Baytown culture
Encyclopedia
The Baytown culture was a Pre-Columbian
Native American
culture that existed from 300 to 700 CE in the lower Mississippi River
Valley, consisting of sites in eastern Arkansas
, western Tennessee
, Louisiana
, and western Mississippi
. The Baytown Site
on the White River
in Monroe County, Arkansas
is the type site
for culture. It was a Baytown Period culture during the Late Woodland period. It was contemporaneous with the Coastal Troyville and Troyville culture
s of Louisiana and Mississippi (all three had evolved from the Marksville Hopewellian peoples
) and the Fourche Maline culture
and was succeeded by the Plum Bayou culture
. Where the Baytown peoples built dispersed settlements, the Troyville people instead continued building major earthwork centers.
In all probability these 4 theories are quite inter-related and may have all played a role in the development of the Baytown culture.
Although few outstanding works of prehistoric art or architecture can be attributed to this time period, analysis shows that throughout the Southeast, the Late Woodland was a very dynamic period. Bow-and-arrow technology, allowing for increased hunting efficiency, and new varieties of maize, beans, and squash gained importance, which greatly supplemented existing native seed and root plants. Although settlement size was small, there was an increase in the number of Late Woodland sites over Middle Woodland sites, indicating a population increase. These factors tend to mark the Late Woodland period as an expansive period, not one of a cultural collapse.
darts are associated with the Baytown culture. Plum Bayou culture
developed out of Baytown culture; and there is not a sharp dividing line between the two. They overlap in time, and pottery designs and decorative motifs of the Plum Bayou culture were found at the Baytown Site, indicating that use of that site continued after 650 CE. Mulberry Creek Cord Marked, Larto Red, Coles Creek Incised, and Officer Punctated ceramics were found at the Baytown Site.
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
culture that existed from 300 to 700 CE in the lower Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
Valley, consisting of sites in eastern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, western Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and western Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The Baytown Site
Baytown Site
The Baytown Site is a Pre-Columbian Native American archaeological site located on the White River at Indian Bay, in Monroe County, Arkansas. It was inhabited by peoples of the Baytown culture , in a time known as the Late Woodland period...
on the White River
White River (Arkansas)
The White River is a 722-mile long river that flows through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Missouri.-Course:The source of the White River is in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest southeast of Fayetteville...
in Monroe County, Arkansas
Monroe County, Arkansas
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population is 8,149. The county seat is Clarendon, while its largest city is Brinkley...
is the type site
Type site
In archaeology a type site is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture...
for culture. It was a Baytown Period culture during the Late Woodland period. It was contemporaneous with the Coastal Troyville and Troyville culture
Troyville culture
The Troyville culture is an archaeological culture in areas of Louisiana and Arkansas in the Lower Mississippi valley in the southern United States. It was a Baytown Period culture and lasted from 400 to 700 CE during the Late Woodland period...
s of Louisiana and Mississippi (all three had evolved from the Marksville Hopewellian peoples
Marksville culture
The Marksville culture was an archaeological culture in the lower Lower Mississippi valley, Yazoo valley, and Tensas valley areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas and extended eastward along the Gulf Coast to the Mobile Bay area, from 100 BCE to 400 CE. This culture takes its name...
) and the Fourche Maline culture
Fourche Maline culture
The Fourche Maline culture was a Woodland Period Native American culture that existed from 300 BCE to 800 CE, in southeastern Oklahoma, southwestern Arkansas, northwestern Louisiana, and northeastern Texas. They are considered to be one of the main ancestral groups of the Caddoan Mississippian...
and was succeeded by the Plum Bayou culture
Plum Bayou culture
Plum Bayou culture is a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that lived in what is now east-central Arkansas from 650—1050 CE, a time known as the Late Woodland Period...
. Where the Baytown peoples built dispersed settlements, the Troyville people instead continued building major earthwork centers.
Decline of the Hopewell
Archeologists have traditionally viewed the Late Woodland (about 1,500 to 1,000 years ago) as a time of cultural decline after the florescence of the Hopewell peoples. Late Woodland sites, with the exception of sites along the Florida Gulf Coast, tend to be small when compared with Middle Woodland sites. There are several possible explanations.- Populations increased beyond the carrying capacity of the land, and, as the elaborate trade system broke down, with groups resorted to raiding rather than trading with other territories to acquire important resources.
- The rapid replacement of the spear and atlatl with the bow-and-arrow quickly decimated the large game animals, interrupting the hunting component of food procurement and resulting in settlements breaking down into smaller units to better exploit local resources.
- Colder climate conditions about 1,600 years ago may have affected yields of gathered foods, such as nuts or starchy seeds.
- Intensified horticulture became so successful that increased agricultural production may have reduced variation in food resource availability between differing areas. Although, this reliance on agriculture with only a few types of plants, would have carried with it a risk where variations in rainfall or climate could have caused shortages, leading to famines.
In all probability these 4 theories are quite inter-related and may have all played a role in the development of the Baytown culture.
Although few outstanding works of prehistoric art or architecture can be attributed to this time period, analysis shows that throughout the Southeast, the Late Woodland was a very dynamic period. Bow-and-arrow technology, allowing for increased hunting efficiency, and new varieties of maize, beans, and squash gained importance, which greatly supplemented existing native seed and root plants. Although settlement size was small, there was an increase in the number of Late Woodland sites over Middle Woodland sites, indicating a population increase. These factors tend to mark the Late Woodland period as an expansive period, not one of a cultural collapse.
Diet
Baytown people grew domesticated plants native to eastern North America, such as maygrass, little barley, amaranth, and chenopodium, with lesser amounts of sunflower, sumpweed, knotweed, squash, and bottle gourd. Acorns and hickory nuts were important in the diet, as well as wild fruits such as persimmons, plums, cherries, and various berries and grapes. People hunted white-tailed deer, squirrels, raccoons, turkeys, passenger pigeons, and migratory wildfowl using bows and arrows. They caught various species of fish and aquatic turtles, depending on what lived in the nearby bodies of water.Pottery
Distinctive styles of flat-based pottery jars, hemispherical bowls, and stone points used on atlatlAtlatl
An atlatl or spear-thrower is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart-throwing.It consists of a shaft with a cup or a spur at the end that supports and propels the butt of the dart. The atlatl is held in one hand, gripped near the end farthest from the cup...
darts are associated with the Baytown culture. Plum Bayou culture
Plum Bayou culture
Plum Bayou culture is a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that lived in what is now east-central Arkansas from 650—1050 CE, a time known as the Late Woodland Period...
developed out of Baytown culture; and there is not a sharp dividing line between the two. They overlap in time, and pottery designs and decorative motifs of the Plum Bayou culture were found at the Baytown Site, indicating that use of that site continued after 650 CE. Mulberry Creek Cord Marked, Larto Red, Coles Creek Incised, and Officer Punctated ceramics were found at the Baytown Site.
See also
- Culture, phase, and chronological table for the Mississippi Valley