1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172
1173
1174
1175
1176
1177
1178
1179
1180
1181
1182
1183
1184
1185
1186
1187
1188
1189
1190
1191
1192
1193
1194
1195
1196
1197
1198
1199
1200
1201
1202
1203
1204
1205
1206
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224
1225
1226
1227
1228
1229
1230
1231
1232
1233
1234
1235
1236
1237
1238
1239
1240
1241
1242
1243
1244
1245
1246
1247
1248
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255
1256
1257
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264
1265
1266
1267
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272
1273
1274
1275
1276
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282
1283
1284
1285
1286
1287
1288
1289
1290
1291
1292
1293
1294
1295
1296
1297
1298
1299
1300
1301
1302
1303
1304
1305
1306
1307
1308
1309
1310
1311
1312
1313
1314
1315
1316
1317
1318
1319
1320
1321
1322
1323
1324
1325
1326
1327
1328
1329
1330
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338
1339
1340
1341
1342
1343
1344
1345
1346
1347
1348
1349
1350
1351
1352
1353
1354
1355
1356
1357
1358
1359
1360
1361
1362
1363
1364
1365
1366
1367
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372
1373
1374
1375
1376
1377
1378
1379
1380
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386
1387
1388
1389
1390
1391
1392
1393
1394
1395
1396
1397
1398
1399
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405
1406
1407
1408
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414
1415
1416
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429
1430
1431
1432
1433
1434
1435
1436
1437
1438
1439
1440
1441
1442
1443
1444
1445
1446
1447
1448
1449
1450
1451
1452
1453
1454
1455
1456
1457
1458
1459
1460
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
1473
1474
1475
1476
1477
1478
1479
1480
1481
1482
1483
1484
1485
1486
1487
1488
1489
1490
1491
1492
1493
1494
1495
1496
1497
1498
1499
1500
1501
1502
1503
1504
1505
1506
1507
1508
1509
1510
1511
1512
1513
1514
1515
1516
1517
1518
1519
1520
1521
1522
1523
1524
1525
1526
1527
1528
1529
1530
1531
1532
1533
1534
1535
1536
1537
1538
1539
1540
1541
1542
1543
1544
1545
1546
1547
1548
1549
1550
1551
1552
1553
1554
1555
1556
1557
1558
1559
1560
1561
1562
1563
1564
1565
1566
1567
1568
1569
1570
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1761
1762
1763
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
<title>The Smithport Landing Site: An Alto Focus Component in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, by Clarence H. Webb—a Project Gutenberg eBook</title>
<meta name="author" content="Clarence H. Webb" />
<meta name="pss.pubdate" content="1963" />
<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" />
<link rel="spine" href="images/spine.jpg" />
<link rel="schema.DC" href="http://dublincore.org/documents/1998/09/dces/" />
<meta name="DC.Title" content="The Smithport Landing Site: An Alto Focus Component in De Soto Parish, Louisiana" />
<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" />
<meta name="DC.Format" content="text/html" />
<meta name="DC.Created" content="1963" />
<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Clarence H. Webb" />
<style type="text/css">
/* == GLOBAL MARKUP == */
body, table.twocol tr td { margin-left:2em; margin-right:2em; } /* BODY */
.box { border-style:double; margin-bottom:2em; max-width:30em; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-top:2em; clear:both; }
.box div.box { border-style:solid; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; max-width:26em; }
.box p { margin-right:1em; margin-left:1em; }
.box dl { margin-right:1em; margin-left:1em; }
h1, h2, h5, h6, .titlepg p { text-align:center; clear:both; text-indent:0; } /* HEADINGS */
h2 { margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:1em;
font-size:120%; text-align:center; font-family:sans-serif; }
h2 .small { font-size:100%; }
h2+h2 { margin-top:3.5em; }
h1 { margin-top:3em; font-size:120%; }
h1 .likep { font-weight:normal; font-size:50%; }
div.box h1 { margin-top:1em; margin-left:.5em; margin-right:.5em; }
h3 { margin-top:2em; text-align:center; font-size: 80%; clear:both; }
h4 { font-size:80%; text-align:center; clear:right; font-variant:small-caps; }
h5 { font-size:80%; text-align:center; clear:right; font-style:italic; }
h6 { font-size:100%; }
h6.var { font-size:80%; font-style:normal; }
.titlepg { margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; border-style:double; clear:both; }
span.chaptertitle { font-style:normal; display:block; text-align:center; font-size:150%; text-indent:0; }
.tblttl { text-align:center; text-indent:0;}
.tblsttl { text-align:center; font-variant:small-caps; text-indent:0; }
pre sub.ms { width:4em; letter-spacing:1em; }
pre { margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; }
table.fmla { text-align:center; margin-top:0em; margin-bottom:0em; margin-left:0em; margin-right:0em; }
table.inline, table.symbol { display: inline-table; vertical-align: middle; }
td.cola { text-align:left; vertical-align:100%; }
td.colb { text-align:justify; }
p, blockquote, div.p, div.bq { text-align:justify; } /* PARAGRAPHS */
div.p, div.bq { margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; }
blockquote, .bq { margin-left:1em; margin-right:0em; }
.verse { font-size:100%; }
p.indent {text-indent:2em; text-align:left; }
p.tb, p.tbcenter, verse.tb, blockquote.tb { margin-top:2em; }
span.pb, div.pb, dt.pb, p.pb /* PAGE BREAKS */
{ text-align:right; float:right; margin-right:0em; clear:right; }
div.pb { display:inline; }
.pb, dt.pb, dl.toc dt.pb, dl.tocl dt.pb, dl.undent dt.pb, dl.index dt.pb { text-align:right; float:right; margin-left: 1.5em;
margin-top:.5em; margin-bottom:.5em; display:inline; text-indent:0;
font-size:80%; font-style:normal; font-weight:bold;
color:gray; border:1px solid gray;padding:1px 3px; }
div.index .pb { display:block; }
.bq div.pb, .bq span.pb { font-size:90%; margin-right:2em; }
div.img, body a img {text-align:center; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; clear:right; }
img { max-width:100%; height:auto; }
sup, a.fn { font-size:75%; vertical-align:100%; line-height:50%; font-weight:normal; }
h3 a.fn { font-size:65%; }
a.fn { font-style:normal; }
sub { font-size:75%; }
.center, .tbcenter { text-align:center; clear:both; text-indent:0; } /* TEXTUAL MARKUP */
span.center { display:block; }
table.center { clear:both; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; }
table.center tr td.l, table.center tr th.l {text-align:left; margin-left:0em; }
table.center tr td.j {text-align:justify; }
table.center tr td.ltab { text-align:left; width:1.5em; }
table.center tr td.t {text-align:left; text-indent:1em; }
table.center tr td.t2 {text-align:left; text-indent:2em; }
table.center tr td.r, table.center tr th.r {text-align:right; }
table.center tr th.rx { width:4.5em; text-align:right; }
table.center tr th {vertical-align:bottom; }
table.center tr td {vertical-align:top; }
table.inline, table.symbol { display: inline-table; vertical-align: middle; }
p { clear:left; }
.small, .lsmall { font-size:90%; }
.smaller { font-size:80%; }
.smallest { font-size:67%; }
.larger { font-size:150%; }
.large { font-size:125%; }
.xlarge { font-size:150%; }
.xxlarge { font-size:200%; }
.gs { letter-spacing:1em; }
.gs3 { letter-spacing:2em; }
.gslarge { letter-spacing:.3em; font-size:110%; }
.sc { font-variant:small-caps; font-style:normal; }
.cur { font-family:cursive; }
.unbold { font-weight:normal; }
.xo { position:relative; left:-.3em; }
.over { text-decoration: overline; display:inline; }
hr { width:20%; margin-left:40%; }
hr.dwide { margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; width:90%; margin-left:5%; clear:right; }
hr.double { margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; width:100%; margin-left:0; margin-right:0; }
hr.f { margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; width:100%; margin-left:0; }
.jl { text-align:left; }
.jr, .jri { text-align:right; min-width:2em; display:inline-block; float:right; }
.pcap .jri { font-size:80%; }
.jr1 { text-align:right; margin-right:2em; }
h1 .jr { margin-right:.5em; }
.ind1 { text-align:left; margin-left:2em; }
.u { text-decoration:underline; }
.hst { margin-left:2em; }
.hst2 { margin-left:4em; }
.rubric { color:red; }
.blue { color:blue; background-color:white; }
.purple { color:purple; background-color:white; }
.green { color:green; background-color:white; }
.yellow { color:yellow; background-color:white; }
.orange { color:#ffa500; background-color:white; }
.brown { color:brown; background-color:white; }
.white { color:white; background-color:black; margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em; max-width:28em; }
.cnwhite { color:white; background-color:black; min-width:2em; display:inline-block;
text-align:center; font-weight:bold; font-family:sans-serif; }
.cwhite { color:white; background-color:black; text-align:center; font-weight:bold;
font-family:sans-serif; }
ul li { text-align:justify; }
u.dbl { text-decoration:underline; }
.ss { font-family:sans-serif; font-weight:bold; }
.ssn { font-family:sans-serif; font-weight:normal; }
p.revint { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; }
.box p.revint { margin-left:3em; }
p.revint2 { margin-left:5em; text-indent:-3em; }
p.revint2 .cn { min-width:2.5em; text-indent:0; text-align:left; display:inline-block; margin-right:.5em; }
i .f { font-style:normal; }
.b { font-weight:bold; }
.i { font-style:italic; }
.ni { font-style:normal; }
.f { font-style:italic; font-weight:bold; }
dd.t { text-align:left; margin-left: 5.5em; }
dl.toc { clear:both; margin-top:1em; } /* CONTENTS (.TOC) */
dl.toc dt.center { text-align:center; clear:both; margin-top:3em; margin-bottom:1em; text-indent:0;}
.toc dt { text-align:right; clear:both; }
.toc dt.just { text-align:justify; margin-left:2em; margin-right:2em; }
.toc dd { text-align:right; clear:both; }
.toc dd.ddt, .toc dd.t { text-align:right; clear:both; margin-left:4em; }
.toc dd.ddt2,.toc dd.t2 { text-align:right; clear:both; margin-left:5em; }
.toc dd.ddt3 { text-align:right; clear:both; margin-left:6em; }
.toc dd.ddt4 { text-align:right; clear:both; margin-left:7em; }
.toc dd.ddt5 { text-align:right; clear:both; margin-left:8em; }
.toc dd.note { text-align:justify; clear:both; margin-left:5em; text-indent:-1em; margin-right:3em; }
.toc dt .xxxtest {width:17em; display:block; position:relative; left:4em; }
.toc dt a,
.toc dd a,
.toc dt span.left,
.toc dt span.lsmall,
.toc dd span.left { text-align:left; clear:right; float:left; }
.toc dt a span.cn { width:4em; text-align:right; margin-right:.7em; float:left; }
.toc dt.sc { text-align:right; clear:both; }
.toc dt.scl { text-align:left; clear:both; font-variant:small-caps; }
.toc dt.sct { text-align:right; clear:both; font-variant:small-caps; margin-left:1em; }
.toc dt .jl, .toc dd .jl { text-align:left; float:left; clear:both; font-variant:normal; }
.toc dt.scc { text-align:center; clear:both; font-variant:small-caps; text-indent:0; }
.toc dt span.lj, span.lj { text-align:left; display:block; float:left; }
.toc dd.center { text-align:center; text-indent:0; }
dd.tocsummary {text-align:justify; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em; }
dd.center .sc {display:block; text-align:center; text-indent:0; }
/* BOX CELL */
td.top { border-top:1px solid; width:.5em; height:.8em; }
td.bot { border-bottom:1px solid; width:.5em; height:.8em; }
td.rb { border:1px solid; border-left:none; width:.5em; height:.8em; }
td.lb { border:1px solid; border-right:none; width:.5em; height:.8em; }
td span.cellt { text-indent:1em; }
td span.cellt2 { text-indent:2em; }
td span.cellt3 { text-indent:3em; }
td span.cellt4 { text-indent:4em; }
/* INDEX (.INDEX) */
dl.index { clear:both; }
.index dt { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left; }
.index dd { margin-left:4em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left; }
.index dd.t { margin-left:6em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left; }
.index dt.center {text-align:center; text-indent:0; }
dl.indexlr { clear:both; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;
max-width:20em; text-align:right; }
dl.indexlr dt { clear:both; text-align:right; }
dl.indexlr a { clear:both; float:right; text-align:right; }
dl.indexlr dt span { text-align:left; display:block; float:left; }
dl.indexlr dt.center {text-align:center; text-indent:0; }
.ab, .ab1, .ab2 {
font-weight:bold; text-decoration:none;
border-style:solid; border-color:gray; border-width:1px;
margin-right:0px; margin-top:5px; display:inline-block; text-align:center; text-indent:0; }
.ab { width:1em; }
.ab2 { width:1.5em; }
a.gloss { background-color:#f2f2f2; border-bottom-style:dotted; text-decoration:none; border-color:#c0c0c0; color:inherit; }
/* FOOTNOTE BLOCKS */
div.notes p { margin-left:1em; text-indent:-1em; text-align:justify; }
dl.undent dd { margin-left:3em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:justify; }
dl.undent dt { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:justify; clear:both; }
dl.undent dd.t { margin-left:4em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:justify; }
dl.undent dd.t2 { margin-left:5em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:justify; }
/* POETRY LINE NUMBER */
.lnum { text-align:right; float:right; margin-left:.5em; display:inline; }
.hymn { text-align:left; } /* HYMN AND VERSE: HTML */
.verse { text-align:left; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:0em; }
.versetb { text-align:left; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:0em; }
.originc { text-align:center; text-indent:0; }
.subttl { text-align:center; font-size:80%; text-indent:0; }
.srcttl { text-align:center; font-size:80%; text-indent:0; font-weight:bold; }
p.lc { text-indent:0; text-align:center; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; }
p.t0, p.l { margin-left:4em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.lb { margin-left:4em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.tw, div.tw, .tw { margin-left:1em; text-indent:-1em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t, div.t, .t { margin-left:5em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t2, div.t2, .t2 { margin-left:6em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t3, div.t3, .t3 { margin-left:7em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t4, div.t4, .t4 { margin-left:8em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t5, div.t5, .t5 { margin-left:9em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t6, div.t6, .t6 { margin-left:10em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t7, div.t7, .t7 { margin-left:11em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t8, div.t8, .t8 { margin-left:12em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t9, div.t9, .t9 { margin-left:13em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t10, div.t10,.t10 { margin-left:14em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t11, div.t11,.t11 { margin-left:15em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t12, div.t12,.t12 { margin-left:16em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t13, div.t13,.t13 { margin-left:17em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t14, div.t14,.t14 { margin-left:18em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.t15, div.t15,.t15 { margin-left:19em; text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:left; }
p.lr, div.lr, span.lr { display:block; margin-left:0em; margin-right:1em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-align:right; }
dt.lr { width:100%; margin-left:0em; margin-right:0em; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:1em; text-align:right; }
dl dt.lr a { text-align:left; clear:left; float:left; }
.fnblock { margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; }
.fndef, p.fn { text-align:justify; margin-top:1.5em; margin-left:1.5em; text-indent:-1.5em; }
.fndef p.fncont, .fndef dl { margin-left:0em; text-indent:0em; }
.fnblock div.fncont { margin-left:1.5em; text-indent:0em; margin-top:1em; text-align:justify; }
.fnblock dl { margin-top:0; margin-left:4em; text-indent:-2em; }
.fnblock dt { text-align:justify; }
dl.catalog dd { font-style:italic; }
dl.catalog dt { margin-top:1em; }
.author { text-align:right; margin-top:0em; margin-bottom:0em; display:block; }
dl.biblio dt { margin-top:.6em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:justify; clear:both; }
dl.biblio dt div { display:block; float:left; margin-left:-6em; width:6em; clear:both; }
dl.biblio dt.center { margin-left:0em; text-align:center; text-indent:0; }
dl.biblio dd { margin-top:.3em; margin-left:3em; text-align:justify; font-size:90%; }
p.biblio { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; }
.clear { clear:both; }
p.book { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; }
p.review { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; font-size:80%; }
p.pcap { margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; text-align:justify; margin-top:0; font-size:80%;
font-family:sans-serif; font-weight:bold; }
p.pcapc { margin-left:4.7em; text-indent:0em; text-align:justify; }
span.attr { font-size:80%; font-family:sans-serif; }
span.pn { display:inline-block; width:4.7em; text-align:left; margin-left:0; text-indent:0; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65573 ***</div>
<div id="cover" class="img">
<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="The Smithport Landing Site: An Alto Focus Component in De Soto Parish, Louisiana" width="500" height="761" />
</div>
<div class="box">
<h1>The Smithport Landing Site: An Alto Focus Component in De Soto Parish, Louisiana</h1>
<p class="center"><b class="small">CLARENCE H. WEBB</b></p>
<p class="tbcenter"><i>Reprint from</i> <span class="sc">Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society</span>, Vol. 34, 1963.</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_143">143</div>
<h3 id="c1">ABSTRACT</h3>
<p>This is a belated description of the Smithport Landing Site, one of several known
Alto Focus components in northwestern Louisiana. This large village site, on the
western margin of the Red River flood plain, covers portions of several low hills
which front on a former lake.</p>
<p>Nineteen pottery vessels, all but two identifiable as Alto Focus types, were found
with fourteen burials. Included are <i>Hickory Fine Engraved</i>, <i>Davis Incised</i>, <i>Kiam
Incised</i>, <i>Wilkinson Punctated</i>, and <i>Smithport Plain</i> (virtually identical with <i>Bowles
Creek Plain</i>) types.</p>
<p>Surface materials comprise 1553 sherds, 61 dart and 55 arrow points, and a modest
number of chipped and polished stone tools or ornaments. The stone tool assemblage
seems to be basically late Archaic with the addition of small arrow points.</p>
<p>Although the sherds as well as whole vessels are predominantly derived from
Alto Focus ceramics, a small percentage of Coles Creek, a somewhat larger representation
of Bossier Focus, and a few late Caddoan pottery types are identified.
