The Ceramic Assemblage from Washington Mounds: A Caddo Site in Southwestern Arkansas

Summary

The Washington Mounds site is an Early to Middle Caddo period (A.D. 800-1300) mound site with 11 mounds, some of which contain burials; two village areas are associated with the site surrounding the mounds. It is located in southwest Arkansas between the Red River and Little Missouri River Basins. Some level of ritual activity occurred at the site, but the types or scale was previously unknown. Two excavations have been done at the site: first in the early 20th century by M. R. Harrington, and a second in 1981 by the Arkansas Archaeological Society and the Arkansas Archaeological Survey. Whole pots and potsherds from both documented excavations are considered in the analysis as well as pipe fragments (Red River longstem varieties) to determine periods of use as well as ritual themes prevalent at the site. This study is an analysis of the ceramic assemblage through the theoretical perspective of ceramic ecology. As this is the first thorough analysis done at this site, the goals of the research include establishing information on life, status, and ritual activities of the people who occupied this site.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16499