Redefining Plains Village Complexes In Oklahoma: The Paoli Phase And The Redbed Plains Variant

Abstract

The Custer and Washita River phases of the southern Plains are re-evaluated using data from recent research at Plains Village sites in central Oklahoma. Based on dates and variation in assemblages, settlement patterns, and subsistence activities, four temporally and spatially distinct but related complexes are identified and classified as the Redbed Plains variant. The Paoli phase represents the initial (A.D. 800-1250) sedentary occupation of the Washita and Canadian Rivervalleys in central Oklahoma. This complex developed from local Plains Woodland groups and was ancestral to the Washita River phase (A.D. 1250-1450). The Custer phase is now restricted to early village sites in the mixed grass prairies of western Oklahoma. This complex developed into the Turkey Creek phase defined for western Plains Village sites comparable to Washita River phase sites in central Oklahoma