Archaeology of Louisiana

A Novel

Mark A. Rees

• Publisher: LSU Press
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9780807137956
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

Archaeology of Louisiana provides a groundbreaking and up-to-date overview of archaeology in the Bayou State, including a thorough analysis of the cultures, communities, and people of Louisiana from the Native Americans of 13, 000 years ago to the modern historical archaeology of New Orleans. With eighteen chapters and twenty-seven distinguished contributors, Archaeology of Louisiana brings together the studies of some of the most respected archaeologists currently working in the state, collecting in a single volume a range of methods and theories to offer a comprehensive understanding of the latest archaeological findings.In the past two decades alone, much new data has transformed our knowledge of Louisiana's history. This collection, accordingly, presents fresh perspectives based on current information, such as the discovery that Native Americans in Louisiana constructed some of the earliest-known monumental architecture in the world—extensive earthen mounds—during the Middle Archaic period (6000–2000 B.C.) Other contributors consider a variety of subjects, such as the development of complex societies without agriculture, underwater archaeology, the partnering of archaeologists with the Caddo Nation and descendant communities, and recent research in historical archaeology and cultural resource management that promises to transform our current appreciation of colonial Spanish, French, Creole, and African American experiences in the Lower Mississippi Valley.Accessible and engaging, Archaeology of Louisiana provides a complete and current archaeological reference to the state's unique heritage and history.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Introduction
• 2. A History of Archaeology in Louisiana
• 3. Paleoindian and Early Archaic
• 4. Middle Archaic and Watson Brake
• 5. Poverty Point Redux
• 6. Tchefuncte and Early Woodland
• 7. Marksville and Middle Woodland
• 8. Troyville and the Baytown Period
• 9. Coles Creek
• 10. Plaquemine and Mississippian
• 11. Caddo Communities of Northwest Louisiana
• 12. The Caddo Nation, Archaeology, and NAGPRA
• 13. The Spanish in Northwest Louisiana, 1721–1773
• 14. French Colonial Archaeology
• 15. African American Archaeology
• 16. Colonial and Early Antebellum New Orleans
• 17. Immigration and Urbanization in New Orleans
• 18. Underwater Archaeology
• References
• Contributors
• Index
• Index of Sites