Sites in Northern Louisiana with Major Collections of Historic Caddo and Other Native American Pottery

Abstract

Archaeological sites in northern Louisiana that date to the 18th and 19th centuries which have yielded significant amounts of Native American pottery are plotted on the accompanying map, and briefly summarized below. A common feature of ceramic collections from these sites is the prevalence of shell temper, a trait that is rare prior to the late 17th century in the region. The earliest contexts probably date from the late 17th to the early 18th centuries and include utilitarian types that were common during the Late Caddo period (ca. A.D. 1500-1700). By the middle 18th century, these types apparently were no longer used as shown by their absence at Los Adaes and sites along Cane River. Many traditional Caddo vessel forms (such as bottles and carinated bowls) appear to have dropped out of use during the late 18th century. Several early 19th century sites that relate to occupants of the ethnically-mixed Bayou Pierre community north of Natchitoches contain Native American shell-tempered pottery, but represented vessel forms are similar to the "Colonoware" that is widespread in the eastern U.S. A small number of engraved and incised sherds have been recovered at these sites, but it is possible that they are from earlier Caddo occupations. Groups that originated east of the Mississippi Valley moved into northern Louisiana during the late 18th century, and new types such as Zimmerman Black, Chickashae Red, Chickashae Combed, and Chattahoochee Roughened appear in the archaeological record. Native American pottery disappears from the archaeological record in the region by 1830.