, he was a statutory member of the committee.

For committee information and correspondence files of other Antiquities Committee members, see the series Texas Antiquities Committee members files. A resolution commemorating Dr. Newcomb's service on the committee can be found in his file as part of the aforementioned series.

This series contains a few press releases of the Texas Antiquities Committee (TAC) and workshop notices, dating 1972, 1974, 1983-1984. The press releases concern the appointment of the first state underwater archaeologist, surveying of Spanish shipwrecks off Padre Island, and hearings for the Shipwreck Preservation Act. The workshop notices concern rules and quality control of archeological work under TAC permits and curation of artifacts.

This series contains two sets of Texas Antiquities Committee files. The first concerns the Governor's Conference on Antiquities, held in Lubbock in October 1969. Types of records present include correspondence, mailing lists, agenda, and an edited copy of Governor Preston Smith's speech. The other set of files documents Governor Smith's tour of Indian pictographs in November 1969 and the formation of the Amistad National Recreation area, dating 1969-1970. Materials in this set of files consist of clippings, copies of legislation, and photographs. Images in the photographs include distance views of the cliffs along the reservoir, including caves; close-ups of the bridge spanning the reservoir; and Governor Smith and others on the tour. Photographs of the pictographs are not present.

The Governor's Conference on Antiquities was held on October 17 and 18, 1969, in Lubbock, Texas. The purpose of the conference was to exchange information and opinions among those concerned with the preservation and proper utilization of Texas antiquities. Sessions presented included discussions of the (then) new Texas Antiquities Code, federal antiquities laws, underwater archeology, and (then) current programs of historical and archeological preservation in Texas.

This series contains legal materials (memorandums, orders, etc.), hearing transcripts, inventories of artifacts, minutes of the inventory committee meeting, correspondence, and an initial draft of rules and regulations for the Texas Antiquities Committee. Dates of the files are 1969, 1971, 1973-1977, 1981, and 1984. Topics discussed concern the discovery of a 1554 historic ship wreck by Platoro Limited, Inc., the filing of a lawsuit by the state of Texas over ownership of the artifacts, inventorying the artifacts, transferring the artifacts to the Texas Archeological Research lab for conservation, settlement of the suit, display of artifacts from the shipwreck, and the beginnings of the Texas Antiquities Committee.

In 1967, a company called Platoro Limited, Inc., discovered an old sea wreck off the Texas coast near Padre Island. They began excavating and retrieving artifacts until 1969 when the Texas Attorney General filed a suit asserting the artifacts belonged to Texas. The company began transferring the artifacts to the General Land Office (later to the Texas Archeological Research lab) and a committee was appointed by the court to inventory the artifacts. Later, in 1969, Platoro filed a suit against Texas to reclaim title to the artifacts based on salvage law. The lawsuit went on for several years. In 1983 the U.S. District Court found for Platoro and ordered the state to turn over the artifacts. An appeals court reversed part of the decision saying the state could pay a monetary sum to the company as compensation and keep the artifacts. The state eventually paid a monetary award and kept the artifacts. The confused state of statutory law governing title to ancient sea wrecks and their artifacts prompted the enactment of the Texas Antiquities Code, effective September 1969 (Vernon's Ann. Civ. St., Article 6145-9).

The artifacts and all records pertaining to the artifacts are currently housed at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History in Corpus Christi, Texas, except for a few field maps that are housed in the Archeology Division of the Texas Historical Commission.

This series consists of legislation and subject files of the Texas Antiquities Committee concerning the Texas Antiquities Code. Materials present include correspondence, drafts and final copies of bills, a bill analysis, and a newsletter article about the proposed antiquities code. Dates covered are 1968-1970, 1978, and 1981-1986 (bulk 1969). Most of the materials concern the efforts of the Texas State Historical Survey Committee and others to pass antiquities legislation in the Texas Legislature, which was finally done in 1969, becoming the Antiquities Code of Texas, effective September 1969 (Vernon's Civ. St., Art. 6145-9). There are also some legislative materials present concerning several archeological topics, including archeological salvage in state sponsored reservoir projects, disturbing Indian burials, historic structures as state archeological landmarks, and display of Texas Antiquities Committee-managed artifacts by other agencies and institutions.

This series contains photographs, negatives, and contact sheets; newsletters; press releases and clippings; drafts of articles and printed materials commemorating the anniversary of the Texas Antiquities Committee; printed materials about current antiquities programs; and certificates presented to agencies and individuals for their efforts in the preservation of archeological resources. Materials are dated 1989. The Texas Antiquities Committee celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1989. Materials documenting the committee and its work through enforcement of the Texas Antiquities Code were printed and distributed to county offices; through the Medallion, the newsletter of the Historical Commission; to various newspapers; and through an exhibit at the Capitol. The photographs appear to be from an Antiquities Committee meeting, showing members during the meeting and the presentation of certificates to state officials and others.