Similarities and differences between the ceramics of this site, the Davis (Alto) Site
in eastern Texas, and the central Louisiana sequence of pottery, are pointed out.
Possible relationships between Coles Creek, Alto, Bossier, and Plaquemine ceramics
are developed. It is postulated that Caddoan (Alto) and Coles Creek peoples or
influences entered northwestern Louisiana almost simultaneously, and that Bossier
Focus developed out of the amalgamation of these two previous cultures. A few
very late Caddoan sherds indicate a late occupation at Smithport Landing, possibly
during historic times.</p>
<h3 id="c2">INTRODUCTION</h3>
<p>The Smithport Landing Site was initially explored by Monroe Dodd,
Jr., and the author between 1934 and 1940.<a class="fn" id="fr_1" href="#fn_1">[1]</a> It was the first site at
which we found burials and whole pottery; it was also the first site in
Louisiana which was identified as an Alto Focus component (Webb,
1948) and was recognized as such in the Davis Site report (Newell
and Krieger, 1949: 195, 197, Fig. 62). In describing the Bossier Focus,
Smithport Landing was one of 15 sites used for comparison and discussion
of the relative incidence of Bossier Focus pottery types, and of
several pottery complexes. First suggested in my 1948 paper, and
elaborated in a more recent study (Webb, 1961) of 20 sites in northwestern
Louisiana, is the thesis that the Bossier Focus developed out
of a simultaneous spread of Alto and Coles Creek peoples or influences
across this area in post-Marksville times. Smithport Landing was one
of the key sites in this study, because of the admixture of Alto and Coles
Creek pottery types and the presence of a minor Bossier Focus manifestation.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_144">144</div>
<p>It therefore seems appropriate to publish the available information
about this site, despite the limited excavations conducted nearly 30
years ago. The criticism has been made that too many foci in the
Caddoan area have been based on excavation of a single site and that
the Alto Focus, for example, is based on the Davis Site alone. The information
presented herein concerning Smithport Landing and other
Alto Focus manifestations in Louisiana was available to, and used by,
Krieger as indicated in the Davis report. The details should have been
published for other students, however, especially since burials of the
Alto period are limited in number.</p>
<h3 id="c3">SITE ENVIRONMENT</h3>
<p>The Smithport Landing Site is in the eastern edge of De Soto Parish,
about eight miles east of Mansfield, the Parish seat (<a href="#fig1">Fig. 1</a>). It is a relatively
large village site situated on eroded and dissected hills which
project in an expanded tongue of land fronting on Old Smithport or
Clear Lake (Bayou Pierre Lake). The former lake bed is now dry in
the summer, swampy during the rainy season. Buffalo Bayou courses
through this low area to join the outflow of present Smithport Lake
about one mile northeast of the site. Further eastward this drainage
flows into Bayou Pierre which continues some 20 miles down the southwestern
margin of the Red River flood plain until it empties into this
river near Natchitoches.</p>
<p>The hills on which the site is located (<a href="#fig2">Fig. 2</a>) are 10 to 20 feet above
the lake bed; where dissected by small drainages the slope is gentle,
but in several places is abrupt. Most of the site was formerly in cultivation
and the topsoil, a grayish sand with liberal mixture of humus,
<span class="pb" id="Page_145">145</span>
is three to four feet thick and apparently fertile. The subsoil is a rather
dense, reddish or orange sandy clay. The trees around the site are oak,
persimmon, gum, and many smaller hawthorns and sassafras. The uplands
have heavy growths of pine and the lake bed has the usual cypress,
willows, and some hardwoods. The nearby lakes still have abundant
fish—bass, crappie, “bream” and other small perches, as well as
the “rough” varieties like gar, carp, catfish, shad, and “gasper-gou”—and
turtles, eels, bullfrogs, snakes, and an occasional alligator are present.
Bird species are abundant and in former years migratory waterfowl
came in tremendous numbers. Edible wild fruits and nuts in the
area are persimmons, haws, crab apples, plums, muscadines and other
wild grapes, hickory nuts, walnuts, pecans, chinquapins (dwarf chestnuts),
yoncapins (seed of <i>Nelumbo lutea</i>, a water lily), and many
others. Deer were present until the early part of the 20th century and
are now returning; squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and opossums are the
more prevalent of the edible animals. Mussels and snails are available
in moderate numbers. In aboriginal and early historic times this vicinity
afforded, undoubtedly, an abundance of natural resources, with
good soil and adequate rainfall for domestic crops.</p>
<div class="img" id="fig1">
<img src="images/p01.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="446" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 1. Map of northwestern Louisiana and adjoining portion of eastern Texas. Listed
sites have Alto Focus or related components. Note route of the early historic road, El
Camino Real, which probably followed prehistoric trails through this area.</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_146">146</div>
<h3 id="c4">HISTORICAL BACKGROUND</h3>
<p>During the 18th and 19th centuries this land was spoken of as “the
coast,” inferring a large body of water into which the tongue of land
projected. Like so many other lakes formed where streams run into
the river valley out of the hills, it is probable that old natural river
levees formed a bar or dam which produced the lake; some, however,
are of the opinion that the famous log jam in Red River was instrumental
in production of these lakes. At any rate, much of the traffic
on the river above Alexandria coursed along these lateral streams and
lakes. When we first visited this site, old residents spoke of a deep lake
with steamboat landings at the site and on present Smithport Lake.</p>
<p>The desirability of this land for habitation is attested by the several
prehistoric sites in the neighborhood, the size of the Smithport Landing
Site, and the early documents which indicate a white settlement within
a few years after establishment of Natchitoches Post. About equidistant
(25-30 miles) from Natchitoches and the Spanish counter post
at Los Adaes (<a href="#fig1">Fig. 1</a>), families and influences were derived from both
the French and Spanish. Records at Natchitoches record the birth of
Joseph Marcel Antonio De Soto, son of Manuel De Soto and Marie De
St. Denis, member of the family of Louis Juchereau De St. Denis who
founded Natchitoches, in 1758 (D’Antonio, 1961a). A later daughter
married Paul Lafitte of Bayou Pierre, as the Smithport Lake Settlement
was called.</p>
<p>The Spanish influence became stronger in the latter 1700’s, after
Louisiana was ceded to Spain. Even after the Louisiana Purchase, this
land was on the margin of the “neutral ground” and for a time was
under Spanish jurisdiction. This, as well as a comment about a Yatasi
Indian village which may be of significance to the site, is indicated by
D’Antoni’s (1961a) account of the journey in 1808 of Don Marcelo
De Soto, who had become Spanish judge of Bayou Pierre Community,
to San Antonio to petition the governor for a resident pastor. The petition
reads in part:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Don Marcelo de Soto, acting justice of Bayupier, Jurisdiction of Nacogdoches,
together with Jose Lafitte, Silvestre Poissot, Pedro Robleau and Miguel Rambin,
all of aforesaid community, who have come to this capital together, has the honor
of appealing with all respect to your lordship’s equity, conjointly with and in the
name of all the other residents of the specified Bayupier. [These] consist of thirty
Spanish families gathered together and long established in the aforesaid place, with
no large number of educated persons at their service; besides, there is next to them
the village of the Yatasi Indians. They are all in need of the church and of an
ecclesiastic to minister the Holy Sacraments....</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="pb" id="Page_147">147</div>
<p>Although a resident pastor was not sent, priests from Nacogdoches
visited the settlement for some years, then visitation was taken over
by the French priests at Natchitoches. A chapel was constructed in
1843 “in the center of De Soto Parish at Bayou Pierre.” In 1855 the
first new parish of the Natchitoches Diocese was established here and
a resident priest assigned (D’Antoni, 1961b).</p>
<p>In 1888 a Carmelite Mission was established, with a monastery and
subsequently separate schools for boys and girls (D’Antoni, 1962).
The Carmelites built a rock chapel which is now preserved as an historic
monument to their labors; the small settlement three miles east
of the site is now called Carmel.</p>
<h3 id="c5">SITE EXPLORATION AND EXCAVATION</h3>
<p>The Smithport Landing Site is located in Township 13 N, Range
12 W, sections 23 and 26, on land owned at present by Edward Lafitte
of Carmel, but at the time of our excavation by Guy Sample of
Shreveport. When first visited in 1934, much of the site was in cultivation;
now it is in pasturage or woodlands. Evidences of occupation
were found on portions of four hills, heaviest on hills 2 and 3 (<a href="#fig2">Fig. 2</a>).
Larger than most sites in this area, we estimated that a total of 40 to
50 acres was occupied. We first explored Hill 1, a low hill which
sloped gently to the bottom lands and had been in cultivation for a
long time. The topsoil was thin and sheet erosion exposed a number of
pottery sherds, projectile points, and other stone objects. It is possible
that this was a separate site, since it is set apart by a wide stream bed
from the other occupied hills, but the artifact types were not different.
The area of occupation covered about five acres.</p>
<p>Hill 2 is higher, about 20 feet above the old lake bed, and slopes
rather sharply southward to the lowlands. The top is gently rounded
and had been put into cultivation only a few years before our first visit.
The topsoil was very dark and many large pottery sherds were found;
in fact, this hill showed the heaviest occupation of the site, over an area
of 20 to 30 acres. The burials (<a href="#fig3">Fig. 3</a>) which are described later occurred
on the crest of this hill, immediately overlooking the old lake.</p>
<p>Hills 3 and 4 run north-south and slope down to a small stream
which separates them. The occupation areas, chiefly along the slopes
to the stream, are estimated at five to ten acres on each hill, although
we were uncertain about Hill 4 because it was partly wooded. There
were two tenant houses in a nearby deserted field. On the back part of
Hill 2 and east of the main tenant house, very black soil, found over
<span class="pb" id="Page_148">148</span>
a radius of 12-15 feet, contained large sherds, numerous animal bones
or bone fragments, and ashes (<a href="#fig2">Fig. 2</a>). Two test pits showed that the
black refuse soil was two to three feet in depth and ashes indicated
extensive cooking. Our notes show no evidence of a house floor or post
molds, although we did not trench the area.</p>
<div class="img" id="fig2">
<img src="images/p02.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="423" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 2. Sketch of Smithport landing Site, not to scale. Note occupational areas on four
hills, burial area and heavy midden on Hill 2.</p>
</div>
<h4>Burial Excavations</h4>
<p>In May, 1935, Monroe Dodd, Jr., found a small intact vessel (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, O)
in hog rootings on the crest of Hill 2, which had been left uncultivated
and put into pasturage that year. Excavations exposed within a
radius of two to three feet a cluster of nine pottery vessels (<a href="#fig3">Fig. 3</a>, Nos.
