Louisiana Archaeological Society website information:
LAS ANNUAL MEETING
JANUARY 21-23
ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA
ALEXANDER FULTON HOTEL
http://www.laarchaeology.org/annual.htm
2011 Annual Meeting of the Louisiana Archaeological Society
Alexandria, La.
January 21-23, 2010
Notes and News
All paper presentations are in the Ballroom Bayou Claire. Poster presentations are planned to be at the back of the Ballroom.
The LAS Silent Auction is laid out on tables at the back of the Ballroom, or in one of the small adjoining rooms. Each item has a bid sheet with it. Please put your name and bid at the top of the sheet; subsequent bidders list your name below. The minimum bid is $5.00, and the minimum bid increment is $2.50. If you have any questions about the Auction or an item in the Auction, please see Chip McGimsey.
LAS publications and the new book Archaeology of Louisiana will be for sale at a table next to the Silent Auction.
The Banquet will be held beginning at 7:00 PM on Saturday in the Ballroom Red River.
After dinner, the Keynote speaker will be Dr. Jack Irion of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Research and Enforcement (formerly Minerals Management Service).
In 2002, the operators of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) discovered the remains of a historic shipwreck lying undisturbed in 4,000 ft of water off the Louisiana coast. This discovery set in motion a chain of events that culminated in the recovery of hundreds of historic artifacts in the first deepwater archaeological excavation ever attempted in the Gulf of Mexico.
Dr. Irion’s talk will explore the way in which the extraordinary recovery came bout, the high-tech means by which it was accomplished, and present some of the findings from the project. The possible identification of the wreck will be examined and it’s implications for Louisiana history.
Selected artifacts from the shipwreck will be on display in the book room.
Schedule of Events
Friday
January 21, 2011
4:00 – 5:00 Louisiana Archaeological Conservancy meeting (Wellswood Room)
5:00 – 6:00 LAS Executive Committee meeting (Wellswood Room)
5:00 – 8:00 Registration, Lobby
7:00 – 10:00 Reception, Room 721 Presidential Parlor
Saturday
January 22, 2011
7:30 – 12:00 Registration
8:00 – 11:30 Presentations and posters
11:30 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 5:00 Presentations and posters
5:00 - 6:00 LAS Business meeting
7:00 Banquet and Keynote Speaker
Sunday
January 23, 2011
9:00 Tours meet at motel registration desk
Sunday Site Tours
Forts Buhlow and Randolph tour
Fort Buhlow and Fort Randolph are two Civil War forts located on the west side of Alexandria, approximately 10 minutes from the motel. They were built by the Confederate Army in 1864-65 in an effort to prevent further Union Army excursions up the Red River. They are now the newest State Park in Louisiana, having just opened in fall 2010. The park also includes the site of Bailey’s Dam, one or the more remarkable engineering feats of the war. During the 1863 Red River campaign, Union gunboats were trapped upstream due to low water over the rapids at Alexandria. A Union officer (Bailey) devised a series of wing dams that concentrated the river’s flow, providing just enough depth for the gunboats to escape downriver. The park includes a visitor center with exhibits and an elevated boardwalk around the fort areas with an overlook near Bailey’s Dam.
Marksville and Fort DeRussy tour - led by Chip McGimsey
The Marksville and Fort DeRussy sites lie approximately one hour south of Alexandria in the town of Marksville. The Marksville site is a State Historic Site and includes six mounds and a 3000 foot long earthen embankment. Built during the Middle Woodland period (AD 0 – 400), it is part of the Hopewell culture that extended across much of eastern North America at that time. The park includes a nice museum with exhibits, and the visit will include a walking tour visiting the mounds and exploring the results of 80 years of excavation at the site.
If there is interest, the tour can also visit Fort DeRussy, a Confederate fort built just 5 miles north of Marksville. Constructed in 1862-1863, it was the site of a brief battle and was captured by the Union. Parts of the fort are very well preserved.
From the motel, take LA Highway 1 south to Marksville. Once in town, turn left at the third stoplight (Shell station on the right). Go one block and turn left onto Preston St. (LA 452) and continue 3 blocks past the stoplight. Turn right onto Martin Luther King Drive and follow it all the way to the park.
GPS Coordinates: N 31 7.5127, W 92 2.9894.
