Title: The Smithport Landing Site
Author: Webb, Clarence H.
Language: English
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     The Smithport Landing Site: An Alto Focus Component in De Soto
                           Parish, Louisiana


                            CLARENCE H. WEBB


  _Reprint from_ Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society, Vol. 34,
                                 1963.


                                ABSTRACT

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.

Nineteen pottery vessels, all but two identifiable as Alto Focus types,
were found with fourteen burials. Included are _Hickory Fine Engraved_,
_Davis Incised_, _Kiam Incised_, _Wilkinson Punctated_, and _Smithport
Plain_ (virtually identical with _Bowles Creek Plain_) types.

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.

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.


                              INTRODUCTION

The Smithport Landing Site was initially explored by Monroe Dodd, Jr.,
and the author between 1934 and 1940.[1] 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.

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.


                            SITE ENVIRONMENT

The Smithport Landing Site is in the eastern edge of De Soto Parish,
about eight miles east of Mansfield, the Parish seat (Fig. 1). 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.

The hills on which the site is located (Fig. 2) 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, 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 _Nelumbo lutea_, 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.

    [Illustration: 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.]


                         HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

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.

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 (Fig. 1), 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.

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:

  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....

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).

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.


                    SITE EXPLORATION AND EXCAVATION

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 (Fig. 2). 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.

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 (Fig. 3) which are described later
occurred on the crest of this hill, immediately overlooking the old
lake.

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 a radius of
12-15 feet, contained large sherds, numerous animal bones or bone
fragments, and ashes (Fig. 2). 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.

    [Illustration: Fig. 2. Sketch of Smithport landing Site, not to
    scale. Note occupational areas on four hills, burial area and heavy
    midden on Hill 2.]


                           Burial Excavations

In May, 1935, Monroe Dodd, Jr., found a small intact vessel (Fig. 4, 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 (Fig. 3, Nos.
V-94-102), three of which were intact and four largely so. Included are
vessels shown in Figure 4, B, C, F, K, N, O, and R. Vessels which are
not illustrated are two broken bottles (probably hit by the plow), one
_Hickory Fine Engraved_ 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 (Fig. 3), 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
_Alba_ points were found to the side of Burial 1.

On weekend trips between May and November, 1935, with permission of the
owner, we worked out the remainder of the burials; see Figure 3. 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.

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 (Fig. 4, A) was two feet above the heads and a small bowl (Fig.
4, I) was in fragments to the left of the skull of Burial 3.

Between this group and Burial 2 we found a skull and several long bones
in an irregular bundle (Fig. 3, Burial 5). There were no associated
artifacts.

    [Illustration: 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.]

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 vessel above the head of Burial 7 (Fig. 3). This vessel, an
intact cylindrical jar of the type _Kiam Incised_ (Fig. 4, 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.

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.

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
(Fig. 4, H, E, and G, respectively) and a toy bottle (Fig. 4, P). To the
left of the skull of Burial 9 there were three small vessels, two plain
bowls, and a fingernail-pinched cup (Fig. 4, L, M, Q).

In November, 1935, a final burial (not shown in Fig. 3) 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.

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.


                        DESCRIPTION OF ARTIFACTS


                                Ceramics

There are available for study of pottery from this site 19 whole vessels
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, _et al._, 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, _Carmel Engraved_, will be described herein.

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.

Surface colors are predominantly light, showing oxidizing firing
conditions, and fire clouds are frequent (Fig. 4, 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.

    [Illustration: Fig. 4. Pottery From Burials. A, B, _Smithport Plain_
    bottles, V-104, 95. C, _Hickory Fine Engraved_, V-96. D-G, _Kiam
    Incised_ jars, V-106, 133, 94, 134 (note plain body on D, vertical
    incising on E, fingernail punctating of F, G). H, _Davis Incised_,
    V-130. I, Untyped, V-105 (plain body, scalloped rim with free
    punctations on lower surface). J, _Smithport Plain_ bowl from Allen
    Site. K-N, _Smithport Plain_ bowls, V-99, 667, 668, 100. O-P,
    _Smithport Plain_ miniatures, V-97, 152. Q, _Wilkinson Punctated_
    (pinched miniature), V-669. R, _Smithport Plain_ carinated bowl,
    V-101.]

Sherd thickness varies from 4 to 10 mm., averaging 6 to 7 mm. in most
types. Variations will be noted.

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.