V-94-102), three of which were intact and four largely so. Included
are vessels shown in <a href="#fig4">Figure 4</a>, B, C, F, K, N, O, and R. Vessels which
are not illustrated are two broken bottles (probably hit by the plow),
one <i>Hickory Fine Engraved</i> and an untyped engraved ware with
interlocking spirals. All of the vessels were within two feet of the
surface, as were burials 1 and 2 (<a href="#fig3">Fig. 3</a>), male and female adults
lying fully extended and supine, with heads turned to left and right,
respectively. The pottery deposit could have related to either or both
of these. Two <i>Alba</i> points were found to the side of Burial 1.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_149">149</div>
<p>On weekend trips between May and November, 1935, with permission
of the owner, we worked out the remainder of the burials;
see <a href="#fig3">Figure 3</a>. As a result either of our inexperience or of the way
the burials had been placed, we were not sure of pit outlines and of
which skeletons were associated. All occurred at a depth of two to three
feet from the surface, although disturbed soil continued to a depth of
three to three and a half feet and in a few places to four feet. It was
my impression, as recorded in notes, that burials 1 and 2 were together
and that burials 5, 3-4, 6-8 and 11-13, and 9-10 represented interment
groups.</p>
<p>Burials 3 and 4 were side by side and undoubtedly placed together.
Both were supine and fully extended, except that the left arm of Burial
3 was abducted and flexed at right angles. Heads were directed almost
south, that of 3 with face upward; the skull of Burial 4 was turned to
the right. Both were adults, Burial 3 a female, 4 a male. A large, intact
bottle (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, A) was two feet above the heads and a small bowl (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, I)
was in fragments to the left of the skull of Burial 3.</p>
<p>Between this group and Burial 2 we found a skull and several long
bones in an irregular bundle (<a href="#fig3">Fig. 3</a>, Burial 5). There were no associated
artifacts.</p>
<div class="img" id="fig3">
<img src="images/p02a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="337" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 3. Burials on Hill 2 of Smithport Landing Site. Vessel numbers are catalog numbers.
Left arm of B-3 shown incorrectly; it should be abducted and flexed.</p>
</div>
<p>Burials 6 to 8 were about a foot apart, on the same level, and were
thought to be a single interment. Heads were directed north, all turned
towards the left side, and the bodies were supine and extended, except
that the left arm of Burial 6 was flexed, with the hand lying over a pottery
<span class="pb" id="Page_150">150</span>
vessel above the head of Burial 7 (<a href="#fig3">Fig. 3</a>). This vessel, an intact
cylindrical jar of the type <i>Kiam Incised</i> (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, D) was the only offering.
Burial 6 was that of a female, age estimated 40-50 years, rather
gracile in build. Burial 7 was a child of 13-15 years and Burial 8 was
either an adolescent or young adult female.</p>
<p>Burials 11 to 13, found on a subsequent visit, may have been a part
of the burial 6-8 interment, as they were at the same depth (three
feet), were immediately adjacent, and lay in the same orientation.
Burial 11 was a male, supine and extended, with head directed north
and turned to the left. Age was estimated at 18-20 years. Burial 12
was a female adult, also supine, fully extended and head directed
north but rotated to the right to face Burial 11. Burial 13 was a female
adult, lying across and directly on the previous two, with head directed
just north of west and face turned upward. No artifacts were
with these three.</p>
<p>Burials 9 and 10 were probably associated but separate from the
others. They were north of the previous row of burials, with head
orientation toward the north, supine, extended, and the feet just above
the skulls of burials 6 and 7. Burial 9 had the face upright, and was a
child of undetermined age. Burial 10 was of a female adult with head
turned to the left, toward 9. Above the skull of Burial 10 there were
pottery fragments which were later assembled to form vessels 130, 133,
and 134 (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, H, E, and G, respectively) and a toy bottle (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, P).
To the left of the skull of Burial 9 there were three small vessels, two
plain bowls, and a fingernail-pinched cup (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, L, M, Q).</p>
<p>In November, 1935, a final burial (not shown in <a href="#fig3">Fig. 3</a>) was found,
six feet east of burials 12 and 13. This was of a male adult, turned on
the right side with legs partially flexed and the head directed to southeast.
No artifacts were associated.</p>
<p>Measurements were made on three intact skulls. That of Burial 6,
adult female, had a circumference of 47 cm., glabella to occipital protuberance
27 cm., and zygoma to zygoma 30 cm. The skull of Burial
10, adult female, had circumference of 46.8 cm., glabella to occipital
protuberance 28.5 cm., and zygoma to zygoma 31 cm. That of Burial
14, adult male, had circumference of 49.5 cm., glabella to occipital
protuberance 29.2 cm., and zygoma to zygoma 30.5 cm.</p>
<h3 id="c6">DESCRIPTION OF ARTIFACTS</h3>
<h4>Ceramics</h4>
<p>There are available for study of pottery from this site 19 whole vessels
<span class="pb" id="Page_151">151</span>
from the burials, of which 10 are decorated and nine plain; 1533
sherds from surface collections and the several test pits, of which 875
are decorated and 658 plain. Among the sherds there is a group of 37
which have paste and decoration characteristics of late wares, historic
or protohistoric, which will be described in a separate section. Consequently
there are 19 whole vessels and 1496 sherds which relate to the
earlier occupation. Most of these are assignable to existing types which
have been described elsewhere and type descriptions will not be repeated,
although local or regional variations will be indicated. Reference
should be made to the Davis Site report (Newell and Krieger,
1949) and T. A. S. handbooks (Suhm, <i>et al.</i>, 1954; Suhm and Jelks,
1962) for descriptions of Alto types; to the Bossier Focus report (Webb,
1948) and the handbooks for the Bossier types; and to the Crooks (Ford
and Willey, 1940), Greenhouse (Ford, 1951), and Medora (Quimby,
1951) Site reports for Coles Creek and Plaquemine types. One new
type of the Alto period, <i>Carmel Engraved</i>, will be described herein.</p>
<p>Certain characteristics of paste, temper, surface and core colors, and
sherd thickness extend throughout the earlier wares from this site. The
paste is generally uniform and compact, rarely lumpy or porous. The
range of hardness is 2 to 3 (Moh’s Scale), the sherds are broken with
difficulty and seldom can be scored with a fingernail; the majority of
the sherds give a metallic ring when dropped on a hard surface (except
for the dark chocolate to black wares). Tempering is clay-grit in
most instances, sometimes with finely ground sherds, and a few with
enough grit to feel slightly sandy (none is fully sand tempered). Bone
temper occurs in 31 of the 1496 sherds (2%) and shell is totally missing.</p>
<p>Surface colors are predominantly light, showing oxidizing firing
conditions, and fire clouds are frequent (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, A-C), indicating incomplete
control of firing. The majority of sherds have light interiors
and cores, but some of the interiors are darker gray or smudged and
some of the cores are dark brown to black, even though the surfaces
are light. Surface colors are varying shades of gray, some buff or tan,
a few orange or reddish-brown; in every type there will be varying
percentages of dark brown (often chocolate or reddish-brown) to black,
although these are never as numerous as in the Alto wares of the Davis
Site, even in the engraved types. The sherds with chocolate brown to
black exteriors usually have uniform darkness through the core and on
interior surfaces; the paste is usually softer and the sherds seldom give
a metallic ring when dropped. Their surfaces tend to be smoothed but
rarely polished.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_152">152</div>
<div class="img" id="fig4">
<img src="images/p03.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="920" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 4. Pottery From Burials. A, B, <i>Smithport Plain</i> bottles, V-104, 95. C, <i>Hickory Fine
Engraved</i>, V-96. D-G, <i>Kiam Incised</i> jars, V-106, 133, 94, 134 (note plain body on D,
vertical incising on E, fingernail punctating of F, G). H, <i>Davis Incised</i>, V-130. I, Untyped,
V-105 (plain body, scalloped rim with free punctations on lower surface). J, <i>Smithport Plain</i>
bowl from Allen Site. K-N, <i>Smithport Plain</i> bowls, V-99, 667, 668, 100. O-P, <i>Smithport
Plain</i> miniatures, V-97, 152. Q, <i>Wilkinson Punctated</i> (pinched miniature), V-669. R, <i>Smithport
Plain</i> carinated bowl, V-101.</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_153">153</div>
<p>Sherd thickness varies from 4 to 10 mm., averaging 6 to 7 mm. in
most types. Variations will be noted.</p>
<p>In general, this early ware is thicker and lighter in color than the
later Caddoan wares of the Belcher and late Bossier periods. It is about
the same thickness as the Alto wares of the Davis Site and the Coles
Creek-Early Plaquemine of central Louisiana, but differs from Davis
Alto in having less of the reddish and chocolate to black polished pottery
and more buff to light gray. It shares bone tempering with Texas
(Davis) Alto. In other respects of hardness and coloration, it more
nearly approaches Coles Creek ceramics, although seldom having the
orange tints and never the greenish tints of Coles Creek. It tends to be
thicker, harder, and lighter in color than Plaquemine pottery, although
some of the shapes and designs are similar to Plaquemine types.</p>
<h5 id="c7">A. Engraved Wares</h5>
<p><i>Holly Fine Engraved</i> type is represented by 10 sherds (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>, A, B),
one from a bottle, five from shallow bowls, and four uncertain. Indicated
height of bowl rims is 2.5 to 3 cm., vertical or mildly outsloping.
Colors are tan, gray and brown, no black polished. Two of the sherds
are bone tempered. Wall thickness is 6 to 9 mm. The engraved lines
are usually diagonal on the bowls and seven have excised triangles.</p>
<p><i>Hickory Fine Engraved</i> type includes two whole vessels, both bottles,
and nine sherds from four bowls, one bottle, two small jar or cup
forms, and two of uncertain form. The first bottle (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, C) is 26 cm.
high, 14 cm. in body diameter, has an evenly tapered spout and shouldered
body. Three lightly engraved lines encircle the shoulder. The
second bottle, which also occurred with Burial 1, has the spout missing
but body intact. The body is 12.6 cm. high, 15.2 cm. in diameter, and
has eight engraved lines encircling the upper body area. Both of these
bottles are gray in color, with black fire clouds, and are clay tempered.
Eight of the sherds of this type (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>, E, G) are tan to gray with black
areas, while the ninth (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>, F) is black and polished, with cross-engraved
decoration. No other <i>Hickory</i> sherd is polished. Temper is
clay-grit or sherd, one with bone. The bowls appear to have vertical
or outsloping rims, with walls 5 to 7 mm. thick, but one sherd is from
an incurvate bowl, 4 mm. thick. Five of the sherds have horizontally
engraved lines, 4 to 9 mm. apart; three have diagonal parallel lines and
one has cross diagonals. The latter is a rim sherd and the rounded lip
has transverse notching 7-9 mm. apart (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>, F).</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_154">154</div>
<div class="img" id="fig5">
<img src="images/p04.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="880" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 5. Engraved Sherds. A, B, <i>Holly Fine Engraved</i>. C, D, <i>Holly</i> or <i>Hickory Fine Engraved</i>.
E-G, <i>Hickory Fine Engraved</i>; H, Untyped zig-zag engraved. I-P, <i>Carmel Engraved</i>. Q, Untyped
with spurred engraved lines. R, Probable <i>Maddox Engraved</i>.</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_155">155</div>
<p>Six sherds could be either <i>Holly</i> or <i>Hickory Fine Engraved</i> (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>,
C, D). One is from the top of a bottle spout, another from a bottle shoulder,
two are bowl sherds, and the other forms are doubtful. The bottle
sherds have horizontally engraved lines, the other four are diagonal.
One bowl sherd, light in surface color, is only 4 mm. thick. The surface
colors of both <i>Holly</i> and <i>Hickory Fine Engraved</i> types at this site are
more like the later (Phase 2 and 3) periods at the Davis Site; the earlier
vessels at Davis were preponderantly dark in surface color.</p>
<h5 id="c8">Carmel Engraved Type
<br /><span class="ni">(<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>, I-P)</span></h5>
<p>This is presented as a new type, as it is a major engraved type at this
site—with 17 sherds, of which 11 are rim sherds—and has been
found with Alto pottery at five other sites in northwestern Louisiana.
