History of the East Texas Caddoan/Caddo Research Group, 1996-2008

Timothy K Perttula,Tom Middlebrook

doi:10.21112/.ita.2009.1.31

Abstract

Recently, the senior author of this article has been working with Hester Davis (Arkansas Archeological Survey) regarding the editing of her manuscript on the history of the Caddo Conference, which had its 50th meeting in March 2008. In her manuscript she laments the fact that there is very little time being spent by its participants in keeping track of its history: either in the form of transcripts of the meetings, notes on each conference, saving photographs and images, or actively maintaining an archive of materials resulting from each Conference. Davis pointed out that it was important to maintain a record of each Conference, and take steps to do a better job in preserving for others that record for present and future Caddo Conference participants and researchers. Hester’s points, which we agree with, led directly to our discussing the need to put on record a history, as best we can recall it, of the East Texas Caddoan/Caddo Research Group. This informal group has met a number of times since 1996, with the purpose of advancing the general understanding of Caddo archaeology in the East Texas region. The meetings have been held to discuss pertinent and current problems and research issues concerning East Texas Caddo archaeology. As we recall, the East Texas Caddoan [now Caddo] Research Group (ETCRG) developed out of discussions between Perttula and Middlebrook in January 1996. Middlebrook’s own interests in the idea had been piqued by reading the obituary of Fred Plog in the October 1995 American Antiquity that described his founding of the Southwestern Anthropological Research Group, the success that group had in working together on common research problems, and in working together to improve understandings of the prehistory of the American Southwest. This seemed to both of us like an idea worth emulating for the Caddo archaeological area, or at least the East Texas part of the area since we were more familiar with this region’s archaeology and the archaeologists working in that area.

Highlights

The senior author of this article has been working with Hester Davis (Arkansas Archeological Survey) regarding the editing of her manuscript on the history of the Caddo Conference (Davis and Davis 2009), which had its 50th meeting in March 2008 (Lee 2008)
This informal group has met a number of times since 1996, with the purpose of advancing the general understanding of Caddo archaeology in the East Texas region
The success of the last three East Texas Caddoan [now Caddo] Research Group (ETCRG) meetings has put the ETCRG on firm ground as a viable venue m which to discuss in detail-but in an informal setting-research issues, problems, and findings concerning East Texas Caddo archaeology

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The senior author of this article has been working with Hester Davis (Arkansas Archeological Survey) regarding the editing of her manuscript on the history of the Caddo Conference (Davis and Davis 2009), which had its 50th meeting in March 2008 (Lee 2008). This meeting continued the focus ofthe ETCRG on the Historic Caddo archaeological record in East Texas, as we had not exhausted topics arising out of the 2006 ETCRG meeting that were worthy of presentation and discussion. A.D. 850-1300 occupation there; Mark Walters provided a perspective from the middle reaches of the Sabine River (Smith and Upshur counties) on the character of both Woodland and early Caddo habitation and mound sites, focusing on the Browning site (41SM195), a late Woodland Mill Creek Culture site; The Mast site (41NA157) was the focus of a presentation by Tom Middlebrook, and led to a consideration ofthe Woodland/Caddo transition in the East Texas Pineywoods. Five distinct groupings of Historic Caddo sites can be defined employing various ceramic attributes, and these groupings may represent sites occupied by different and socially distinct Caddo communities

CONCLUSIONS

GROUP MEETINGS