                           A. Engraved Wares

_Holly Fine Engraved_ type is represented by 10 sherds (Fig. 5, 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.

_Hickory Fine Engraved_ 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 (Fig. 4, 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 (Fig. 5, E, G) are tan to
gray with black areas, while the ninth (Fig. 5, F) is black and
polished, with cross-engraved decoration. No other _Hickory_ 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 (Fig. 5, F).

    [Illustration: Fig. 5. Engraved Sherds. A, B, _Holly Fine Engraved_.
    C, D, _Holly_ or _Hickory Fine Engraved_. E-G, _Hickory Fine
    Engraved_; H, Untyped zig-zag engraved. I-P, _Carmel Engraved_. Q,
    Untyped with spurred engraved lines. R, Probable _Maddox Engraved_.]

Six sherds could be either _Holly_ or _Hickory Fine Engraved_ (Fig. 5,
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 _Holly_ and _Hickory Fine Engraved_ 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.

                          Carmel Engraved Type
                             (Fig. 5, I-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 _Carmel Engraved_ 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.

  METHOD OF MANUFACTURE: Coiled.
  PASTE
    _Temper_: Clay-grit or ground sherd; bone in 2 of 17 sherds.
    _Texture_: Compact, generally fine, occasionally coarse.
    _Color_: 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.
    _Surface Finish_: Smoothed exteriors and interiors, a few with fair
          polish, none highly polished.

  FORM
    _Wall Thickness_: 5 to 7 mm., uniform.
    _Lip_: Rounded, usually unmodified; occasional thinning.
    _Base_: Uncertain, probably mildly convex, circular.
    _Vessel Shape and Size_: 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.

  DECORATION
    _Treatment_: Engraving.
    _Designs_: 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 (Fig. 5, I-K).
          Occasionally one or more engraved lines flank the engraved
          bands or bisect the intervening plain band. Some sherds (Fig.
          5, M, N, P) have straight instead of curving bands, but
          otherwise seem to fit into the type.

  CULTURAL AFFILIATIONS

  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
  _Maddox Engraved_, which in northwestern Louisiana has cross-hatched
  engraved bands, generally not curving and most often vertical, as the
  major element. In central Louisiana _Maddox Engraved_ type has been
  extended to include curvilinear bands of cross-hatched engraving (Suhm
  and Jelks, 1962: Pl. 50). The decoration on Plate 50, _F_ of this
  handbook is very much like _Carmel Engraved_ and this vessel probably
  should be included in this type instead of _Maddox_.

  DISTRIBUTION

  In addition to the Smithport Site, _Carmel Engraved_ has been found at
  one mound and four village sites in northwestern Louisiana.

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 (Fig. 5, 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 _Maddox Engraved_ motifs, but
the sherds are too small to be sure about the design (Fig. 5, R). A
bottle sherd (Fig. 5, Q) has diagonal spurred engraved lines. Two bowl
sherds are from polished black wares, with designs which suggest the
_Glassell Engraved_ type (Webb, 1959: Fig. 118).

                        B. Incised Pottery Types

_Davis Incised_ type is represented by one vessel (Fig. 4, 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 (Fig. 6, 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 (Fig. 6, 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.

Nine sherds are classified as _Sanson Incised_ (Ford and Willey, 1940)
because of the wide, shallow, smoothed incising in straight lines (Fig.
6, 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.

Two sherds (Fig. 6, H, I) are possibly _Mazique Incised_ (Ford, 1951)
but may be well executed _Dunkin Incised_. 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.

_Coles Creek Incised_ type is represented by eight sherds, although it
is almost certain that some which are typed as _Hardy_ or _Kiam Incised_
are in reality _Coles Creek_. 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 (Fig. 6, J) or
characteristically placed triangular punctations below the incised lines
(Fig. 6, K). Surfaces are smoothed and are buff or gray in color. The
incisions are bold, horizontal, and usually more closely spaced than in
_Davis Incised_. 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—_Davis Incised_, _Coles Creek Incised_, _Hardy
Incised_, and _Kiam Incised_—unless the technique and paste are
characteristic or a large part of the vessel available. Much overlapping
occurs.

    [Illustration: Fig. 6. Incised Sherds. A-E, _Davis Incised_ (A
    resembles high rim of jars which are frequent in Haley pottery). F,
    G, _Sanson Incised_. H, I, _Mazique Incised_. J, K, _Coles Creek
    Incised_. L-Q, _Kiam_ or _Hardy Incised_ (note outer lip notching or
    punctations on L-N, also suspension hole and subjacent hemiconical
    punctation on O, almost certainly _Hardy Incised_).]

