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A Glimpse Of The Middle Archaic Period

The Plum Creek site could reveal more information about this time.

These geometric-shaped baked clay objects were recovered from Plum Creek.

LOCATED IN OUACHITA PARISH, in northeastern Louisiana, Plum Creek is a Middle Archaic Period (ca. 3500 b.c.) site that is located in an area known for its mound sites from this period. Plum Creek was named for the timber company that previously owned the site, and it was discovered by Bryan Davis and later investigated by Louisiana Regional Archaeologists Joe Saunders and Reca Bamberg-Jones in 1997.

Although there is no mound at Plum Creek, the evidence of its occupation resembles those of Watson Brake and Frenchman’s Bend Mounds, two of the region’s large archaic mound sites. Bulverde, Carrollton, Ellis, Sinner, and Evans projectile points have been discovered there, as they have at other Archaic sites in northeast Louisiana. The site is also covered with fire-cracked rocks, which are commonly found at Archaic sites. These rocks were heated for cooking, which caused them to fracture.

The Plum Creek site has also yielded the second largest known sample of baked clay objects in the region. These objects are another signature artifact of Archaic sites. Their exact use is unknown, but some archaeologists believe them to be associated with hearths and cooking activities. They were made hard by heating them in a fire. Their shapes vary somewhat, but in general they look like small bricks or biscuits. It’s possible that they were used to line cooking surfaces or fire pits. A total of 206 of these objects were found in the surface collections and excavations at Plum Creek.

Plum Creek is believed to have been a camp with a rich, well-preserved midden. An abundance of fish and more than a dozen species of mussels and aquatic snails have been found there. Little is known about the daily lives of the people who built and used archaic mounds. Since Plum Creek was inhabited by the same people who built the nearby Archaic mounds, the abundance of food processing artifacts at this site offers an excellent opportunity for archaeologists to learn more about the health, diet, and cooking practices of this mysterious population.

The Conservancy attempted to purchase Plum Creek several years ago, but the negotiations were unsuccessful and the Cardinal Gas Company then purchased the tract of land containing the site. Cardinal Gas has since agreed to donate the site to the Conservancy to preserve it. The site will be fenced and protected so that future researchers can add to our knowledge of the oldest mound-building cultures in the Southeast. —Jessica Crawford