There were five <i>Carmel Engraved</i> sherds from the Colbert Site; four
each from Greer, Mounds Plantation, and Marston sites; and three
from Chamarre Lake Site. The description is based on the Smithport
collection.</p>
<dl class="undent"><dt>METHOD OF MANUFACTURE: Coiled.</dt>
<dt>PASTE</dt>
<dd><i>Temper</i>: Clay-grit or ground sherd; bone in 2 of 17 sherds.</dd>
<dd><i>Texture</i>: Compact, generally fine, occasionally coarse.</dd>
<dd><i>Color</i>: Shades of gray from light to almost black, often on same sherd (fire clouds); buff, tan and reddish-brown. Nearly half of the Smithport sample has reddish-brown exteriors and interiors. Cores may be same color as exterior, sometimes darker.</dd>
<dd><i>Surface Finish</i>: Smoothed exteriors and interiors, a few with fair polish, none highly polished.</dd></dl>
<dl class="undent"><dt>FORM</dt>
<dd><i>Wall Thickness</i>: 5 to 7 mm., uniform.</dd>
<dd><i>Lip</i>: Rounded, usually unmodified; occasional thinning.</dd>
<dt class="pb" id="Page_156">156</dt>
<dd><i>Base</i>: Uncertain, probably mildly convex, circular.</dd>
<dd><i>Vessel Shape and Size</i>: So far as presently known, open and carinated bowls only. Rims are 3 to 7 cm. in height, about equally divided between 3-5 and 5-7 cm. range, from an obtuse angle at the junction of base and rim. The bases appear to be shallow; the rims mildly excurvate, or direct and slanted outward. A few appear to be vertical. Curvatures suggest diameters of 20-30 cm.</dd></dl>
<dl class="undent"><dt>DECORATION</dt>
<dd><i>Treatment</i>: Engraving.</dd>
<dd><i>Designs</i>: Effected with heavy engraving on exteriors of rims only. Curving, wide bands outlined by parallel single engraved lines, with transverse, widely spaced lines producing a ladder effect. Usually two of such bands form arcs or meanders, with undecorated bands of similar width between them (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>, I-K). Occasionally one or more engraved lines flank the engraved bands or bisect the intervening plain band. Some sherds (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>, M, N, P) have straight instead of curving bands, but otherwise seem to fit into the type.</dd></dl>
<dl class="undent"><dt>CULTURAL AFFILIATIONS</dt></dl>
<blockquote>
<p>This type has occurred only in sites which have Alto Focus pottery; it has not
been found in Bossier Focus sites which lack established Alto types. In the Bossier
Focus, the related engraved type seems to be <i>Maddox Engraved</i>, which in
northwestern Louisiana has cross-hatched engraved bands, generally not curving
and most often vertical, as the major element. In central Louisiana <i>Maddox
Engraved</i> type has been extended to include curvilinear bands of cross-hatched
engraving (Suhm and Jelks, 1962: Pl. 50). The decoration on Plate 50, <i>F</i> of this
handbook is very much like <i>Carmel Engraved</i> and this vessel probably should
be included in this type instead of <i>Maddox</i>.</p>
</blockquote>
<dl class="undent"><dt>DISTRIBUTION</dt></dl>
<blockquote>
<p>In addition to the Smithport Site, <i>Carmel Engraved</i> has been found at one
mound and four village sites in northwestern Louisiana.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is one untyped engraved vessel and seven sherds. The vessel
(V-102), from Burial 1 is a bottle (with missing spout) of polished
black ware, decorated with engraved interlocking spiral design, four
times repeated. One sherd (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>, H) has a zig-zag engraved decoration
with excisions at the angles, similar to the two sherds illustrated
from the Davis Site (Newell and Krieger: 1949, Fig. 34, S, T). Three
sherds have bands with cross hatching, probably <i>Maddox Engraved</i>
motifs, but the sherds are too small to be sure about the design (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>,
R). A bottle sherd (<a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a>, Q) has diagonal spurred engraved lines. Two
bowl sherds are from polished black wares, with designs which suggest
the <i>Glassell Engraved</i> type (Webb, 1959: Fig. 118).</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_157">157</div>
<h5 id="c9">B. Incised Pottery Types</h5>
<p><i>Davis Incised</i> type is represented by one vessel (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, H) and 17
sherds. The vessel is a deep, reddish-brown bowl, which curves outward
from a slightly convex disc base, then is vertical to the rounded,
unmodified lip. It is 10 cm. in height, 15.2 cm. in greatest diameter.
There are five parallel, smoothed-over incised lines around the upper
body, placed about 1 cm. apart. They are shallow and about 2 mm. in
width. The surfaces are smoothed and questionably polished. The 17
sherds (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, A-E) include 11 rim sherds, nine of which indicate
vertical walls, two outward sloping (but no excurvate). Most of the
vessels seem to be deep bowls, but two sherds indicate shallower carinated
bowls with inward curving or sloping rims. All are clay or grit
tempered, with walls 4.5 to 8 mm. thick. Three are black, others gray,
buff, light brown or tan in surface color; surfaces are smoothed and
one of the black sherds (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, C) is polished lightly. The lips are
rounded and unmodified except that most are thinned by an extra
outward curving of the interior wall. The incised lines are smoothed
over, 5 to 13 mm. apart and are 3 to 10 in number. Half of the lines
are less than 1 mm. in width, the others are between 1 and 2 mm. wide,
generally shallow and well executed.</p>
<p>Nine sherds are classified as <i>Sanson Incised</i> (Ford and Willey, 1940)
because of the wide, shallow, smoothed incising in straight lines (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, F, G).
No rim sherds were found, hence patterning of the incising
is indefinite. Tempering is clay-grit, the surface coloring is gray to
black or dark brown, and the thickness is 5 to 8 mm. The incised lines
are 2.5 to 4.5 mm. in width and appear to have been made with tools
which had bluntly rounded or flat ends.</p>
<p>Two sherds (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, H, I) are possibly <i>Mazique Incised</i> (Ford, 1951)
but may be well executed <i>Dunkin Incised</i>. They are light gray and
tan in color, and one is a rim sherd. The decoration consists of finely
made parallel incisions, closely placed in diagonal fields or herring-bone
effect on the upper body. Vessel shape is uncertain.</p>
<p><i>Coles Creek Incised</i> type is represented by eight sherds, although it
is almost certain that some which are typed as <i>Hardy</i> or <i>Kiam Incised</i>
are in reality <i>Coles Creek</i>. In order to be certain of Coles Creek Period
wares at this site, I have included in this type only those sherds whose
paste characteristics are consistent and which have “overhanging”
parallel lines around the rim (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, J) or characteristically placed
triangular punctations below the incised lines (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, K). Surfaces are
smoothed and are buff or gray in color. The incisions are bold, horizontal,
and usually more closely spaced than in <i>Davis Incised</i>. The subjacent
triangles on four sherds are pressed into the paste more deeply
at the apex. It must be pointed out that it is not a simple task, in studying
sherds from northern Louisiana, to distinguish the four related
types which are characterized by parallel incisions around the rim—<i>Davis
Incised</i>, <i>Coles Creek Incised</i>, <i>Hardy Incised</i>, and <i>Kiam Incised</i>—unless
the technique and paste are characteristic or a large part of the
vessel available. Much overlapping occurs.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_158">158</div>
<div class="img" id="fig6">
<img src="images/p05.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="873" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 6. Incised Sherds. A-E, <i>Davis Incised</i> (A resembles high rim of jars which are frequent
in Haley pottery). F, G, <i>Sanson Incised</i>. H, I, <i>Mazique Incised</i>. J, K, <i>Coles Creek Incised</i>.
L-Q, <i>Kiam</i> or <i>Hardy Incised</i> (note outer lip notching or punctations on L-N, also suspension
hole and subjacent hemiconical punctation on O, almost certainly <i>Hardy Incised</i>).</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_159">159</div>
<p>One hundred and seventy four sherds from this site are included in
type <i>Kiam Incised</i> or <i>Hardy Incised</i> (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, L-Q). No attempt shall
be made to distinguish between these types, but the problem will be
pointed out and resolution left for future conferences. These sherds
are characterized by parallel incised lines covering the rim or upper
part of the vessel. Fortunately, there are four complete vessels from
the burials (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, D-G) which are typical <i>Kiam Incised</i> (Suhm and
Jelks, 1962: 89, Pl. 45) and established the presence of this type. Vessel
106 (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, D) is a heavy, thick-walled cylindrical jar with a
slightly recurved and rounded lip. It is 11 cm. high, 10.6 cm. in diameter,
clay tempered, and dark reddish-brown in color. Decoration consists
of numerous scratchy incisions covering the upper 3 cm.; it is
plain below this zone. Vessel 133 (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, E) is a jar with narrow excurvate
rim and semiglobular body. It is 12 cm. in height and in greatest
width, and is clay tempered, with irregular light and dark gray
surface color. The rim has three to four irregular, wavy incised lines
which are not continuous; the body is covered with vertical, firm incisions
spaced 4 to 7 mm. apart. Vessel 94 (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, F) is a firm, intact,
well made cylindrical jar, clay tempered, with dark gray-brown surface
color except for a few light fire clouds. The upper 2.5 cm. has irregular
horizontal incisions, 5 to 7 in number, and the remaining body
exterior is covered with fingernail punctations, spaced rather regularly
but not in exact rows. Vessel 134 (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, G) is a jar with semiglobular
body, narrowed toward the rim, which is vertical. The clay tempered
paste is softer than the other three vessels and is fired black over the
exterior, dark gray on the interior. It is 11 cm. high, 14 cm. wide.
Decoration consists of five firmly incised lines around the rim exterior,
spaced 3 to 5 mm. apart, and paired fingernail punctations or pinches
covering the body. These vessels demonstrate the three most frequent
body treatment techniques described for the <i>Kiam Incised</i> type.</p>
<p>The 174 sherds present more variation, and include 82 rim pieces.
Temper is clay-grit or ground sherd except for five which are bone
tempered. The surface colors cover the range of tan, buff, yellow-orange,
<span class="pb" id="Page_160">160</span>
light to dark gray, reddish-brown and black; the light colors
predominate. Interior and exterior surfaces are smoothed. Wall thickness
is 5 to 10 mm., averaging 6.5 to 7 mm. The rim sherds show that
about half have excurvate rims, ¼ to ⅕ of the vertical, and the others
slant outward. Five have a row of punctations or notches on the rim
exterior (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, L-N), and one has transverse incisions on a flat lip.
The lips are more often rounded, but about ¼ are flat; thinning may
occur but not thickening.</p>
<p>The incising varies from thin scratchy lines made with a pointed
tool, to rough and irregular (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, Q), to firm, well made and regular
(<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, L, M, P). The number of lines varies from two to 20 and the
spacing from two to 10 mm. apart, often varying on the same sherd.
Generally they are placed at 3 to 5 mm. intervals. Although most
were produced with a pointed tool, a few were made with a blunt or
square-tipped tool. Five have hemiconical or oval punctations below
the last line (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, O).</p>
<p>These characteristics as a unit do not fit either <i>Kiam</i> or <i>Hardy Incised</i>
types. The predominant shape, with everted or excurvate rim is
more like <i>Kiam</i>, as are bone tempering, and either punctated bodies
(two vessels, two sherds) or vertical incising on bodies (one vessel, two
sherds). The paste and surface coloration are more like <i>Hardy Incised</i>
(except for the five with bone temper), as are the subjacent punctations
(<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, O), occasional stabs or punctations at the ends of lines (in
central Louisiana, this occurs more often in <i>Yokena</i> and <i>French Fork
Incised</i> than in <i>Hardy</i>), plain bodies (one vessel, five sherds), cutting
away of the body wall just below the incisions (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, D), and flattened
lips. Not described for either <i>Kiam</i> or <i>Hardy</i> types are notched
or incised lips, vertical rows of plowed-up paste where the incisions
meet (<a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a>, L) or narrow undecorated gaps at this junction, which
occur on a number of the Smithport sherds. The conclusion seems
obvious that <i>Kiam Incised</i>, <i>Hardy Incised</i> and the similar wares from
this area are local or regional variations of a single widespread type.</p>
<p>The <i>Dunkin Incised</i> type presents the same problem. Although the
sherds assigned to this type have more similarities to type <i>Dunkin Incised</i>
than to any other, there are some similarities to <i>Mazique</i> and
<i>Manchac Incised</i> types of central Louisiana, and some items which
differ from all of these types. Again, regional or temporal variations of
a single type are indicated and should be subjected to study.</p>
<p>There are 117 sherds of <i>Dunkin Incised</i> which show incising in
varying directions (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, A-L), usually including diagonal lines, and
65 sherds (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, O-R) which show only diagonal lines but are also
<span class="pb" id="Page_161">161</span>
assigned to <i>Dunkin</i>. Thirty of the former group and 25 of the latter are
rim sherds. Paste characteristics, color, and wall thickness are the same
as those described for <i>Kiam Incised</i>. The majority of the rim sherds
indicate everted or excurvate shapes, possibly a fourth are direct and
vertical, none incurvate. Indicated vessel shapes are semiglobular jars
with flaring rims, similar jars with narrowing at the neck and vertical
or slightly everted rims, cylindrical vessels, and simple deep bowls.
Lips are usually narrowed by outward curving of the interior wall, but
may be rounded or occasionally flattened. There are no nodes or handles,
and only one rim shows notching.</p>
<p>Incisions are generally bolder than in the <i>Kiam Incised</i> type, spaced
3 to 8 mm. apart, and seldom smoothed over. On the 117 sherds with
lines in varying directions, 52 were made with a round-tipped tool, 47
with a pointed tool, 16 with square-tipped, and two with forked tool
(<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, D). In the instance of the rim sherds with diagonal incising, 17
of the 25 slant downward from right to left (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, P-R), eight from
left to right (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, O). The lines may produce diamonds (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, C),
triangles (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, A, D, J), chevrons (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, B) or, rarely, squares
(<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, I). Hemiconical or oval punctations are placed in a single row below
the incising in two instances (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, L), above in one (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, E).
The trait of making firm punctations at the ends of the lines (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>,
F, H-J) is more frequent than in type <i>Kiam Incised</i>, and gaps are left at
times (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, F). One sherd (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, P) has a wide, smoothed band
interrupting the previously placed incisions below the lip. The numerous
body or rim-body sherds which show fields of varying incising
more nearly resemble <i>Dunkin Incised</i> from the Davis Site in having
full body decoration than the central Louisiana <i>Manchac</i> and <i>Mazique</i>
types, where the decoration is usually confined to a narrow rim band.</p>
<p>Cross incising (<a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, M, N), which is called <i>Harrison Bayou Incised</i>
(from the Harrison Bayou Site on Caddo Lake) in central Louisiana,
but is included in <i>Dunkin Incised</i> in eastern Texas (Suhm and
Jelks, 1962: Pl. 19), is present on nine sherds from Smithport. They
are clay tempered, light to dark gray in color, with smoothed surfaces.