One hundred and seventy four sherds from this site are included in type
_Kiam Incised_ or _Hardy Incised_ (Fig. 6, 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 (Fig. 4, D-G) which are typical _Kiam Incised_ (Suhm and Jelks,
1962: 89, Pl. 45) and established the presence of this type. Vessel 106
(Fig. 4, 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 (Fig. 4, 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 (Fig. 4, 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 (Fig. 4, 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 _Kiam Incised_
type.

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, 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 (Fig. 6,
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.

The incising varies from thin scratchy lines made with a pointed tool,
to rough and irregular (Fig. 6, Q), to firm, well made and regular (Fig.
6, 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 (Fig. 6,
O).

These characteristics as a unit do not fit either _Kiam_ or _Hardy
Incised_ types. The predominant shape, with everted or excurvate rim is
more like _Kiam_, 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 _Hardy
Incised_ (except for the five with bone temper), as are the subjacent
punctations (Fig. 6, O), occasional stabs or punctations at the ends of
lines (in central Louisiana, this occurs more often in _Yokena_ and
_French Fork Incised_ than in _Hardy_), plain bodies (one vessel, five
sherds), cutting away of the body wall just below the incisions (Fig. 4,
D), and flattened lips. Not described for either _Kiam_ or _Hardy_ types
are notched or incised lips, vertical rows of plowed-up paste where the
incisions meet (Fig. 6, L) or narrow undecorated gaps at this junction,
which occur on a number of the Smithport sherds. The conclusion seems
obvious that _Kiam Incised_, _Hardy Incised_ and the similar wares from
this area are local or regional variations of a single widespread type.

The _Dunkin Incised_ type presents the same problem. Although the sherds
assigned to this type have more similarities to type _Dunkin Incised_
than to any other, there are some similarities to _Mazique_ and _Manchac
Incised_ 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.

There are 117 sherds of _Dunkin Incised_ which show incising in varying
directions (Fig. 7, A-L), usually including diagonal lines, and 65
sherds (Fig. 7, O-R) which show only diagonal lines but are also
assigned to _Dunkin_. 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 _Kiam Incised_. 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.

Incisions are generally bolder than in the _Kiam Incised_ 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 (Fig. 7,
D). In the instance of the rim sherds with diagonal incising, 17 of the
25 slant downward from right to left (Fig. 7, P-R), eight from left to
right (Fig. 7, O). The lines may produce diamonds (Fig. 7, C), triangles
(Fig. 7, A, D, J), chevrons (Fig. 7, B) or, rarely, squares (Fig. 7, I).
Hemiconical or oval punctations are placed in a single row below the
incising in two instances (Fig. 7, L), above in one (Fig. 7, E). The
trait of making firm punctations at the ends of the lines (Fig. 7, F,
H-J) is more frequent than in type _Kiam Incised_, and gaps are left at
times (Fig. 7, F). One sherd (Fig. 7, 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 _Dunkin Incised_ from the Davis Site in having full body
decoration than the central Louisiana _Manchac_ and _Mazique_ types,
where the decoration is usually confined to a narrow rim band.

Cross incising (Fig. 7, M, N), which is called _Harrison Bayou Incised_
(from the Harrison Bayou Site on Caddo Lake) in central Louisiana, but
is included in _Dunkin Incised_ 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.

Curvilinear incising is present on two sherds. These resemble
curvilinear incising from the Sanson Site in central Louisiana which has
been tentatively termed _Neild Incised_.

                C. Punctated and Punctated-Incised Types

    [Illustration: Fig. 7. Incised Sherds. A-L, _Dunkin Incised_ (note
    C, a large sherd with typical design; punctations with lines on E,
    F, L: rectangular design on I). M, N, _Harrison Bayou Incised_. O-R,
    Diagonally incised rim sherds, probably _Dunkin Incised_.]

_Pennington Punctated-Incised_ type is represented by 36 sherds (Fig. 8,
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 (Fig. 8, E) in five, and triangular in
four.

Eleven sherds show the hybrid _Pennington-Crockett_ 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 (Fig. 8,
I). The bordering incised line is curved (Fig. 8, G-I); otherwise these
sherds do not differ from the _Pennington_ type. Seven have rounded
punctations, two are comma-shaped, one rectangular, and one square.

