Making the Case for the Parkin Site as Casqui: Hernando de Soto's 1541 Cross

Summary

Most archeologists agree that the Parkin site (3CS29) is the village of Casqui described in the chronicles of the Hernando de Soto expedition. When the Spaniards visited in 1541, one of the things they did was raise a cross atop the platform mound where the chief’s house stood. In 1966, archeologists found what they suggested was the base of this cross in a looter’s pit. Additional research in the early 1990s revealed that the post was made of bald cypress that was radiocarbon dated between 1515 and 1663. In April of 2016, we carried out excavations to further investigate this feature. Six additional radiocarbon dates supported the earlier results. Efforts to obtain a date from dendrochronology were unsuccessful due to incomplete preservation of the outer growth rings. Nevertheless, the evidence supports its identification as part of the cross erected at Casqui.

Cite this Record

Making the Case for the Parkin Site as Casqui: Hernando de Soto's 1541 Cross. Jeffrey Mitchem, David Stahle, Timothy S. Mulvihill, Jami J. Lockhart. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435522)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 662