The incisions vary from narrow and closely placed to firm, wide lines.</p>
<p>Curvilinear incising is present on two sherds. These resemble curvilinear
incising from the Sanson Site in central Louisiana which has
been tentatively termed <i>Neild Incised</i>.</p>
<h5 id="c10">C. Punctated and Punctated-Incised Types</h5>
<div class="pb" id="Page_162">162</div>
<div class="img" id="fig7">
<img src="images/p06.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="902" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 7. Incised Sherds. A-L, <i>Dunkin Incised</i> (note C, a large sherd with typical design;
punctations with lines on E, F, L: rectangular design on I). M, N, <i>Harrison Bayou Incised</i>.
O-R, Diagonally incised rim sherds, probably <i>Dunkin Incised</i>.</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_163">163</div>
<p><i>Pennington Punctated-Incised</i> type is represented by 36 sherds
(<a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, A-F). Most of these derive from open carinated bowls with excurvate
rims which are 4 to 7 cm. in height, but a few seem to be rims of recurved
jars. Eight are chocolate brown in color, others tan, gray and
brown-black. The paste is firm, hard in all but two sherds, with
smoothed but not polished surfaces. Two sherds are tempered with
bone, the others with clay-grit or sherd. Wall thickness is in the range
of 5 to 9 mm., most specimens being 6 to 7 mm. The punctations are
consistently placed in fields which are outlined by single deeply incised
lines; the fields are in diagonal bands, diamonds or triangles. The
punctations and incised lines are bold and the 36 sherds include punctations
made with a pointed or round-tipped tool in 23 instances,
comma-shaped in four, square (<a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, E) in five, and triangular in
four.</p>
<p>Eleven sherds show the hybrid <i>Pennington-Crockett</i> design described
in the Davis report (Newell and Krieger, 1949: 101). Shapes
and paste characteristics are described above; two sherds are soft,
chocolate brown in color. One has an incurving rim and a suspension
hole (<a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, I). The bordering incised line is curved (<a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, G-I);
otherwise these sherds do not differ from the <i>Pennington</i> type. Seven
have rounded punctations, two are comma-shaped, one rectangular,
and one square.</p>
<p>Another group of 19 sherds shows <i>zone punctations</i> which differ in
certain respects from the typical <i>Pennington</i> described above and possibly
are nearer to <i>Rhinehart Punctated</i> (Ford, 1951: 83-85). These
19 sherds (<a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, J-O) have the same range of paste and coloration;
five are of the softer chocolate brown ware. Rim and body sherds are
represented and in only one instance (<a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, O) is it certain that the
rim is from an open carinated bowl as are the <i>Pennington</i> sherds. One
heavy sherd (<a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, J) which is 12 mm. thick, suggests a globular vessel
which narrows at the neck and recurves to upright at the rim. Another
sherd includes the lower rim area which is decorated with zoned
punctations and incisions, and the adjoining upper body which is plain.
Characteristic of this group is the alternation of punctated and incised
fields, or the outlining of punctated zones by multiple incised lines.
The punctations are triangular in three instances, square in one,
comma-shaped in six, round or oval in five, small pits in three, and
crescentic in one.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_164">164</div>
<div class="img" id="fig8">
<img src="images/p07.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="925" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 8. Punctated Sherds. A-F, <i>Pennington Punctated-Incised</i>. G-I, <i>Pennington-Crockett</i>
hybrid (I has incurving rim, hole for suspension). J-O, <i>Pennington</i> or <i>Rhinehart Punctated</i> (N
has triangular punctations between horizontal lines in Coles Creek tradition). P, Similar to
<i>Dupree Incised</i> but shape suggests <i>Bossier</i> sherd. Q, R, Random punctations.</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_165">165</div>
<p><i>Free punctations</i> made with tools, without zoning or incising, are
present on one vessel (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, I) and 19 sherds (<a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, Q, R). Paste and
color are as described above; one is bone tempered, six are soft, chocolate
brown in color. Rim and body sherds are represented but shapes of
vessels are uncertain. The punctations are triangular in seven instances,
comma-shaped in three, square in five, round in three, and
crescentic in two. The vessel (V-105) is a semiglobular bowl with
plain body and scalloped, everted rim. The lower surface of the rim is
covered with free punctations. The relative increase in frequency of
triangular punctations in this group is significant, in view of the fact
that the <i>Rhinehart Punctated</i> type in central Louisiana features triangular
punctations (Ford, 1951: 83), whereas they are infrequent in
<i>Pennington Punctated-Incised</i> at the Davis Site (Newell and Krieger,
1949: 106-8). The absence of ring punctations at Smithport is remarkable,
in view of their frequency at both the Davis Site and in
central Louisiana.</p>
<p>A group of six sherds has minute <i>free</i> or <i>zoned punctations</i>. The
sherds are thinner walled than average, 4 to 6 mm., and five of the six
have black surfaces and soft pastes. The sixth is buff colored, thin and
has a strongly excurvate, narrow rim. Another (<a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, P) is from an
open carinated bowl and has notches along the carina. All of this group
may relate to the Bossier ceramics at this site, instead of Alto. They
bear some similarity to <i>Dupree Incised</i> of Plaquemine ceramics in
central Louisiana (Quimby, 1951: 122-3).</p>
<p><i>Weches Fingernail Impressed</i> (Suhm and Jelks, 1962: 153, Pl. 77;
Newell and Krieger, 1949: 118-20, Fig. 46) is represented by 19 sherds
of characteristic design (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, A-E). Nine of these include the lip
area, but all appear to be rim sherds. In three instances some of the
subjacent body wall is attached; on two of these the body is plain, on
the third (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, E) the body has diagonal incised lines suggesting
<i>Dunkin</i>-like decoration. These three have globular bodies and outward
curving or slanting rims, 4 to 4.5 cm. high. Other vessels seem to be
cylindrical with vertical rims, and open carinated bowls are possible.
Five of the 19 sherds are chocolate brown in color with clay tempered
paste; the others range from tan and buff to dark gray and
reddish-brown. Wall thickness is in the range of 4 to 9 mm., the
majority 5-7 mm. Typically, the decoration (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, A, B, D, E) is with
widely spaced horizontal incised lines with arcs or quarter circles between;
the arcs could have been cut with the fingernail and occasionally
are fingernail impressed, but in most the arc is too large, 1.8
to 4 cm. (my thumbnail is 1.6 cm. wide). Four of the sherds have the
arcs without intervening lines (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, C).</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_166">166</div>
<div class="img" id="fig9">
<img src="images/p08.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="905" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 9. Nail Impressed and Punctated Sherds. A-E, <i>Weches Fingernail Impressed</i>. F,
<i>Weches</i> Variant with tool punctations. G, H, <i>Sinner Linear Punctated</i>. I-K, M-P, <i>Wilkinson
Punctated</i>. L, Ridge pinched, similar to <i>Killough Pinched</i>. Q, <i>Wilkinson Punctated</i> body,
<i>Kiam Incised</i> rim. R, S, U, Narrow bands with round or oval punctations. T, Single row of
semilunar punctations.</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_167">167</div>
<p>Four sherds are identical with this group except that the spaces between
the horizontal lines have triangular instead of semilunar punctations
(<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, F). Seven other sherds have round or oval punctations
in single rows between incised lines (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, R, S, U). I have not included
these with type <i>Pennington Punctated-Incised</i>, as Krieger did
with some reservation (Newell and Krieger, 1949: 106). Neither have
I assigned them to <i>Coles Creek Incised</i>, <i>Hardy Incised</i> or <i>Rhinehart
Punctated</i>, as Ford did, also probably with some reservation (Ford,
1951: Pls. 16, L; 17, 20, H), but have preferred to describe them separately
as interesting examples of regional variations and typing difficulties
in eastern Texas, and northern and central Louisiana.</p>
<p>One sherd (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, T) has a single row of semilunar punctations and
otherwise plain surface. It is thick, clay-grit tempered, and buff colored.</p>
<p><i>Wilkinson Fingernail Punctated</i> type is represented by one vessel
and 153 sherds. This was described as a minor type in central Louisiana
(Ford and Willey, 1940: 50; Ford, 1951: 88-89) to include clay
tempered vessels with fingernail punctations scattered over the vessel
surface, arranged in irregular rows, or pinched in vertical rows. In that
area it is rarely combined with incising and usually covers the entire
vessel. Ford (1951: 88) thought it occurred at the latter part of the
Coles Creek period and reached maximum popularity in the succeeding
Plaquemine Period or later, but it was missing in Plaquemine context
at Bayou Goula (Quimby, 1957) and Medora (Quimby, 1951) sites.
In the Davis Site report (Newell and Krieger, 1949) it was not established
as a type, as Krieger considered fingernail punctations to be a
body treatment present in several types (<i>Kiam</i>, <i>Weches</i>, <i>Dunkin</i>, and
<i>Duren Neck Banded</i>); he reported 20,000 body sherds with fingernail
roughening from a total of 96,000 sherds. The difference in attitude
<span class="pb" id="Page_168">168</span>
toward this type on the part of these investigators is understandable
when we consider the differences in frequency and use of the decoration
method in the two areas, also that Ford and his co-workers used all
sherds in typing, whereas Krieger translated sherds to vessels and used
rim decoration as the determinant.</p>
<p>In northwestern Louisiana I have found <i>Wilkinson Punctated</i> a
useful type in <i>sherd collection</i> studies because of its great frequency in
Alto wares, its rarity in Coles Creek, and the rapid shift from nail
roughening to ridging and brushing as body treatments concurrent
with the development of Bossier, Belcher, and other later Caddoan
ceramics. <i>Wilkinson Punctated</i> is therefore a good indicator of early
(Alto) Caddoan occupation at a given site. At Smithport Landing there
were 153 sherds (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, I-K, M-P) and one burial vessel, a pinched
toy jar (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, Q), of this type. The vessel is 6 cm. high, 5 cm. wide,
made of thick clay-tempered paste, roughly finished and decorated
with three horizontal rows of nail pinching. The sherds include only
four rims (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, I, O, P), showing how rarely this decoration, in
northern Louisiana, covers the vessel. Most of the other sherds are
recognizably body sherds, and in eight instances (as in <a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, Q) the
body-rim juncture is present. The latter sherds have <i>Kiam Incised</i>
decoration on the rim and appear to have come from a modified globular
body shape with directly or mildly everted rim. Nine of the 153
sherds are bone tempered, the remainder are clay-grit or ground sherd,
rather granular and coarse. The walls are thick in many instances, the
range 4 to 10 mm. with the majority 7 to 8 mm. Many of the sherds are
large (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, I, J) indicating large, heavy jar forms. Surface colors
range from tan and buff to dark grays and a few reddish-browns, with
more tendency to darker colors than in other types. The majority have
irregular fingernail gouges (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, I, J), but some are pinched (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>,
K, M, N) and others impressed more delicately and regularly (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>,
O-Q).</p>
<p>Eight sherds have distinctly pinched-up ridges (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, L) which
are circular or curvilinear in six instances, vertical in two. The burial
vessel (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, Q) may belong with this group, although it has been
tentatively classed as <i>Wilkinson Punctated</i>. The group with pinched
ridges bears considerable resemblance to the type <i>Killough Pinched</i>
(Suhm and Jelks, 1962: 91, Pl. 46) of Frankston and Titus foci, but,
in the absence of other types characteristic of these assemblages, will
not be so assigned.</p>
<p><i>Sinner Linear Punctated</i> is a type which so far has been confined to
Bossier and Haley foci (Suhm and Jelks, 1962: 143; Webb, 1948: 114)
<span class="pb" id="Page_169">169</span>
and the four sherds of this type from the Smithport Landing, although
similar in paste, thickness and color to the Alto sherds, are probably
referable to the subsequent (presumably) Bossier period at this site.
Two are rim sherds; one of these (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, G) has parallel, vertical
linear punctating; another (<a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>, H) and a body sherd have horizontal
lines; the fourth is uncertain. All have linear nail punctating
and the more typical linear tool punctating is absent.</p>
<h5 id="c11">D. Stamped Types</h5>
<p>One sherd of <i>Chevalier Stamped</i> is small (3 × 2 cm.) but has definite
rocker stamping. It is of firm paste, tan exterior surface color with
a black fire cloud at one edge, and black interior. Paste is homogeneous
clay-grit with several bone fragments (accidental?); both surfaces are
smoothed but not polished. In general appearance it resembles many
of the Alto sherds from this site.</p>
<h5 id="c12">E. Ridged Types</h5>
<p>The eleven sherds of <i>Belcher Ridged</i> type (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, G, H) are generally
thinner and darker than the Alto wares. Six are dark chocolate
to black on both surfaces and through the cores; the other five have
light buff to dark gray surfaces, four of these with black cores. One is
bone tempered, all others clay-grit. No rims are represented and the
body sherds are 3 to 5 mm. in wall thickness. Typically, the elevated
ridges are vertical.</p>
<h5 id="c13">F. Brushed and Brushed-Incised types</h5>
<p>There are 38 sherds of the <i>Pease Brushed-Incised</i> type (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>,
A-F). The paste is smooth, clay-grit tempered except for one bone
tempered; interiors are smoothed, exteriors roughened all over with the
decoration. The color range is about as for other types; eight sherds
are chocolate brown to black and slightly soft. Thickness is 4-5 mm. in
13 of the 38 sherds, 5 to 9 mm. in the remainder. The vertical panels
characteristic of this type are separated by notched applique ridges in
28 (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, B, D-F), by rows of tool or nail punctations in seven (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, A),
and by applique nodes in three (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, C). The panels are
roughened by diagonal incisions in 24 instances (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, A, C), by
vertical incising in 10 (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, E, F), by horizontal incising in one, and
by brushing in three (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, B, D).</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_170">170</div>
<div class="img" id="fig10">
<img src="images/p09.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="922" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 10. Brushed, Ridged, and Late Wares. A-F, <i>Pease Brushed-Incised</i> (note panel separation
by punctations on <i>A</i>, applique notched ridges on <i>B</i>, <i>D-F</i>, and applique nodes on <i>C</i>).