Another group of 19 sherds shows _zone punctations_ which differ in
certain respects from the typical _Pennington_ described above and
possibly are nearer to _Rhinehart Punctated_ (Ford, 1951: 83-85). These
19 sherds (Fig. 8, 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 (Fig. 8, O) is it certain that the
rim is from an open carinated bowl as are the _Pennington_ sherds. One
heavy sherd (Fig. 8, 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.

    [Illustration: Fig. 8. Punctated Sherds. A-F, _Pennington
    Punctated-Incised_. G-I, _Pennington-Crockett_ hybrid (I has
    incurving rim, hole for suspension). J-O, _Pennington_ or _Rhinehart
    Punctated_ (N has triangular punctations between horizontal lines in
    Coles Creek tradition). P, Similar to _Dupree Incised_ but shape
    suggests _Bossier_ sherd. Q, R, Random punctations.]

_Free punctations_ made with tools, without zoning or incising, are
present on one vessel (Fig. 4, I) and 19 sherds (Fig. 8, 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
_Rhinehart Punctated_ type in central Louisiana features triangular
punctations (Ford, 1951: 83), whereas they are infrequent in _Pennington
Punctated-Incised_ 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.

A group of six sherds has minute _free_ or _zoned punctations_. 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 (Fig. 8, 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 _Dupree Incised_ of Plaquemine ceramics in
central Louisiana (Quimby, 1951: 122-3).

_Weches Fingernail Impressed_ (Suhm and Jelks, 1962: 153, Pl. 77; Newell
and Krieger, 1949: 118-20, Fig. 46) is represented by 19 sherds of
characteristic design (Fig. 9, 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 (Fig. 9, E) the body has diagonal incised lines suggesting
_Dunkin_-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 (Fig. 9, 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 (Fig. 9, C).

    [Illustration: Fig. 9. Nail Impressed and Punctated Sherds. A-E,
    _Weches Fingernail Impressed_. F, _Weches_ Variant with tool
    punctations. G, H, _Sinner Linear Punctated_. I-K, M-P, _Wilkinson
    Punctated_. L, Ridge pinched, similar to _Killough Pinched_. Q,
    _Wilkinson Punctated_ body, _Kiam Incised_ rim. R, S, U, Narrow
    bands with round or oval punctations. T, Single row of semilunar
    punctations.]

Four sherds are identical with this group except that the spaces between
the horizontal lines have triangular instead of semilunar punctations
(Fig. 9, F). Seven other sherds have round or oval punctations in single
rows between incised lines (Fig. 9, R, S, U). I have not included these
with type _Pennington Punctated-Incised_, as Krieger did with some
reservation (Newell and Krieger, 1949: 106). Neither have I assigned
them to _Coles Creek Incised_, _Hardy Incised_ or _Rhinehart Punctated_,
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.

One sherd (Fig. 9, T) has a single row of semilunar punctations and
otherwise plain surface. It is thick, clay-grit tempered, and buff
colored.

_Wilkinson Fingernail Punctated_ 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 (_Kiam_, _Weches_, _Dunkin_, and _Duren Neck Banded_); he
reported 20,000 body sherds with fingernail roughening from a total of
96,000 sherds. The difference in attitude 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.

In northwestern Louisiana I have found _Wilkinson Punctated_ a useful
type in _sherd collection_ 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.
_Wilkinson Punctated_ is therefore a good indicator of early (Alto)
Caddoan occupation at a given site. At Smithport Landing there were 153
sherds (Fig. 9, I-K, M-P) and one burial vessel, a pinched toy jar (Fig.
4, 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
(Fig. 9, 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 Fig. 9, Q) the body-rim
juncture is present. The latter sherds have _Kiam Incised_ 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 (Fig. 9, 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 (Fig. 9, I, J), but some are pinched (Fig. 9, K, M, N)
and others impressed more delicately and regularly (Fig. 9, O-Q).

Eight sherds have distinctly pinched-up ridges (Fig. 9, L) which are
circular or curvilinear in six instances, vertical in two. The burial
vessel (Fig. 4, Q) may belong with this group, although it has been
tentatively classed as _Wilkinson Punctated_. The group with pinched
ridges bears considerable resemblance to the type _Killough Pinched_
(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.

_Sinner Linear Punctated_ is a type which so far has been confined to
Bossier and Haley foci (Suhm and Jelks, 1962: 143; Webb, 1948: 114) 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 (Fig. 9, G) has parallel, vertical
linear punctating; another (Fig. 9, 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.