Schedule of Papers
Saturday morning
8:00 Velicia Bergstrom (Kisatchie National Forest)
From Spanish Land Grants to Fullerton Mill, a Brief Tour of PIT Projects on the Kisatchie
8:20 Joe Saunders (University of Louisiana at Monroe)
Coring Mounds in Northeast Louisiana
8:40 Danny Cain (Kisatchie National Forest)
Revisiting Lithic Scatters: A CRM Perspective
9:00 Diana Greenlee, Richard Hughes and Tom Origer (Poverty Point State Park, Mississippi State University, Geochemical Research Laboratory, and Origer’s Obsidian Laboratory)
New Research on Poverty Point’s Obsidian
9:20 Jim Fogleman (Louisiana Archaeological Society)
Prehistoric Trade Materials for South-central Louisiana
9:40 – 10:00 BREAK
10:20 Jim Delahoussaye (Louisiana Archaeological Society)
A Fishy Place: Faunal Remains from the Landerneau site (16CA87)
10:40 Jeff Girard (Northwestern Start University)
Investigations at the Longlois Site (16NA657, Natchitoches Parish
11:00 Shannon Lee Dawdy (University of Chicago)
An Urban Theatre: the Archaeology of St. Anthony’s Garden
11:20 Lauren Zych (University of Chicago)
Handmade Earthenware in Colonial New Orleans: Typical Pots in Unexpected Contexts
11:40 Rob Mann (Louisiana State University)
Commodities and Colonialism: French Faience, Spanish Reforms, and Isleño Settlers in 18th century Louisiana.
Saturday afternoon
1:20 Jason Emery (Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office)
Recovery, Section 106, Burial Permits an’ Stuff Like That There: Louisiana Burial Law as Seen Through Two Case Studies in Orleans Parish, Louisiana
1:40 David Palmer (University of Louisiana at Lafayette)
2:00 Andrea White (University of New Orleans)
Layers of History: Predicting Archaeological Site location and Tracing the Development of New Orleans with GIS and Historic Maps
2:20 Sherwood Gagliano (Coastal Environments, Inc.)
Geoarchaeology of Tectonic Events in South Louisiana
2:40 Jessica Kowalski and Richard Weinstein (Coastal Environments, Inc.)
Cultural Resource Investigations for the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Ecosystem Restoration Project, Southeastern Louisiana
3:00 – 3:20 BREAK
3:20 Alvin Banguilan, Melissa Braud, Mike Madsen and Barry Warton (HDR, Inc. and La State Historic Preservation Office)
History of the Oil Spill CRM Response Efforts in Louisiana
3:40 Jonathan Smith (Earth Search, Inc.)
From the Top of a Live Oak: Preliminary Report on the English Lookout Site
4:00 Stephanie Postlewaite, Matt Postlewaite, Forrest Travirca III, and Rick Fuller (HDR, Inc. and Wisner Trust)
Recent Site Discoveries on Fourchon Beach and Implications for Future Research
4:20 Susanne Stone and Courtney Cloy (HDR, Inc.)
Remote Sensing in Louisiana: Forstall Plantation, Isle de Jean Cemetery, Fort Livingston
4:40 Ryan Seidemann (Louisiana Department of Justice)
Shipwreck Protection: Coverage of the Laws, Problems, and Suggestions for Broader Protection
Abstracts
Alvin Banguilan, Melissa Braud, Mike Madson and Barry Wharton (HDR and Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office)
History of the Oil Spill CRM Response Efforts in Louisiana
HDR archaeologists arrived in Louisiana less than one month after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig that set off the nation’s largest oil spill. HDR was contracted by BP to provide cultural resources expertise in support of assessment and clean-up operations. During previous large oil spills, in particular the Exxon Valdez incident in Alaska, archaeologists and historic preservationists learned that activities related to the spill (clean-up, assessments, etc.) were at least as damaging to important historic properties as the oil itself. Since May, HDR has assembled a team of archaeologists, ethnographers, geomorphologists, GIS specialists, and other professionals to record, assess, and protect the Gulf of Mexico’s valuable cultural heritage. This paper will report on our findings from over eight months of work related to the oil spill in Louisiana. Our efforts in other states affected the spill, namely Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle, will also be summarized.
