Spiro Looters
Gahagan Pottery
THE CADDO MOUNDBUILDER'S LEGACY
KahWinHut 4-9-2010
When people use the term moundbuilders they often have a specifc tribe in mind although many different people have many different ideas about who exactly the moundbuilders were. The fact is that there were many different Southeastern moundbuilder societies, and they were not all the same religion, culture, and tradition. Referring toonly one tribe as the moundbuilders is like referring toonly one tribe as the Indians. The moundbuilding itself seemed to have been one commonality among these Southeastern tribes, one of many, but it certainly did not define the whole of the region, nor any specific tribe. The truth is, the moundbuilding itself is a very ancient legacy of these Southeast tribes, some examples being Etowah, Cahokia, Moundville, and Spiro, with Spiro, the ancestors of the Caddo people, being the most recent. There is archeological evidence that the Caddo continued the moundbuilding, although not on the same grandiose scale, nor for exactly the same reasons, up until the arrivial of the Spanish.
Below is a list, nowhere near exhaustive, of some of the most important though not well known Caddo mounds and sites. Also know that a lot of this information is from the "Recconecting Past and Present" project located here:
http://www.nsula.edu/regionalfolklife/Caddo/oralhistory.htm
KahWinHut 4-9-2010
Many books have been written about this very famous of mounds. Sometimes referred to as the King Tut of North America, this mound, althought excavated by looters, prooved to be one of the most prolific mound with the highest concentration of some of the most amazing and precious artifacts, that ranged from Sprio specific and Caddo burial artifacts, to Southeast Indian ceremondial objects. One of the books I enjoyed and thought presented a variety of different perspectives on the subject was "Looting the Spiro Mounds" by David La Vere.
Located near Spiro, Oklahoma it is right off of the major river route of the area, the Arkansas River.
Brown Mound at Spiro
Pottery from Spiro
KahWinHut 4-9-2010
Caddo Parish, LA: 10 mounds of various sizes.
Cadda, ca A.D. 850 - 1100.
I don't have pictures or exact location as of yet.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Red River Parish, LA: 2-3 mounds around a central plaza.
Cadda, ca A.D. 950 - 1250.
Gahagan Artifacts, Copper Hand, Gahagan Knives, and Long-Nosed god earrings.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Natchitoches Parish, LA:
Natchitoches Caddo Village encountered by Europeans in 1690, extended along both sides of Red/Cane River for 10 miles.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Natchitoches Parish, LA:
Village of the White Chief of the Natchitoches, aquired by the French for their first Louisiana settlement.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Natchitoches Parish, LA:
Spanish presidio and Capital site, established in 1721 near the Adai Indians.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Natchitoches Parish, LA:
A large bluff overlooking the Red River, rich in natural resources, became a multi-cultural interaction area.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Winn Parish, LA:
Important salt sources that drew the Natchitoches Caddo into the area byt hte 17th century.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Natchitoches Parish, LA:
The southern extent of the Caddo area on the Red River, home to the Cane River Creole community with genealogical ties to Caddo Nation.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Lafeyette Co.,AR:
Caddo, the largest Caddo mound located within a large, extended settlement area, occupied over several centuries until the early 19th century.
Haven't found images of exact location yet.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Bowie Co., TX:
Caddo, 7 mound site within the boundaries of the Nasoni Caddo community depicted on Teran's 1691 map, occupied over several centuries until the early 19th century.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Bowie Co., TX:
Caddo, single mound thought to be the hill on which Tsa-Caddo instructed her children; depicted on Teran's 1691 map, occupied over several centuries until the early 19th century.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Lafeyette Co.,AR:
Caddo, large ridge near Red River on which the Caddo procured important mineral and natural resources.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Miller Co. AR:
At least 5 mounds, one of the earliest, most complex Caddo ceremonial sites; believed to be one of the primary places where the Caddo cultural traditions began, ca. AD 600 - 1100.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Bossier Parish, LA:
Caddo, ca. 1100 - 1500 AD, burial mounds within an extendedd dispersed communinty.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Red River Parish, LA:
Protected area set aside by COrps of Engineers and Red River Waterways Commission overlooking Red River, to be used by the Caddo Nation for re-interring Caddo people an their associated funerary objects from nearby locations.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Avoyelles Parish, LA:
Marksville period, Woodland Culture, at least 6 mounds surrounded by a semi-circular embankment, ca. 200 BC - 400 AD.
KahWinHut 4-9-2010
Avoyelles Parish, LA:
Troyvill period, Woodland culture, 7 mounsd surrounding a large plaza, ca. 400-1000 AD.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Catahoula Parish, LA:
Troyville period, Woodland culture, 9-13 mounds enclosed by an earth embankment, ca. 50-900 AD.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Adams Co., MS:
Main ceremonial center of the Natchez Indians, Caddo allies, ca. 1628-1729.
KahWinHut 4-13-2010
Adams Co., MS:
one of the largest mounds in America, Mississippian culture, ca. 1250-1600 AD. Its builders were ancestors of the Natchez Indians.
Please visit http://www.nsula.edu/regionalfolklife/Caddo/oralhistory.htm for the original publication of some of the Caddo mounds. This site, also in brochure form, gives more information about the mounds and perspectives from Caddo members of the Repatriation Committee.
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