                            D. Stamped Types

One sherd of _Chevalier Stamped_ 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.

                            E. Ridged Types

The eleven sherds of _Belcher Ridged_ type (Fig. 10, 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.

                  F. Brushed and Brushed-Incised types

There are 38 sherds of the _Pease Brushed-Incised_ type (Fig. 10, 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 (Fig. 10, B, D-F), by rows of tool or nail punctations in seven (Fig.
10, A), and by applique nodes in three (Fig. 10, C). The panels are
roughened by diagonal incisions in 24 instances (Fig. 10, A, C), by
vertical incising in 10 (Fig. 10, E, F), by horizontal incising in one,
and by brushing in three (Fig. 10, B, D).

    [Illustration: Fig. 10. Brushed, Ridged, and Late Wares. A-F, _Pease
    Brushed-Incised_ (note panel separation by punctations on _A_,
    applique notched ridges on _B_, _D-F_, and applique nodes on _C_).
    G, H, _Belcher Ridged_. I-K, M _Bossier_ or _Plaquemine Brushed_. L,
    _Karnack Brushed-Incised_ (note rolled rim, rare). N-S, Late
    Glendora Focus sherds (_N_, _S_, shell tempered, incised; _O_, _P_,
    engraved, untyped; _Q_, linear punctated, untyped; _R_, _Hodges
    Engraved_).]

_Karnack Brushed-Incised_ 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 _Kiam Incised_ or _Weches Fingernail Impressed_
vessels. There are only three rim sherds, one rolled (Fig. 10, 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.

The other brushed sherds from this site fall into the type which we now
call _Bossier Brushed_ (formerly _Maddox Brushed_ included these and the
vertically brushed included now in _Karnack Brushed-Incised_). It is
very similar to or identical with _Plaquemine Brushed_ 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
_Bossier_ type, whereas they are direct or slightly everted in
_Plaquemine_; more frequent cross brushing in _Plaquemine_ than in
_Bossier_; bone temper in a few of the _Bossier_, absent in
_Plaquemine_; and an occasional row of punctations below the brushed
zone in _Plaquemine_, not found in _Bossier_. 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.

There are 31 _Bossier Brushed_ sherds (Fig. 10, 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 (Fig. 10, M).

             G. Smithport Plain Type and Other Plain Sherds

There are nine plain vessels (Fig. 4, A, B, K-P, R) from the burials and
644 plain sherds from this site which apparently relate to the earlier
ceramics. The vessels, all identified as _Smithport Plain_, include
three bottles, four simple bowls, one carinated bowl, and one recurved
jar. _Smithport Plain_ 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
_Smithport_ sherds), one-fourth as many as the total rim sherds in the
decorated types and exceeded only by _Kiam Incised_ 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).

The 65 _Smithport Plain_ 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.

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.

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.

The plain sherds have paste characteristics similar to the decorated
types already described. Nine of the 644 sherds are bone tempered.

                 Glendora Focus and Other Late Ceramics

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 (Fig. 10, 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 _Hodges Engraved_ (Fig. 10,
R).

There are 11 sherds, shell tempered and orange to gray in color, with
curvilinear incising (Fig. 10, N, S). This ware was once termed
_Wilkinson Negative Meander_ 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.

Two sherds have linear punctations on shell tempered ware (Fig. 10, 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.

          Other Pottery Artifacts and Negative Ceramic Traits

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.

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, Fig. 4, I is the only instance
of scalloped rim); vessel effigies, either whole vessel or rim
attachments; stamping (one foreign sherd), and cord marking.


                    Pottery Alignments and Sequences

Table 1 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.

                                  TABLE 1
                           Pottery Type or Group
                                 _Whole         _No. of           %
                                Vessels_        Sherds_