Velicia Bergstrom (Kisatchie National Forest)
From Spanish Land Grants to Fullerton Mill, a Brief Tour of PIT Projects on the Kisatchie
First stop is at Spanish Oaks site (16NA380) located within the Kisatchie Ranger District near Natchitoches, La. Geophysical work had been performed at this site in 2001. Based on these results, investigations through a Passport in Time (PIT) project was hosted by the Kisatchie National Forest (KNF) in 2003 for a period of 10 days. Also in 2003, the KNF hosted a small PIT project over 5 days on the Winn Ranger District commemorating the Civilian Conservation Corps. Next stop is the Iatt Lake Bluff Site (16GR591). This site was discovered as a result of vandalism in 1996, and was deemed to be significant. It covers 5 acres of forest lands on the Catahoula Ranger District and KNF hosted a PIT project at this site in 2004 and 2005. This offered volunteers 20 days of investigations at the site and 10 days of laboratory work. During the fall of 2006 our focus was on the Caney Ranger District, near Minden, La. For this project we spent 7 days delineating sites that were inadvertently discovered in 2005. In 2007 we went to the Mosley Hill Fire Tower (Catahoula Ranger District) which had been moved due to road construction to near the ranger station in Bentley, La. The PIT volunteers spent 5 days refurbishing the cab while on the ground. We also worked at the Marker 124 site (16CL117) for a 10 day period that spring on the Caney Ranger District and subsequently in a laboratory setting that fall to analyze the recovered artifacts over a 5 day period. In the spring of 2009, KNF hosted a 10 PIT project at the Horse Head site (16VN1016) on the Calcasieu Ranger District. This site, like the Iatt Lake Bluff site, had also suffered from unauthorized digging. The laboratory experience for these investigations took place in the spring of 2010. Most recently was hosted a 10 project at Fullerton Mill and Town site (16VN499-Calcasieu Ranger District). As this was a survey project, new sites were discovered and the project field work was finally completed December 1, 2010. This presentation will briefly discuss each of these projects and offer a view of some unique sites on the KNF.
Daniel Cain (Kisatchie National Forest)
“Such sites are ubiquitous, and there is nothing about this one to make it remarkable”. Revisiting Lithic Scatters: A CRM Perspective
The scope of an archaeological survey may be defined by environmental or known cultural boundaries, or by arbitrarily defined boundaries, as with most Cultural Resource Management (CRM) surveys. Perhaps the most common site encountered during the course of any Phase I CRM survey is the lithic scatter, many of which do not produce temporally diagnostic materials. Given that the majority of field archaeology conducted within the United States today is compliance driven, it stands to reason that most lithic scatters are discovered by CRM firms. They are therefore investigated and recorded according to state standards, and their potential for contributing to the archaeological record is evaluated according to criteria established under the NHPA. Under these conditions, the significance of virtually all of these sites is dismissed outright, and in fact many are not usefully recorded at all. While nondiagnostic lithic scatters may indeed be uninteresting as individual units of analysis, this paper argues that as a class of data they represent a vital component of the archaeological record. The paper also demonstrates that under currently accepted field methodology, many of these sites are not properly investigated and are not entered into any meaningful databases. Recommendations for improving the investigation and interpretation of these sites are offered, based on recent initiatives taken in Louisiana by the Kisatchie National Forest, U.S.D.A. Forest Service.
Shannon Lee Dawdy (University of Chicago)
An Urban Theatre: The Archaeology of St. Anthony's Garden
This talk will provide an overview of major findings of 2008 and 2009 excavations at St. Anthony's Garden, the green space behind St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans' French Quarter which in many ways has served as a theatre for the public life of the city through several phases of its history. Well preserved early French colonial components uncovered evidence of the centrality of this site in early European-Native American diplomatic trade while later components are helping us to understanding lay religious practices and the daily life (and play) of an antebellum city through one of its most intensely used public parks. Excavations have been undertaken by the University of Chicago with the assistance of local volunteers and generous funding from the Getty Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Jim Delahoussaye (Louisiana Archaeological Society)
A Fishy Place: Faunal Remains at the Landerneau Site 16CA87
The Landerneau site is located beside the Boeuf River in Caldwell Parish. It is comprised of two mounds and a midden, the latter constructed by a Troyville culture. The faunal sample provided by Dr. Joe Saunders produced an interesting diversity of wetland vertebrate species. The faunal table suggests a reliance on fish, predominantly those inhabiting backwater conditions, such as Amia and gar, with the usually present sucker family not as much in evidence as expected from a knowledge of the fauna from other nearby sites. Without computing the MNI and the nutritional potential for the animals represented in this sample, it is difficult to specify with certainty what the material meant to the Marksville/Troyville people who procured, processed and disposed of it. However, if one is familiar with the ecology and fauna of the area, some commentary can be done.