G, H, <i>Belcher Ridged</i>. I-K, M <i>Bossier</i> or <i>Plaquemine Brushed</i>. L, <i>Karnack Brushed-Incised</i>
(note rolled rim, rare). N-S, Late Glendora Focus sherds (<i>N</i>, <i>S</i>, shell tempered, incised; <i>O</i>, <i>P</i>,
engraved, untyped; <i>Q</i>, linear punctated, untyped; <i>R</i>, <i>Hodges Engraved</i>).</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_171">171</div>
<p><i>Karnack Brushed-Incised</i> type (Suhm and Jelks, 1962: 85) is applied
to barrel-shaped vessels with everted rims, decorated with vertical
incising or brushing. Thirty-four sherds from Smithport fit this
category, although it is possible that some of the vertically incised body
sherds derive from <i>Kiam Incised</i> or <i>Weches Fingernail Impressed</i> vessels.
There are only three rim sherds, one rolled (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, L), the other
two everted. The paste, temper, color range, and wall thickness are no
different from other types; seven of the sherds are dark chocolate
brown in color. Only six sherds are less than 5 mm. in thickness and
the average is 6.5 mm.; brushing is used on six of the sherds, vertical
incising on the others, varying from firm to sloppy and scratchy.</p>
<p>The other brushed sherds from this site fall into the type which we
now call <i>Bossier Brushed</i> (formerly <i>Maddox Brushed</i> included these
and the vertically brushed included now in <i>Karnack Brushed-Incised</i>).
It is very similar to or identical with <i>Plaquemine Brushed</i> type of the
Plaquemine and late Coles Creek periods in central Louisiana. Chief
indicated differences are rolled or narrow everted rims in some of the
<i>Bossier</i> type, whereas they are direct or slightly everted in <i>Plaquemine</i>;
more frequent cross brushing in <i>Plaquemine</i> than in <i>Bossier</i>; bone
temper in a few of the <i>Bossier</i>, absent in <i>Plaquemine</i>; and an occasional
row of punctations below the brushed zone in <i>Plaquemine</i>, not
found in <i>Bossier</i>. These are minor differences, easily attributable to
regional variations, and it would probably be desirable to define a single
type, with recognition of minor local variations.</p>
<p>There are 31 <i>Bossier Brushed</i> sherds (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, I-K, M), of which
seven are from rims. Temper is clay-grit or ground sherd; one is bone
tempered. Surface colors include two black, four chocolate brown, the
others lighter shades of tan, buff, and gray. Only five sherds are 5 mm.
or less in thickness; others are 5.5-11 mm., averaging 7.3 mm. (It is
thicker than most types.) The seven rim sherds have horizontal brushing
on two, diagonal on four, both on one. The body sherds show a
similar distribution, with diagonal brushing predominating. Cross
brushing or incising is present on seven (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, M).</p>
<h5 id="c14">G. Smithport Plain Type and Other Plain Sherds</h5>
<p>There are nine plain vessels (<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, A, B, K-P, R) from the burials
<span class="pb" id="Page_172">172</span>
and 644 plain sherds from this site which apparently relate to the
earlier ceramics. The vessels, all identified as <i>Smithport Plain</i>, include
three bottles, four simple bowls, one carinated bowl, and one recurved
jar. <i>Smithport Plain</i> therefore runs the gamut of vessel forms common
to decorated types; cylindrical jar forms are included in the sherds.
The 644 plain sherds include 65 rim sherds (the only definite <i>Smithport</i>
sherds), one-fourth as many as the total rim sherds in the decorated
types and exceeded only by <i>Kiam Incised</i> with 82 rim sherds. The
total number of plain sherds in our collection is altered by the element
of selectivity in surface collecting; we were less likely to save plain
sherds unless they were large or were rim sherds. The frequency of
plain wares at this period contrasts with the situation in the later Bossier
and Belcher ceramics, where undecorated vessels are infrequent.
For example, at the Belcher Site (Webb, 1959) there were only nine
plain vessels among the total of 195, and plain sherds constituted only
44 per cent of total sherds (most of these were from undecorated portions
of decorated vessels).</p>
<p>The 65 <i>Smithport Plain</i> rims include 15 which are everted, 26 vertical,
and 18 incurvate; additionally there are rims from two simple,
shallow bowls, one rim with an exterior roll, one everted rim with interior
bevel and exterior strap thickening, one bottle spout, and one
shallow toy dish. The everted rims are unmodified in seven instances,
and thinned in eight with rounded lips. Lip thinning of everted rims
was effected by exaggerating the outward curve of the rim interior;
that of incurvate bowls by exaggerating the exterior curve. The vertical
rims are unmodified with rounded lips in 12 instances, thinned and
rounded in eight, flat in four, and have beveled exteriors in two. The
incurvate rims are thinned with rounded lips in nine, unmodified with
rounded lips in five, flattened lips in two, externally beveled in one, and
thickened with rounding in one.</p>
<p>The plain sherds include 20 recognizable as bases, nine of which are
complete flat discs. These range from 6 to 13 cm. in diameter and are
6 to 12 mm. thick. One large basal sherd has a smooth central perforation,
13 mm. in diameter, and rounded edges. It possibly was used as a
spindle whorl. These are frequently found at Bossier and Belcher sites,
but usually are smaller and lighter.</p>
<p>An additional 46 plain sherds show the wall-base junction. Eight of
these are from open flat bowls, one from a deeper bowl, one from a
bottle, four from miniature vessels and 32 from jar, deep bowl or cylindrical
vessel forms.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_173">173</div>
<p>The plain sherds have paste characteristics similar to the decorated
types already described. Nine of the 644 sherds are bone tempered.</p>
<h5 id="c15">Glendora Focus and Other Late Ceramics</h5>
<p>A group of 37 sherds have characteristics completely alien to the
ceramics described above. They are lighter feeling, often with porous
surfaces or with obvious shell tempering, confirmed by tests. Eight are
engraved; a shell tempered sherd, reddish in color (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, P), with
horizontal engraved lines from which triangular spurs project; four
other shell tempered with red or orange color and engraved lines, untyped;
two black shell tempered with indeterminate engraving, and
one black polished clay tempered sherd of type <i>Hodges Engraved</i>
(<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, R).</p>
<p>There are 11 sherds, shell tempered and orange to gray in color,
with curvilinear incising (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, N, S). This ware was once termed
<i>Wilkinson Negative Meander</i> but was never formally described. Another
name should be chosen, because the Wilkinson Site, like Smithport,
is primarily Alto with transition to Bossier, and has a minimal
late (Natchitoches) occupation.</p>
<p>Two sherds have linear punctations on shell tempered ware (<a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>, Q)
and two others, untyped, have horizontal incising. There are
14 plain, 4-6 mm. thick, of which nine are shell tempered, two bone,
three clay.</p>
<h5 id="c16">Other Pottery Artifacts and Negative Ceramic Traits</h5>
<p>A fragment of perforated pottery base, presumably a spindle whorl
fragment, was mentioned in the discussion of plain pottery. There
were also three fragments of fired daub with grass impressions and
one flattened surface. One tiny cone-shaped pottery fragment suggested
a figurine or doll leg. No other clay or ceramic artifacts were
found. Noticeable by their absence are pipes or pipe stem fragments,
animal figurines or heads, clay labrets and ear ornaments, all of which
are not unusual in this area.</p>
<p>Other negative ceramic traits are the absence of shell temper, except
in the small group of obviously late wares; red filming; pigment
impression into the lines of decoration; handles or other vessel appendages;
squared bases (not unusual elsewhere in Coles Creek and
Alto ceramics); squared or castellated rims (Vessel 105, <a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a>, I is
the only instance of scalloped rim); vessel effigies, either whole vessel
or rim attachments; stamping (one foreign sherd), and cord marking.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_174">174</div>
<h4>Pottery Alignments and Sequences</h4>
<p><a href="#t1">Table 1</a> shows the assignment of burial vessel and sherd types to
various ceramic complexes, based on the descriptions of Ford (1951),
Ford and Willey (1940), and Quimby (1951) for central Louisiana;
Newell and Krieger (1949), and Suhm, Krieger, and Jelks (1954) for
east Texas Alto; and the author’s publications (1948; 1959) and collections
from northern and central Louisiana. It becomes apparent that
neat typing and alignment of sherd collections from this site, true of
many other sites in northwestern Louisiana, is a phantasy. This site
lies within a broad contact zone, extending into southwestern Arkansas
and eastern Texas, between the expanding populations and flowering
cultures of the lower Mississippi-Red River confluence in central
Louisiana and Mississippi on one side and the four-state Caddoan area
on the other, in post-Hopewell-Marksville times.</p>
<table class="center">
<tr class="th"><th id="t1" colspan="4">TABLE 1</th></tr>
<tr class="th"><th colspan="4">Pottery Type or Group</th></tr>
<tr class="th"><th> </th><th><i>Whole Vessels</i> </th><th><i>No. of Sherds</i> </th><th>%</th></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4" class="l">Distinctive Alto Types</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Holly Fine Engraved</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">10 </td><td class="r">0.66</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Hickory Fine Engraved</i> </td><td class="r">2 </td><td class="r">9 </td><td class="r">0.60</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Holly or Hickory Engraved</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">6 </td><td class="r">0.40</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Carmel Engraved</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">17 </td><td class="r">1.13</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Davis Incised</i> </td><td class="r">1 </td><td class="r">17 </td><td class="r">1.13</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Kiam Incised</i> vessels </td><td class="r">4 </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Pennington Punctated-Incised</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">36 </td><td class="r">2.40</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Pennington-Crockett</i> Hybrid </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">11 </td><td class="r">0.73</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Weches Fingernail Impressed</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">19 </td><td class="r">1.26</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Smithport Plain</i> </td><td class="r">9 </td><td class="r">65 </td><td class="r">4.36</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Subtotal </td><td class="r">16 </td><td class="r">190 </td><td class="r">12.67</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4" class="l">Distinctive Coles Creek or Troyville Types</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Coles Creek Incised</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">8 </td><td class="r">0.53</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Chevalier Stamped</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">1 </td><td class="r">0.06</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Mazique Incised</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">2 </td><td class="r">0.13</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Subtotal </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">11 </td><td class="r">0.72</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4" class="l">Types shared by Alto and Coles Creek</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Wilkinson Punctated</i> </td><td class="r">1 </td><td class="r">153 </td><td class="r">10.20</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Triangular punctations between parallel lines </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">4 </td><td class="r">0.26</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Subtotal </td><td class="r">1 </td><td class="r">157 </td><td class="r">10.46</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4" class="l">Types shared by Alto, Coles Creek, Bossier and Plaquemine</td></tr>
<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="4">
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Kiam-Hardy Incised</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">174 </td><td class="r">11.60</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Dunkin-Manchac Incised</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">182 </td><td class="r">12.13</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Harrison Bayou Incised</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">9 </td><td class="r">0.60</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Sanson Incised</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">9 </td><td class="r">0.60</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Free and atypical zoned punctations (<i>Pennington-Rhinehart</i>) </td><td class="r">1 </td><td class="r">38 </td><td class="r">2.53</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Small, zoned punctations (<i>Dupree</i>-like) </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">6 </td><td class="r">0.40</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Round punctations between lines </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">7 </td><td class="r">0.46</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Isolated, semilunar punctations </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">1 </td><td class="r">0.06</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Subtotal </td><td class="r">1 </td><td class="r">426 </td><td class="r">28.40</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4" class="l">Distinctive Bossier Types</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Pease Brushed-Incised</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">38 </td><td class="r">2.53</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Belcher Ridged</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">11 </td><td class="r">0.73</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Sinner Linear Punctated</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">4 </td><td class="r">0.26</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Maddox Engraved</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">3 </td><td class="r">0.20</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Glassell Engraved</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">2 </td><td class="r">0.13</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Subtotal </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">58 </td><td class="r">3.86</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4" class="l">Types Shared by Bossier and Plaquemine</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Bossier-Plaquemine Brushed</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">31 </td><td class="r">2.06</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Karnack Brushed-Incised</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">34 </td><td class="r">2.26</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Subtotal </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">65 </td><td class="r">4.33</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4" class="l">Uncertain Affiliation or Untyped</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Curvilinear Incised </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">2 </td><td class="r">0.13</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Untyped engraved </td><td class="r">1 </td><td class="r">2 </td><td class="r">0.20</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Plain body sherds </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">579 </td><td class="r">38.60</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Fingernail pinched </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">8 </td><td class="r">0.53</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Subtotal </td><td class="r">1 </td><td class="r">591 </td><td class="r">39.46</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Subtotal, Early Occupation </td><td class="r">19 </td><td class="r">1498 </td><td class="r">100.00</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4" class="l">Late Occupation, Possibly Historic</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Shell tempered curvilinear incised </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">11</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Shell tempered engraved </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">7</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l"><i>Hodges Engraved</i> </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">1</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Other untyped decorated </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">4</td></tr>
