The ceramic complex of the Middle Mississippian phase in northeast Arkansas is comparatively well known, though its origin and relationships are still obscure. Holmes and Moore described and classified this ware, but were unable to place it chronologically. Vaillant later pointed out certain striking analogies between the vessel forms from this area and those from Mexico, Central and South America, but his study was made from the standpoint of horizontal distribution.Although the examples which he illustrates are quite suggestive of a Latin American origin, Vaillant's hypothesis is most strongly supported by specific types which have a composite silhouette. It is true that these forms are characteristic of the Arkansas Middle Mississippian complex; but they are complemented by a great number of simple vessels which are either plain or have elementary intaglio and relief designs.
The Ozark Uplift of northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri has been a fertile field for archaeological investigation. Natural conditions have greatly facilitated research here, for despite the humidity of the region, there are numerous dry shelters or caves formed by the weathering of shale beds beneath limestone strata in bluffs along White River, its tributaries, and the Cowskin River. Debris, burials, and pictographs show that the Indians had used the shelters as combined homes, cemeteries, and places for ceremonials. In contrast to village sites in the lowlands of Arkansas, the bluff shelters afford more than a fragmentary picture of Indian life. Here, the burials are complemented by remains fortuitously preserved through absence of moisture, and the entire cave floor is comparable to the middens of the lowlands. The archaeological materials illustrate the complete life cycle of the aborigines. Cradleboards and burial wrappings, foodstuff and human feces all contribute to a reconstruction of Bluff-Dweller life.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Arkansas Historical Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Arkansas Historical Quarterly.Although it did not attain the importance of the area around the mouths of the Arkansas and White rivers, the confluence of the St. Francis River with the Mississippi River was geographically significant from pre-Columbian times up to the early 1800s. Here earth and water joined to provide a luxuriant habitat for wildlife which attracted people.After receiving the waters of L' Anguille River, the St. Francis curves through the lowland immediately east of the southern segment of Crowley's Ridge to empty into the Mississippl. From the flat bottom lands of alluvium the hilly and broken ridge rises to a height of 325 feet above sea level. Ravines, cutting through the sides of this broad elevation, expose wind-blown loess soils on top of beds of water-worn gravels. Once numerous springs trickled from these beds.Mixed hardwoods, bald cypress, cottonwood, and canebrakes covered the lowland. On the ridge grew several varieties of oaks, more than one kind of hickory, ash, maple, cherry, walnut, butternut, beech, basswood, the sugar tree, the cucumber tree, sassafras, sweetgum, mulberry, and the tulip tree. Wild grape vines looped themselves over limbs and in sunny places blackberry brambles were thickly intertwined.Both large game and small game thrived in these woods. Bear and deer multiplied, and bison moved down from prairies up L' Anguille. Myriads of waterfowl and passenger pigeons rested here during their migratory flights. Bald eagles built nests in tall cypress trees and parakeets, having fine sea-green plumage, easily blended into the foliage except for the pink spot on their crown and the red around their neck. *The author is a retired newspaper editor and translator of colonial and contemporary French and Spanish historical works. He is the second native Arkansan who trained for a career in American archaeology. John Gould Fletcher was the first.This content downloaded from 91.
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