Jason Emery (Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office)
Recovery, Section 106, Burial Permits an’ Stuff Like That There: Louisiana Burial Law as Seen Through Two Case Studies in Orleans Parish, Louisiana
This presentation is the story of how a federal review process and a state law were synchronized through “consultation” to satisfy state and federal law. I’ll first provide an introduction to some pertinent portions of Louisiana State Burial Law, including opinions from the LA Attorney General’s Office. I’ll then present a very brief background for two FEMA-funded projects in Orleans Parish, which were reviewed pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act: the demolition of the Thomy Lafon Elementary School and the restoration of Jackson Barracks. From there, I will provide the strategies used to address Louisiana State Burial Law (Title 8), particularly the Unmarked Human Burial Sites Act, during the development of these Memoranda of Agreement to resolve adverse effects to historic properties. These two examples are brought forward to spark thought and discussion about how to “meet the spirit” of the law not just “comply” with it.
James Fogleman (Louisiana Archaeological Society)
Prehistoric Trade Materials for South-Central Louisiana
Exotic materials were never a dominant resource in Saint Landry and Avoyelles Parishes. With the exception of one small site, local resources make up 90%+ of lithic materials at all sites visited by the author. Still some non-local materials ended up as debris and artifacts in this part of south-central Louisiana. While exotic materials occur from at least late paleo through the contact period, it appears that some materials have a quantitative temporal preference. Examples of these exotic items will be discussed along with a side order of rampant speculation.
Sherwood M. Gagliano (Coastal Environments, Inc.)
Geoarchaeology of Tectonic Events in South Louisiana
A new model of interactions between Late Quaternary tectonic events and landform/ecological changes has been developed for South Louisiana. Landform signatures of fault movement have been identified on both terrace uplands and coastal lowlands and correlated with known subsurface faults and in some instances with earthquakes. The surface expressions include fault scarps, deformation depressions, springs, severed natural levees, stream and shore alignments, and tilting of fault-bound blocks. Some tectonic events are slow and imperceptible while others are short duration, high-energy occurrences. These events and changes affected Native American settlement patterns and site geometry. Relationships between prehistoric archaeological sites and surface fault signatures have been identified enabling dating of paleo-tectonic events and understanding of site locations and possible cultural response.
Of particular interest are apparent relationships between Archaic mound groups and scarps and induced topographic depressions, that occur along regional growth faults that strike east-west across the lower Mississippi River valley. Geological evidence suggests that the faults were activated by a regional tectonic event, which caused the trunk channel of the Mississippi to shift from the west side of its valley (Teche Mississippi) to the east side (St. Bernard Mississippi). This event, or series of events, occurred around 4500 years before present, and may have been accompanied by earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater. Relationships between tectonic related features and mounds have been identified at a number of sites near the intersections of the regional faults and the river valley margin. These include Monte Sano Bayou (16EBR7), LSU Campus (16EBR6), and Bellmont (16SJ1) along the east side of the valley and Bayou Courtableau (16SL11) on the west side. The correlations suggest that earthquake effects accompanied by dramatic landscape changes may have influenced the location of some Archaic ceremonial centers.
Jeffrey S. Girard (Northwestern State University)
Investigations at the Longlois Site (16NA657), Natchitoches Parish
In the summer of 2008, a landowner encountered artifacts and faunal remains approximately 2m below the surface while excavating a sewage lagoon. Additional artifacts and a pit feature were found a few meters away along an eroded cutbank during the following spring. The site, known as the Longlois Site (16NA657), is situated near the mouth of Bayou Pierre north of Grand Ecore in Natchitoches Parish. In 2009, remaining deposits in the exposed pit feature were excavated yielding a large sample of sherds, fauna, and botanical remains. Radiocarbon dates (960+/-25 BP and 710+/-25 BP) were obtained on charcoal from the feature. The recovered pottery has characteristics similar to contemporary Early to Middle Caddo period sites to the northwest, but differs in many respects as well, most notably by the absence of fine engraved specimens.
Diana Greenlee, Richard Hughes and Tom Origer (University of Louisiana at Monroe, Geochemical Research Laboratory, and Origer’s Obsidian Laboratory)
New Research on Poverty Point’s Obsidian
In 1985, an obsidian fragment was collected from the ground surface along the eastern edge of Maçon Ridge in the area of the northern ridges at Poverty Point. During construction of a maintenance building north of Harlin Bayou in 2009, three more pieces of obsidian were recovered from near-surface contexts. X-ray fluorescence analyses indicate that the four samples do not match any known archaeologically-significant geochemical sources in the western US, Mexico or Mesoamerica. Obsidian hydration analyses reveal no hydration bands, consistent with a historic introduction to the site. We suspect that modern flintknappers brought the obsidian to Poverty Point.