<tr><td class="l">Late plain </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">14</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Subtotal </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">37</td></tr>
<tr><td class="r">Grand Total </td><td class="r"> </td><td class="r">1535</td></tr>
</table>
<div class="pb" id="Page_176">176</div>
<p>As a result (or as evidence) of this cultural admixture and interchange,
we see large groups of sherds from this site, in the punctated
and incised categories, which cannot with impunity be assigned to a
previously described type in a specific cultural assemblage. They could
be as easily assigned to a companion type in one, two or even three
other surrounding assemblages. Only by having whole vessels available—from
which details of vessel size and shape, and decoration can
be determined—or by correlation of sherds with distinctive types, may
one draw tentative conclusions about affiliation. I have therefore found
it necessary (<a href="#t1">Table 1</a>) to list certain types from this site as possibly
deriving from Alto or Coles Creek ceramics, others from Alto, Coles
Creek, Bossier or Plaquemine, and yet a third group of brushed and
incised which might derive, insofar as characteristics of a given sherd
or group of sherds indicate, from Bossier or Plaquemine. The absence
of distinctive Plaquemine types eliminates this assemblage from consideration,
but distinctive types of Alto, Coles Creek and Bossier are
present and give our clues for major alignments. We should be able
to work on the assumption that the indeterminate types will derive
from the three complexes, Alto, Coles Creek and Bossier, in about the
same proportion as these complexes are represented by distinctive
types.</p>
<p>It appears, then, that the major complex at this site is Alto; certainly
the burial pottery is of this complex. Coles Creek is present to a minor
extent and it is probable that some of the uncertain punctated and incised
sherds are from <i>Hardy</i>, <i>Manchac</i>, and <i>Rhinehart</i> types. Finally,
occupation seems to have lasted into the Alto-Bossier transition to the
stage when distinctive Bossier Focus types had developed, so that there
is a respectable representation of this period. The brushed wares and
some of the incised and punctated also probably relate to the Bossier
pottery complex. It is improbable, however, that Bossier occupation
lasted very long, certainly not long enough for a transition to late
Glendora Focus times when the small group of shell tempered sherds
would have been made. The site was probably deserted for a long time,
then briefly occupied by late Natchitoches-related people, possibly in
the historic period. The Yatasi village mentioned by Marcelo De Soto
(D’Antoni, 1961a) is to be considered.</p>
<h4>Stone Artifacts</h4>
<h5 id="c17">Dart Points</h5>
<p>The 61 larger projectile points which are classified as dart points
<span class="pb" id="Page_177">177</span>
are, with few exceptions, comparatively small and rough. Most are
made of quartzite, cherts, and petrified wood found locally. Thirty-five
are of tan chert, four of petrified wood, two of red chert, six of
white or light gray quartzite, and others of varying shades of brown,
or mottled materials.</p>
<p><i>Gary</i> points (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, N-P) total 14; with most made of tan chert,
two of petrified wood, and one of white quartzite. The range in length
is 2.8 to 5.6 cm. with nine of the 14 in the category of <i>Small Gary</i>
(Ford and Webb, 1956: 52). The latter are less than 4.5 cm. in length.</p>
<p><i>Ellis</i> points (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, Q-S) number 16, of which 12 are made of tan,
gray or yellow local cherts, two of petrified wood. The length varies
from 2.6 to 4.6 cm., the width 1.5 to 2.9 cm. Shoulders tend to be
straight, only two having barbs. Stem bases are usually straight or
mildly convex.</p>
<p><i>Carrollton</i> points (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, X), four in number, are made of materials
different from the prevailing tan chert. One each is of granular
quartzite, waxy gray chert, white chert, and black chert. They are 4.1
to 4.5 cm. long, 2.3 to 2.8 cm. wide. Stems are not smoothed.</p>
<p><i>Kent</i> points total five (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, T, U), and are typically crude in
manufacture. They are of gray, tan, and mottled cherts. Lengths are
3.7 cm. to 4.5 cm., widths 1.6 to 2.4 cm.; they are somewhat smaller
than those in eastern Texas (Suhm and Jelks, 1962).</p>
<p>The three <i>Pontchartrain</i> points (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, EE, FF) are the largest
and best made points from this site. Two are of light tan chert, the
third of darker tan. Lengths are 7.7, 9.3, and 9.7 cm.; widths 2.5, 2.9,
and 3.2 cm., respectively. The blades are rounded on one face, ridged
on the other, have good large flake scars, and typical fine retouch at the
edges. One (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, FF) has an asymmetrically placed stem; another
(<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, EE) has a rectangular stem and short barbs; the third has a
contracting stem.</p>
<p>One projectile point (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, Y) is hesitantly called <i>Ensor</i> because
of the low, narrow side notches and straight stem base. It is small, 3.7
cm. long and 1.8 cm. wide, of tan chert, roughly flaked. The blade
edges are convex and irregular serrated.</p>
<p>Two specimens have outlines like <i>Desmuke</i> points but are made of
poor materials, petrified wood and gnarled chert, and the typing is
questionable. Both are thick, with bifacial ridges. A third of similar
appearance has an <i>Almagre</i>-like basal tip, but is much smaller than
this type, 5 cm. long, 2.5 cm. wide.</p>
<p>Two points are classified as <i>Elam</i> (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, V, W). They are short,
thick and stubby, slightly asymmetrical and identical in size, 3.5 cm.
long, 2.3 cm. wide. They are made of tan and brown quartzite.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_178">178</div>
<div class="img" id="fig11">
<img src="images/p10.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="853" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 11. Projectile Points and Chipped Stone Tools. A, B, <i>Alba</i> type. C, D, <i>Hayes</i>. E, F,
<i>Friley</i>. G, <i>Maud</i>. H, <i>Cliffton</i>. I, Untyped. J, <i>Catahoula</i>. K-M, <i>Colbert</i>. N-P, <i>Gary</i>. Q-S, <i>Ellis</i>.
T, U, <i>Kent</i>. V, W, <i>Elam</i>. X, <i>Carrollton</i>. Y, possible <i>Ensor</i>. Z-DD, Untyped. EE, FF, <i>Pontchartrain</i>.
GG-II, Rough blades. JJ, KK, Drills. LL, End scraper. MM-PP, Small triangular and
ovate scrapers.</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_179">179</div>
<p>Twelve projectile points are unclassified. Three of these are broken.
A group of four (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, Z) is characterized by rough manufacture,
irregular wide blades with poor tips, and small, poorly formed stems.
Similar specimens have been found at other sites in north Louisiana,
never in large numbers. Possibly they were used as hafted knives or
scrapers. One specimen (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, AA) has long, shallow side notches
which are smoothed and a stubby, poorly made blade. Possibly it is a
reworked <i>Yarbrough</i> point or an atypical <i>Trinity</i> point. A small point
of gray quartzite (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, BB) has blade edge notches and expanded
stem resembling <i>Evans</i> points, but it is much smaller than <i>Evans</i>. Similar
small points with one to several blade edge notches have been
found on sites in Bossier and De Soto parishes, they will probably be
typed by another name than <i>Evans</i> (the name <i>Sinner</i> has been suggested
because of their frequency at the Jim Sinner Site).</p>
<p>A small point of white chert (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, CC) has a greater width than
length; the base is wide and short; one shoulder is barbed, the other
barely suggested. Another small point has a rectangular stem and triangular
blade but is much smaller than <i>Carrollton</i>, or even <i>Elam</i>
points.</p>
<p>The most unusual point (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, DD) has a long rectangular stem,
a small shoulder on one side only, and a short, asymmetrical blade.
Blade and stem edges are beveled bilaterally on each face, with fine retouch
flaking which serrates all edges. The base is mildly concave and
is thinned by removal of a long, shallow channel flake on one face, a
shorter channel flake on the other, terminating in a hinge fracture.
The base and lower stem edges are smoothed.</p>
<h5 id="c18">Arrow Points</h5>
<p>There are 55 small projectile points sufficiently intact for typing and
12 broken so that typing is impossible. Materials include tan, red,
brown, and gray chert from local gravels; two gray-white chert; one
novaculite, and two dark brown to black flint.</p>
<p><i>Alba</i> points (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, A, B), 20 in number, are mostly of tan or
reddish-brown local cherts. They vary from slender to wide, with a
range of 2 to 3.8 cm. in length. Most recurve to form widened shoulders
which may be right angled or barbed; edges may be mildly serrated.
I have placed in this type only points with square or rectangular stems.</p>
<p>There are two <i>Hayes</i> points (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, C, D), of gray and red-brown
chert. They are small, 2.6 and 2.8 cm. long, 1.3 and 1.9 cm. wide; the
<span class="pb" id="Page_180">180</span>
first differs from the type description in having straight edges and no
barbs, but the stem shape is typical.</p>
<p>Five points are of <i>Friley</i> type (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, E, F), characterized by definite
shoulders with extreme curves so that the barbs turn toward the
blade tip. Stems are expanded or rectangular. Three are of red-brown
chert, two of tan chert. Lengths are 1.4 to 2.5 cm., widths 1.0 to 1.5 cm.</p>
<p>One typical <i>Maud</i> point (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, G) of tan chert, has a deeply concave
base and mildly serrated edges.</p>
<p>Four points are included in the <i>Cliffton</i> type (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, H). They are
hardly more than roughly shaped small, wide flakes but have vague
stems and some secondary flaking. They are uniform in size, 2 to 2.3
cm. long, 1.6 to 1.9 cm. wide and all are made of tan chert. A fifth
small point (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, I) of dark gray flint has a pointed stem, concave
blade edges, and a strongly pointed tip; in essence, it is a concave-edged
hexagon. It may be a variation of <i>Cliffton</i>, but has been left
untyped.</p>
<p>A group of 21 points (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, K-M) is characterized by expanded
stems produced by corner notching, and blades which are much like
<i>Alba</i>. This point has been the subject of considerable discussion because
of its frequency in Louisiana and southern Arkansas; it has been
included in the <i>Alba</i> type in some publications, in the <i>Scallorn</i> type in
others, but has distinct and, we believe, meaningful differences from
each of these types. We have therefore given it the type name <i>Colbert</i>.
It rivals the <i>Alba</i> type in frequency at sites like Smithport Landing,
Colbert, Greer, Swanson’s Landing, and Mounds Plantation (<a href="#fig1">Fig. 1</a>)
where there are Alto and Coles Creek components in respectable
amounts. It is found, along with <i>Alba</i>, in central Louisiana, especially
in Troyville-Coles Creek context (Ford, 1951: Fig. 45, U-W). Recent
excavations at the Crenshaw Site in southwestern Arkansas uncovered
Coles Creek and Caddoan burials in Mound B; consistently the Coles
Creek burials had points similar to <i>Colbert</i> (called <i>Homan</i> in Arkansas)
and the Caddoan had <i>Alba</i> or <i>Hayes</i>. The <i>Colbert</i> points have
triangular blades with concave or recurved edges, distinct and usually
wide shoulders, barbs, and triangular or fan-shaped stems. The stem
bases may be straight or more often convex, rarely concave. Specimens
from Smithport are made of tan, reddish-brown, white and gray local
cherts, one of novaculite, and two of white quartz. Lengths are from
1.2 to 3.2 cm., widths from 9 mm. to 2 cm.</p>
<p>A large flat point of tan chert (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, J) has the flake characteristics
of an arrow point despite its large size, 4.3 by 3 cm. It has the corner
notching and wide barbs characteristic of <i>Catahoula</i> points.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_181">181</div>
<p>A small triangular point of brown chert probably belongs to the
<i>Fresno</i> type. The tip is broken but the original length was about 2 cm.</p>
<h4>Miscellaneous Chipped Stone Tools</h4>
<p>Generally, the tools from this site are made from native tan chert
cores and flakes, or from petrified wood, and are rough to the point of
being almost nondescript. Imagination is often required to attempt
assignment to types.</p>
<p>A massive axe-shaped object of petrified wood is worked to a near-blade
form at the expanded end (<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, K), but appears to have been
used as a maul. The groove is natural. It is 15 cm. long, 9 cm. wide, and
4.5 cm. in thickness. Two smaller objects of petrified wood (<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, G,
H) are partially shaped, showing some of the original surfaces. They
resemble choppers or picks and are 7 × 5.1 × 2.3 cm. and 8.8 × 4.7
× 2 cm. A fourth object of petrified wood, 10.5 cm. long and 4.2 cm.
wide, is more suggestive of a pick but shows little evidence of use.</p>
<p>Smaller core tools include two choppers or end scrapers of tan chert
and quartzite. The first has much of its original surfaces, with one
end pointed by bifacial beveling. It is 5.5 cm. long. The second is unifacially
beveled across one end and onto one edge; it is similar in size.
Two possible gouges of red and tan chert, 3.4 and 4.2 cm. long, are
ovate in outline and roughly flaked bifacially at one end. Eight smaller
objects are keel-shaped core scrapers or small choppers of tan and gray
chert. They are irregularly ovate, triangular or elongate, from 2.5 to
4 cm. in length, 1.8 to 3.3 cm. in width. Flaking is bifacial but those
with one flat face have minimal flaking on this side. Two larger, thick
leaf-shaped forms (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, GG, HH) may have served as knives or
scrapers.</p>
<p>Other tools are made from flakes. Two might be knives: one (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, II)
is of gray chert, long and ovoid, rough at the base but well
finished around the edges. It is 5.9 cm. long, 2 cm. wide. The second is
made from a flat, triangular-shaped piece of petrified wood, which is
unmodified at one end (the base), but has good secondary flaking
around the edges. It is 5.1 cm. long, 3 cm. wide, and 6 mm. in thickness.</p>
<p>A thumbnail end scraper (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, LL) is of gray quartz, 3 × 2 cm.
in diameters, 6 mm. thick. Unifacial beveling on one end and one side
is quite steep and the reverse face shows many tiny fractures around
the cutting curve.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_182">182</div>
<div class="img" id="fig12">
<img src="images/p11.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="879" />
<p class="pcap">Fig. 12. Ornaments and Stone Tools. A, Polished stone tablet. B, Banded slate bead.
C, Bone bead. D, Sandstone bead or concretion. E, Pitted stone. F, Brown sandstone whetstone.