  Distinctive Alto Types
  _Holly Fine Engraved_                                 10           0.66
  _Hickory Fine Engraved_                 2              9           0.60
  _Holly or Hickory                                      6           0.40
  Engraved_
  _Carmel Engraved_                                     17           1.13
  _Davis Incised_                         1             17           1.13
  _Kiam Incised_ vessels                  4
  _Pennington                                           36           2.40
  Punctated-Incised_
  _Pennington-Crockett_                                 11           0.73
  Hybrid
  _Weches Fingernail                                    19           1.26
  Impressed_
  _Smithport Plain_                       9             65           4.36
                    Subtotal             16            190          12.67
  Distinctive Coles Creek or Troyville Types
  _Coles Creek Incised_                                  8           0.53
  _Chevalier Stamped_                                    1           0.06
  _Mazique Incised_                                      2           0.13
                    Subtotal                            11           0.72
  Types shared by Alto and Coles Creek
  _Wilkinson Punctated_                   1            153          10.20
  Triangular punctations                                 4           0.26
  between parallel lines
                    Subtotal              1            157          10.46
  Types shared by Alto, Coles Creek, Bossier and Plaquemine
  _Kiam-Hardy Incised_                                 174          11.60
  _Dunkin-Manchac Incised_                             182          12.13
  _Harrison Bayou Incised_                               9           0.60
  _Sanson Incised_                                       9           0.60
  Free and atypical zoned                 1             38           2.53
  punctations
  (_Pennington-Rhinehart_)
  Small, zoned punctations                               6           0.40
  (_Dupree_-like)
  Round punctations between                              7           0.46
  lines
  Isolated, semilunar                                    1           0.06
  punctations
                    Subtotal              1            426          28.40
  Distinctive Bossier Types
  _Pease Brushed-Incised_                               38           2.53
  _Belcher Ridged_                                      11           0.73
  _Sinner Linear Punctated_                              4           0.26
  _Maddox Engraved_                                      3           0.20
  _Glassell Engraved_                                    2           0.13
                    Subtotal                            58           3.86
  Types Shared by Bossier and Plaquemine
  _Bossier-Plaquemine                                   31           2.06
  Brushed_
  _Karnack Brushed-Incised_                             34           2.26
                    Subtotal                            65           4.33
  Uncertain Affiliation or Untyped
  Curvilinear Incised                                    2           0.13
  Untyped engraved                        1              2           0.20
  Plain body sherds                                    579          38.60
  Fingernail pinched                                     8           0.53
                    Subtotal              1            591          39.46
  Subtotal, Early Occupation             19           1498         100.00
  Late Occupation, Possibly Historic
  Shell tempered                                        11
  curvilinear incised
  Shell tempered engraved                                7
  _Hodges Engraved_                                      1
  Other untyped decorated                                4
  Late plain                                            14
                    Subtotal                            37
                 Grand Total                          1535

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 (Table 1) 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.

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 _Hardy_, _Manchac_, and _Rhinehart_ 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.


                            Stone Artifacts

Dart Points

The 61 larger projectile points which are classified as dart points 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.

_Gary_ points (Fig. 11, 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 _Small Gary_ (Ford
and Webb, 1956: 52). The latter are less than 4.5 cm. in length.

_Ellis_ points (Fig. 11, 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.

_Carrollton_ points (Fig. 11, 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.

_Kent_ points total five (Fig. 11, 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).

The three _Pontchartrain_ points (Fig. 11, 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 (Fig. 11, FF) has an asymmetrically placed stem; another
(Fig. 11, EE) has a rectangular stem and short barbs; the third has a
contracting stem.

One projectile point (Fig. 11, Y) is hesitantly called _Ensor_ 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.

Two specimens have outlines like _Desmuke_ 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 _Almagre_-like basal tip, but is much smaller than
this type, 5 cm. long, 2.5 cm. wide.

Two points are classified as _Elam_ (Fig. 11, 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.

    [Illustration: Fig. 11. Projectile Points and Chipped Stone Tools.
    A, B, _Alba_ type. C, D, _Hayes_. E, F, _Friley_. G, _Maud_. H,
    _Cliffton_. I, Untyped. J, _Catahoula_. K-M, _Colbert_. N-P, _Gary_.
    Q-S, _Ellis_. T, U, _Kent_. V, W, _Elam_. X, _Carrollton_. Y,
    possible _Ensor_. Z-DD, Untyped. EE, FF, _Pontchartrain_. GG-II,
    Rough blades. JJ, KK, Drills. LL, End scraper. MM-PP, Small
    triangular and ovate scrapers.]

Twelve projectile points are unclassified. Three of these are broken. A
group of four (Fig. 11, 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 (Fig. 11, AA) has long, shallow side notches
which are smoothed and a stubby, poorly made blade. Possibly it is a
reworked _Yarbrough_ point or an atypical _Trinity_ point. A small point
of gray quartzite (Fig. 11, BB) has blade edge notches and expanded stem
resembling _Evans_ points, but it is much smaller than _Evans_. 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 _Evans_ (the name _Sinner_ has been suggested because
of their frequency at the Jim Sinner Site).