Jessica Kowalski and Richard Weinstein (Coastal Environments, Inc.)
Cultural Resource Investigations for the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Ecosystem Restoration Project, Southeastern Louisiana
During the summer of 2010, archaeologists with Coastal Environments, Inc., (CEI) conducted cultural resource investigations around Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Ecosystem Restoration project. As part of these investigations, four previously recorded sites (16ST4, 16ST7, 16OR34, and 16SB47) were chosen for an in-depth assessment. Specifically, it was the goal of this task to collect detailed topographic data and identify the vertical and horizontal extent of exposed and buried cultural deposits. The preliminary results of these investigations will be presented as well as discussion on field methodology, future research goals, and site preservation in the dynamic estuarine environment of southeastern Louisiana.
Rob Mann (Louisiana State University)
Commodities and Colonialism: French Faience, Spanish Reforms, and Isleño Settlers in 18th century Louisiana.
During the late 18th century, several hundred Canary Islanders (Isleños) were relocated to a remote village at the very edge of Spanish Louisiana. Recent archaeological investigations at the site of this village, known as Galveztown, are beginning to reveal the complex social processes at work on the Spanish frontier. The Isleños had very little control over the materiality of their daily lives as suggested by the presence of everyday tablewares such as French faience. Faience and other global commodities found their way to Galveztown as the result of a complex web of social relations of production, exchange, and power far removed from the quotidian concerns of the villagers. The Isleños, it seems, were caught up in the turbulent slipstream of various colonialisms that both enabled and were enabled by the rapid circulation of commodities, bodies, and ideologies throughout the Circum-Caribbean-Atlantic world.
David Palmer (University of Louisiana – Lafayette) Stephanie Postlewaite, Matt Postlewaite, Forrest Travirca, III, and Rick Fuller (HDR, Inc. and Wisner Trust)
Recent Site Discoveries on Fourchon Beach and Implications for Future Research
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill response provides an opportunity to study prehistoric coastal communities on Fourchon Beach, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. The presence of a wide scatter of prehistoric artifacts across the eastern portion of the beach offers an important glimpse into prehistoric occupations along what was the interior portion of the Caminada-Moreau Headland. To date, the response efforts have involved reconnaissance-level survey, monitoring of oil spill cleanup activities, and subsurface site delineation. This paper will provide a summary of the archaeological response efforts on Fourchon Beach and provide insights into this unique opportunity to study Coles Creek and Mississippian culture coastal adaptation in light of the accelerated effects of subsidence and erosion.
Joe Saunders (University of Louisiana at Monroe)
Coring Mounds in NE Louisiana
For over nine years the Northeast Regional Archaeology program cored mounds to determine their age and stratigraphy. The results have shown that the method can accurately determine the age of the earthworks if the provenience of the organic sample is properly established. This presentation will provide a few tips on how to "read" the provenience properly: pedogenesis and stratigraphic boundaries.
Ryan M. Seidemann (Louisiana Department of Justice)
Shipwreck Protection: Coverage of the Laws, Problems, and Suggestions for Broader Protection
Although the passage of the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 was a watershed event in the protection of maritime heritage, significant problems still remain: How do you protect wrecks in federal waters?; What happens when a watercourse shifts, leaving a site only partially inundated?; Who is responsible for the documentation and restoration of damaged sites?; What can be done to bolster existing shipwreck protections and what actions may be available from a legal perspective to protect these resources today? Answers to these questions are briefly examined with recommendations for future action.
Jonathan Smith (Earth Search, Inc.)
From the Top of a Live Oak: Preliminary Report on the English Lookout Site
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill initiated a large scale survey of the Louisiana coastline which has provided an opportunity to update known sites and rediscover the small settlements and camps that once dotted the Louisiana coastline. English Lookout, first used as a lookout post during the War of 1812, is one such settlement. Preliminary findings suggest this site developed into a small fishing village during the 19th century and was completely abandoned by the mid 20th century. Sites such as this offer an opportunity to gain insight into the lives of coastal Louisiana residents prior to the development of the road and highway infrastructure which has changed the landscape of modern Louisiana.