G, H, Choppers of petrified wood. I, Polished stone celt. J, Small hammerstone. K,
Maul of petrified wood. (All to scale except <i>B</i>, <i>C</i> and <i>D</i> which are only slightly reduced.)</p>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_183">183</div>
<p>There are 15 small scrapers (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, MM-PP) which are ovate
or triangular in outline and made from flakes which vary from 3 to 8
mm. in thickness. They are of tan, brown and mottled gray chert, petrified
wood, and gray quartzite. Most are flaked bifacially but some show
a preponderance of flaking on the convex face. Sizes range from 2 to
4.5 cm. Five small broken flake objects show some flaking.</p>
<p>There are four drills, all made of tan chert. One flake drill (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>,
KK) has an expanded base, a shaft which is triangular in cross section
and a keen point which shows use polish. A second (<a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>, JJ) has a
geniculate form, is less well made, but shows usage at the tip. The other
two are tiny, 2.1 and 2.2 cm. long, have one flat and one keel-shaped
face, and are worked on two of the three planes. They could have been
used as gravers or drills.</p>
<h4>Polished and Ground Stone Objects</h4>
<p>Few objects of polished stone were found. One large celt (<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, I)
is from the surface. It is symmetrically ovate, 17.5 cm. long, 7.5 cm.
wide, and 3.8 cm. thick. It shows pecking marks on the faces, but is
well ground at the bit and along the edges. A triangular hard sandstone
pebble, 7.5 × 7 × 3.3 cm., has round pits, 3 cm. in diameter, on
each face, (<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, E). There are smooth depressions on two edges. A
large pitted mortar stone is of ferruginous sandstone, 22 × 16 cm. One
face has an oval depression, 13 × 12 cm., in the center of which, and
on the opposite face, are deep hemispherical pits, 3.5 cm. in diameter.</p>
<p>An oval-shaped hammerstone (<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, J) of tan chert is smoothed
on two faces, roughened by pecking around all edges. A whetstone of
brown sandstone (<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, F) has one deep and two shallow grooves
on one face, two grooves on the opposite.</p>
<p>A rectangular flat tablet of mottled brown slate (<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, A) was
found during the burial excavations but not in direct association. It
is 6 cm. long, 4.5 cm. wide, and 3.5 mm. thick. The faces are polished
and the edges ground smooth with rounded corners, but there are no
decorations or perforations.</p>
<p>A bead of gray and brown banded slate (<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, B) was found on the
surface of Hill 1. It is pear-shaped, 9 mm. long, 12 mm. wide, counter-drilled
and highly polished. A small perforated sandstone concretion
(<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, D) may have been used as a bead, but the perforation seems
to be natural, and the surfaces are not modified.</p>
<p>An oval, reddish claystone concretion was found on the surface. It
is 12 × 6.5 cm., and 2.7 cm. thick. The hard cortex had been removed,
exposing the soft ocher, which was a probable source of paint.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_184">184</div>
<h4>Bone Object</h4>
<p>A segment of bone, 2.6 cm. long, was found on the surface. The ends
are cut squarely across and there is a small (natural?) perforation. It
is probably a bead of bird bone (<a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>, C), is hard, very white, and
the surface is polished. No other artifacts of bone or shell were found,
but the test pits in dark soil exposed numerous animal bones as well as
mussel and snail shells. No identifications were secured.</p>
<h3 id="c19">DISCUSSION</h3>
<p>The Smithport Landing Site is one of a number of village and mound
sites along the Red River valley and its tributaries in northwestern
Louisiana (<a href="#fig1">Fig. 1</a>) at which varying amounts of Alto Focus pottery,
whole vessels or sherds, have been found. The mound sites shown are
within the river flood plain, with exception of Thigpen Mound and Village
Site, which are on a terrace immediately overlooking the valley;
Gahagan, Curtis, Mounds Plantation, and Belcher mounds are on old
river channels near the present stream. The burial vessels at Gahagan
were Alto types—five <i>Holly Fine Engraved</i>, three <i>Hickory Engraved</i>,
one <i>Kiam Incised</i>—and 12% of the 76 sherds from the surface are the
distinctive Alto types (<i>Hickory</i>, <i>Carmel</i> and <i>Holly Engraved</i>, <i>Davis
Incised</i>, <i>Crockett Curvilinear Incised</i>, <i>Weches Fingernail Impressed</i>
and <i>Pennington Punctated-Incised</i>). The Thigpen Site is preponderantly
Bossier, but included in the scant collection of 102 sherds are one
<i>Weches</i>, five <i>Dunkin</i>, and five <i>Wilkinson</i>. We have only a few sherds
from the Curtis Mound (Sunny Point in Moore’s 1912 report) but
<i>Hickory Fine Engraved</i> is included. At the Belcher Mound Site (Webb,
1959) the premound level had sherds and burial vessels of both Alto
and Haley types.</p>
<p>The Mounds Plantation (Pickett Landing in Moore’s 1912 report)
Site has recently been explored with some intensity (McKinney, Plants
and Webb, to be reported). Twenty-six percent of the decorated sherds
in the previous surface collection were of the distinctive Alto types,
4.15% Coles Creek. A trench through one of the mounds showed intrusive
Belcher Focus burials but the fill, habitation, and premound
level sherds were Coles Creek and Alto, with admixture at all levels
but increasing amounts of Alto in the top levels. Alto types are <i>Davis</i>
and <i>Harrison Bayou Incised</i>; <i>Hickory</i>, <i>Holly</i> and <i>Carmel Engraved</i>;
<i>Pennington</i>, <i>Crockett</i>, <i>Wilkinson</i>, and <i>Weches</i> in the punctated and
punctated-incised categories. Coles Creek types were <i>Coles Creek</i>,
<i>Chase</i> and <i>Beldeau Incised</i>; <i>Rhinehart Punctated</i>; and the shared types
<span class="pb" id="Page_185">185</span>
<i>Hardy</i> and <i>Sanson Incised</i>. Deep burials in a second mound had scant
pottery but the two vessels were <i>Holly Engraved</i> and a bowl with
<i>Crockett</i> and <i>Pennington</i> designs, both black and polished.</p>
<p>The non-mound village sites shown in <a href="#fig1">Figure 1</a> are on hills fronting
the valley or on tributaries and lakes. All of those shown have Alto and
Bossier pottery types, most have Coles Creek-Troyville, all have a
good representation of the shared types <i>Hardy-Kiam</i>, <i>Dunkin-Manchac</i>,
<i>Harrison Bayou</i> and <i>Sanson Incised</i>, <i>Wilkinson Punctated</i>, and
<i>Rhinehart</i>-atypical, <i>Pennington Punctated-Incised</i>. Omitting these
shared types and using only distinctive types, the Allen Site has 7%
Alto, no Coles Creek; the Wilkinson Site has 10.5% Alto, 0.3% Coles
Creek; the Chamarre Site has 14% Alto, 1.5% Troyville; Williams
Point has 4% Alto, no Coles Creek; East Smithport has 8% Alto, no
Coles Creek; the Colbert Place has 1.6% Alto, 5.45% Coles Creek;
Greer has 6.7% Alto, 1.8% Coles Creek; Pease and Sinner are strong
Bossier sites but have 0.3% and 0.5% Alto, respectively; Swanson’s
Landing has 4% Alto and 4% Coles Creek; and Harrison Bayou has
1% Alto.</p>
<p>Not all of the mound or village sites in this same area show this kind
of representation of Alto or Coles Creek; there are as many or more
which are well developed Bossier sites and have little or no Alto. For
example, we have 230 surface sherds from the Vanceville Mound in
Bossier Parish with no Alto or Coles Creek types; the 3942 sherds from
the lower and premound levels of the Oden Mound include two questionable
<i>Hickory Engraved</i>, no other Alto or Coles Creek types; 1275
surface sherds from the Marston Village Site show no Coles Creek, one
<i>Holly Fine Engraved</i>, and three <i>Pennington Punctated-Incised</i>. In
these same sites, as the distinctive types drop out, the shared incised
and punctated types like <i>Dunkin-Manchac</i>, <i>Rhinehart-Pennington</i>
variants, <i>Wilkinson</i>, <i>Harrison Bayou Incised</i> and even <i>Hardy-Kiam
Incised</i> are almost completely replaced by <i>Pease Brushed-Incised</i>, <i>Belcher
Ridged</i>, and the brushed types (Webb, 1959). Large projectile
points and heavy scraper types also disappear, replaced by small arrow
point types and thumbnail-size, triangular and rectangular flake scrapers
(Webb, 1959: Fig. 126).</p>
<p>The Smithport Landing Site shares with the other hilltop or hill
slope village sites of this earlier Caddoan period the carry-over of late
Archaic dart points, especially types like <i>Gary</i>, <i>Ellis</i>, <i>Kent</i>, <i>Carrollton</i>,
<i>Palmillas</i>, <i>San Patrice</i>, <i>Evans</i>, <i>Maçon</i>, and <i>Pontchartrain</i>. Large
as well as small scrapers, pitted stones, manos of hand size, oval
metates, small drills, large and small celts, brown and white sandstone
<span class="pb" id="Page_186">186</span>
hones, hammerstones, and crude choppers are usual at these sites. Triangular
and ovate knives, recurved-edge (<i>Copena</i>-like) knives, stone
beads and polished stone problematicals (boatstones, bannerstones,
gorgets) or plummets are all missing or very rare, although stone beads
and problematicals occur in the late Archaic. The slate bead from
Smithport, a recurved (<i>Copena</i>) blade fragment from the Thigpen
Site, and a two-hole gorget from a small site north of Wallace Lake
(Webb, 1948: Pl. 16, 9) are exceptions. Small projectile points, generally
of <i>Alba</i> and <i>Colbert</i> types, about equal the number of large ones
at these sites. Ear ornaments, shell and bone tools are infrequent.</p>
<p>In conclusion, the Smithport Landing Site is one of the larger village
sites of the earlier Caddoan (Gibson Aspect, Alto Focus) period along
the Red River valley in northwestern Louisiana. It shares with a number
of other village sites of this period evidences of a carry over of late
Archaic projectile points and stone artifact traits. It also shares with
numerous village and mound sites evidences of admixture of Coles
Creek ceramic types and influences with the Alto pottery types as the
earliest pottery at these sites. It seems increasingly clear that the advent
of Coles Creek and Alto Caddoan peoples and/or ceramics, arrow
points, and riverine mound building into this area were virtually
simultaneous occurrences. Out of this blending developed the subsequent
Bossier Focus ceramics and other cultural manifestations over
a wide portion of northwestern Louisiana, extending into eastern Texas
and southern Arkansas.</p>
<p>It is possible that the large ceremonial mound groups, like Gahagan
and Mounds Plantation, served as ceremonial centers for a number of
villages, including those in the adjoining hill areas, accounting for the
frequency of specialized burials, with ceremonial copper and polished
stone objects, pipes and ornamentation, and highly developed burial
ceramics, in the mound sites, in comparison with the paucity of these
objects in the hill villages.</p>
<p>Considerable research is needed (1) to establish the nature of the
relationships between mound sites in the valleys and the villages in the
hills; (2) to trace the extent of Coles Creek and Alto contacts and the
process of amalgamation of these two strong cultures over the wide
area from central Louisiana into Arkansas, Oklahoma and eastern
Texas (this must have been friendly, as it is inconceivable that Caddoan
peoples would have supplanted Coles Creek almost overnight in
hundreds of villages); (3) and the development out of this amalgamation
of Bossier, Plaquemine, and other later cultures.</p>
<h3 id="c20">FOOTNOTES</h3>
<div class="fnblock"><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_1" href="#fr_1">[1]</a>Thanks are extended
to Monroe Dodd, Jr., George Freeman, and other friends
who assisted in the site exploration; to Alex Krieger and James A. Ford for
assistance with pottery identification and typology; to A. L. Wedgeworth, Jr., for
photography; and to Gordon Maxcy for film developing and assistance with the
plates.
</div>
</div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_187">187</div>
<h3 id="c21">REFERENCES CITED</h3>
<p>D’Antoni, Blaise C.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1961a. Bayou Pierre, Land of Yesteryear, Chapter 2. Newsletter, North Louisiana
Historical Assn., April, pp. 9-14.</p>
<p class="revint">1961b. Bayou Pierre, Land of Yesteryear, Chapter 3. Newsletter, North Louisiana
Historical Assn., July, pp. 7-12.</p>
<p class="revint">1962. Bayou Pierre, Land of Yesteryear, Chapter 5. Newsletter, North Louisiana
Historical Assn., May, pp. 13-15.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ford, James A.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1951. Greenhouse: A Troyville-Coles Creek Period Site in Avoyelles Parish,
Louisiana. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural
History, Vol. 44, Part 1.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ford, James A., and Clarence H. Webb</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1956. Poverty Point, A Late Archaic Site in Louisiana. Anthropological Papers
of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 46, Part 1.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ford, James A., and G. R. Willey</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1940. Crooks Site, A Marksville Period Burial Mound in La Salle Parish, Louisiana.
Department of Conservation, Louisiana Geological Survey, Anthropological
Study No. 3.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Moore, Clarence B.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1912. Some Aboriginal Sites on Red River. Journal of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia, 2nd. Series, Vol. 14, Part 4.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Newell, H. Perry, and Alex D. Krieger</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1949. The George C. Davis Site, Cherokee County, Texas. Memoirs of the
Society for American Archaeology, No. 5.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Quimby, George I.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1951. The Medora Site, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Field Museum of
Natural History, Anthropological Series, Vol. 24, No. 2.</p>
<p class="revint">1957. The Bayou Goula Site, Iberville Parish, Louisiana. Fieldiana: Anthropology,
Vol. 47, No. 2.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Suhm, Dee Ann, Alex D. Krieger, and Edward B. Jelks</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1954. An Introductory Handbook of Texas Archeology. Bulletin of the Texas
Archeological Society, Vol. 25.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Suhm, Dee Ann, and Edward B. Jelks (editors)</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1962. Handbook of Texas Archeology: Type Descriptions. The Texas Archeological
Society, Special Publication No. 1, and The Texas Memorial
Museum Bulletin, No. 4.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Webb, Clarence H.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="revint">1948. Caddoan Prehistory: The Bossier Focus. Bulletin of the Texas Archeological
and Paleontological Society, Vol. 19.</p>
<p class="revint">1959. The Belcher Mound, A Stratified Caddoan Site in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.
Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology, No. 16.</p>
<p class="revint">1961. Relationships between the Caddoan and Central Louisiana Culture Sequences.
Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society, Vol. 31.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="verse">
<p class="lr">1560 Line Avenue</p>
<p class="lr">Shreveport, Louisiana</p>
</div>
<h2>Transcriber’s Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Silently corrected a few typos.</li>
<li>Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.</li>
<li>In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.</li>
</ul>
<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65573 ***</div>
</body>
</html>
|