A small point of white chert (Fig. 11, 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 _Carrollton_, or even _Elam_
points.

The most unusual point (Fig. 11, 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.

                              Arrow Points

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.

_Alba_ points (Fig. 11, 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.

There are two _Hayes_ points (Fig. 11, 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
first differs from the type description in having straight edges and no
barbs, but the stem shape is typical.

Five points are of _Friley_ type (Fig. 11, 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.

One typical _Maud_ point (Fig. 11, G) of tan chert, has a deeply concave
base and mildly serrated edges.

Four points are included in the _Cliffton_ type (Fig. 11, 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
(Fig. 11, 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 _Cliffton_, but has been left untyped.

A group of 21 points (Fig. 11, K-M) is characterized by expanded stems
produced by corner notching, and blades which are much like _Alba_. This
point has been the subject of considerable discussion because of its
frequency in Louisiana and southern Arkansas; it has been included in
the _Alba_ type in some publications, in the _Scallorn_ type in others,
but has distinct and, we believe, meaningful differences from each of
these types. We have therefore given it the type name _Colbert_. It
rivals the _Alba_ type in frequency at sites like Smithport Landing,
Colbert, Greer, Swanson’s Landing, and Mounds Plantation (Fig. 1) where
there are Alto and Coles Creek components in respectable amounts. It is
found, along with _Alba_, 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 _Colbert_ (called _Homan_ in Arkansas) and
the Caddoan had _Alba_ or _Hayes_. The _Colbert_ 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.

A large flat point of tan chert (Fig. 11, 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 _Catahoula_
points.

A small triangular point of brown chert probably belongs to the _Fresno_
type. The tip is broken but the original length was about 2 cm.


                   Miscellaneous Chipped Stone Tools

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.

A massive axe-shaped object of petrified wood is worked to a near-blade
form at the expanded end (Fig. 12, 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 (Fig. 12, 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.

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 (Fig. 11, GG, HH) may have served as knives or
scrapers.

Other tools are made from flakes. Two might be knives: one (Fig. 11, 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.

A thumbnail end scraper (Fig. 11, 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.

    [Illustration: 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 _B_,
    _C_ and _D_ which are only slightly reduced.)]

There are 15 small scrapers (Fig. 11, 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.

There are four drills, all made of tan chert. One flake drill (Fig. 11,
KK) has an expanded base, a shaft which is triangular in cross section
and a keen point which shows use polish. A second (Fig. 11, 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.


                   Polished and Ground Stone Objects

Few objects of polished stone were found. One large celt (Fig. 12, 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, (Fig. 12, 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.

An oval-shaped hammerstone (Fig. 12, J) of tan chert is smoothed on two
faces, roughened by pecking around all edges. A whetstone of brown
sandstone (Fig. 12, F) has one deep and two shallow grooves on one face,
two grooves on the opposite.

A rectangular flat tablet of mottled brown slate (Fig. 12, 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.

A bead of gray and brown banded slate (Fig. 12, 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 (Fig. 12, D) may have been used as a bead, but the
perforation seems to be natural, and the surfaces are not modified.

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.


                              Bone Object

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 (Fig. 12, 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.


                               DISCUSSION

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
(Fig. 1) 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
_Holly Fine Engraved_, three _Hickory Engraved_, one _Kiam Incised_—and
12% of the 76 sherds from the surface are the distinctive Alto types
(_Hickory_, _Carmel_ and _Holly Engraved_, _Davis Incised_, _Crockett
Curvilinear Incised_, _Weches Fingernail Impressed_ and _Pennington
Punctated-Incised_). The Thigpen Site is preponderantly Bossier, but
included in the scant collection of 102 sherds are one _Weches_, five
_Dunkin_, and five _Wilkinson_. We have only a few sherds from the
Curtis Mound (Sunny Point in Moore’s 1912 report) but _Hickory Fine
Engraved_ is included. At the Belcher Mound Site (Webb, 1959) the
premound level had sherds and burial vessels of both Alto and Haley
types.