Suzanne Stone and Courtney Cloy
Remote Sensing in Louisiana: Forstall Plantation, Isle de Jean Cemetery, Fort Livingston
In concert with the response to the BP Oil Spill we employed geophysical prospection methods at three sites along the Louisiana Gulf coast: Forstall Plantation, Isle de Jean Cemetery, and Fort Livingston. Each site had unique requirements and parameters. For each location, we discuss our survey goal, why we used the chosen geoprospection method, what we did or didn’t find, and review some cautionary tales we encountered at each site.
Andrea White (University of New Orleans)
Layers of History: Predicting Archaeological Site location and Tracing the Development of New Orleans with GIS and Historic Maps
Historic maps have always been essential tool for historic archaeologists. GIS has become a powerful method to overlay these maps on to the modern landscape. Historic charts, drawings, and maps can provide clues to historic land use and archaeological site locations. In a large metropolitan and historic city such as New Orleans, there are hundreds of archaeological deposits containing the hidden story of the community’s colonial, antebellum, and more recent past. Due to the rapid pace of modern development, a GIS model could aid in assessing the archaeological potential of a property quickly. Currently, the University of New Orleans and the Louisiana Division of Archaeology are developing a large scale GIS sensitivity model that incorporates numerous historic maps tracing the development of the city over 250 years. The final product is not only a powerful planning tool but a new device for researchers regarding the urbanism of the city.
Lauren Zych (University of Chicago)
Handmade Earthenware in Colonial New Orleans: Typical Pots in Unexpected Contexts
Excavation of colonial deposits in New Orleans’ French Quarter often produces a handful of coarse handmade sherds that stand out among the faience, creamware and pearlware that dominates most eighteenth-century ceramic assemblages. Traditionally assumed to be of Native American origin, these low-fired earthenwares come in a variety of types, demonstrating remarkable variation in paste, temper, surface treatment, and decoration. To date, they have not received much attention from the archaeological community, perhaps because of their limited quantities. However, several projects recently completed by Shannon Dawdy, Chris Matthews, and Earth Search Inc. have dramatically increased the overall number of handmade vessels recovered from colonial sites, and it is finally possible to begin a systematic study of these locally produced wares. This paper will describe the historical contexts in which they are found, the larger theoretical questions they raise, and the techniques I will employ to investigate the production, movement, and use of these unusual wares.
Poster Abstracts
Myrna Arroyo and Rob Mann (Louisiana State University)
Under the Table(wares) or Surplus Necessities?: French Faience at Spanish Colonial Galveztown
Recent excavations at Galveztown, a late 18th-century Spanish Colonial site populated by a few hundred Canary Islanders, have yielded large amounts of French ceramics, particularly Faience. This outpost on the edge of Spanish territory, at the boundary between British and Spanish Louisiana, yields important insights into the daily lives and larger social processes at work in Spanish Colonial Louisiana. We examine two possible scenarios for the abundance of faience at Galveztown. One theory posits that the daily necessities found at the site are simply surplus goods provided by the Spanish Governor in New Orleans. Alternatively, it is possible that these French tablewares arrived at the site through illicit means. This poster explains the historical background and geographical context of the site and explores the possible reasons for the abundance of French Faience found on the site.
Kathleen Mocklin and Rob Mann (Louisiana State University)
Once was Lost, but Now is Found: Archaeological Investigations of Irishtown Site in Plaquemine, Louisiana.
At the head of Bayou Plaquemine and along the Mississippi River, a community called Irishtown grew from the early 1800’s and became a glorified and prosperous suburb of the Town of Plaquemine by the early 1880's. Due to constant land cave-ins from the Mississippi River, most of this community was washed away over time. The end of Irishtown's story is the Plaquemine Lock's beginning. The decision was made by Congress on May 11, 1888 to construct a Lock on and through the streets of Irishtown to protect the City of Plaquemine from further cave-ins, floods, and to bring commerce to the city. After the government purchased all the land from the property owners of Irishtown in 1893, the suburb was lost, but not forgotten. Stories of Irishtown still thrive in the Plaquemine community today. These stories inspired the phase I investigations in the spring of 2010 in the last remaining area of this once lost, now found community. These investigations are a collaborative effort by Southeast Regional Archaeologist Dr. Rob Mann, Louisiana State Parks Interpretive Ranger Kathleen Mocklin, volunteers from the Louisiana Archaeological Society, and the Plaquemine community.