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 _Davis_ and _Harrison
Bayou Incised_; _Hickory_, _Holly_ and _Carmel Engraved_; _Pennington_,
_Crockett_, _Wilkinson_, and _Weches_ in the punctated and
punctated-incised categories. Coles Creek types were _Coles Creek_,
_Chase_ and _Beldeau Incised_; _Rhinehart Punctated_; and the shared
types _Hardy_ and _Sanson Incised_. Deep burials in a second mound had
scant pottery but the two vessels were _Holly Engraved_ and a bowl with
_Crockett_ and _Pennington_ designs, both black and polished.

The non-mound village sites shown in Figure 1 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 _Hardy-Kiam_, _Dunkin-Manchac_,
_Harrison Bayou_ and _Sanson Incised_, _Wilkinson Punctated_, and
_Rhinehart_-atypical, _Pennington Punctated-Incised_. 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.

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 _Hickory
Engraved_, no other Alto or Coles Creek types; 1275 surface sherds from
the Marston Village Site show no Coles Creek, one _Holly Fine Engraved_,
and three _Pennington Punctated-Incised_. In these same sites, as the
distinctive types drop out, the shared incised and punctated types like
_Dunkin-Manchac_, _Rhinehart-Pennington_ variants, _Wilkinson_,
_Harrison Bayou Incised_ and even _Hardy-Kiam Incised_ are almost
completely replaced by _Pease Brushed-Incised_, _Belcher Ridged_, 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).

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 _Gary_, _Ellis_, _Kent_,
_Carrollton_, _Palmillas_, _San Patrice_, _Evans_, _Maçon_, and
_Pontchartrain_. Large as well as small scrapers, pitted stones, manos
of hand size, oval metates, small drills, large and small celts, brown
and white sandstone hones, hammerstones, and crude choppers are usual at
these sites. Triangular and ovate knives, recurved-edge (_Copena_-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 (_Copena_) 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 _Alba_ and _Colbert_ types, about equal the number of large
ones at these sites. Ear ornaments, shell and bone tools are infrequent.

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.

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.

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.


                               FOOTNOTES


[1]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.


                            REFERENCES CITED

D’Antoni, Blaise C.

1961a. Bayou Pierre, Land of Yesteryear, Chapter 2. Newsletter, North
      Louisiana Historical Assn., April, pp. 9-14.

1961b. Bayou Pierre, Land of Yesteryear, Chapter 3. Newsletter, North
      Louisiana Historical Assn., July, pp. 7-12.

1962. Bayou Pierre, Land of Yesteryear, Chapter 5. Newsletter, North
      Louisiana Historical Assn., May, pp. 13-15.

Ford, James A.

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.

Ford, James A., and Clarence H. Webb

1956. Poverty Point, A Late Archaic Site in Louisiana. Anthropological
      Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 46, Part 1.

Ford, James A., and G. R. Willey

1940. Crooks Site, A Marksville Period Burial Mound in La Salle Parish,
      Louisiana. Department of Conservation, Louisiana Geological
      Survey, Anthropological Study No. 3.

Moore, Clarence B.

1912. Some Aboriginal Sites on Red River. Journal of the Academy of
      Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 2nd. Series, Vol. 14, Part 4.

Newell, H. Perry, and Alex D. Krieger

1949. The George C. Davis Site, Cherokee County, Texas. Memoirs of the
      Society for American Archaeology, No. 5.

Quimby, George I.

1951. The Medora Site, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Field Museum
      of Natural History, Anthropological Series, Vol. 24, No. 2.

1957. The Bayou Goula Site, Iberville Parish, Louisiana. Fieldiana:
      Anthropology, Vol. 47, No. 2.

Suhm, Dee Ann, Alex D. Krieger, and Edward B. Jelks

1954. An Introductory Handbook of Texas Archeology. Bulletin of the
      Texas Archeological Society, Vol. 25.

Suhm, Dee Ann, and Edward B. Jelks (editors)

1962. Handbook of Texas Archeology: Type Descriptions. The Texas
      Archeological Society, Special Publication No. 1, and The Texas
      Memorial Museum Bulletin, No. 4.

Webb, Clarence H.

1948. Caddoan Prehistory: The Bossier Focus. Bulletin of the Texas
      Archeological and Paleontological Society, Vol. 19.

1959. The Belcher Mound, A Stratified Caddoan Site in Caddo Parish,
      Louisiana. Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology, No.
      16.

1961. Relationships between the Caddoan and Central Louisiana Culture
      Sequences. Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society, Vol. 31.

                                                        1560 Line Avenue
                                                   Shreveport, Louisiana



                          Transcriber’s Notes


—Silently corrected a few typos.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
  is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
  _underscores_.





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