Gahagan Mounds Site
Encyclopedia
The Gahagan Mounds Site (16RR1) is an Early Caddoan Mississippian culture
archaeological site
in Red River Parish, Louisiana
. It is located in the Red River Valley. The site is famous for the three shaft burials and exotic grave goods excavated there in the early twentieth century.
and Shreveport
. It was once located on an relict river channel, but much of the site has been destroyed by the meandering of the river. The site was occupied between 900 and 1200 CE. It consisted of a platform mound
, a cone shaped burial mound, and a habitation area surrounding a centrally located plaza
, with another small mound located about a quarter mile away.
The burial mound at the site has been excavated twice, in 1912 by Clarence Bloomfield Moore
and then in 1939 by Clarence H. Webb. Between the 2 excavations, three burial shafts with a total of fourteen burials and more than five hundred grave goods were discovered. The first shaft, found by Moore, was 11 feet (3.4 m) in depth and 13 feet (4 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m) in width and height. The other two, found in the 1939 excavations, were 19 feet (5.8 m) by 15 feet (4.6 m) and 12 feet (3.7 m) by 11 feet (3.4 m) in dimensions.
The grave goods found during the excavations included intricately flaked flint knives, known since as Gahagan blades, a matched pair of Long-nosed god maskette
earrings made of sheet copper, Missouri flint clay statues and pipes
, copper ear ornaments, greenstone
celt
s and spuds, and caches of beads and arrow heads. Many of the grave goods were exotic imports from such distant places as the Gulf Coast, the Central Texas
plateau, Tennessee
, Kentucky
, and the Great Lakes
, and may be indicative of involvement in continent wide trade and religious networks such as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
. Many of the disinterred remains and grave goods were donated to Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science
by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
at Harvard University
, and few more later by Dr. Webb.
, but are thought to originate to the west of the Caddo territory in central Texas. They were made from chert from this area and archaeologists believe they were produced as a trade export by groups there.
Caddoan Mississippian culture
The Caddoan Mississippian culture was a prehistoric Native American culture considered by archaeologists as a variant of the Mississippian culture. The Caddoan Mississippians covered a large territory, including what is now Eastern Oklahoma, Western Arkansas, Northeast Texas, and Northwest Louisiana...
archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
in Red River Parish, Louisiana
Red River Parish, Louisiana
Red River Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Coushatta. It was one of the newer parishes created in 1871 by the state legislature under Reconstruction...
. It is located in the Red River Valley. The site is famous for the three shaft burials and exotic grave goods excavated there in the early twentieth century.
Site description
The Gahagan Site is located on the western side of the Red River, about half way in between NatchitochesNatchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
and Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
. It was once located on an relict river channel, but much of the site has been destroyed by the meandering of the river. The site was occupied between 900 and 1200 CE. It consisted of a platform mound
Platform mound
A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity.-Eastern North America:The indigenous peoples of North America built substructure mounds for well over a thousand years starting in the Archaic period and continuing through the Woodland period...
, a cone shaped burial mound, and a habitation area surrounding a centrally located plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
, with another small mound located about a quarter mile away.
Excavations
Clarence Bloomfield Moore
Clarence Bloomfield Moore was an American archaeologist and writer...
and then in 1939 by Clarence H. Webb. Between the 2 excavations, three burial shafts with a total of fourteen burials and more than five hundred grave goods were discovered. The first shaft, found by Moore, was 11 feet (3.4 m) in depth and 13 feet (4 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m) in width and height. The other two, found in the 1939 excavations, were 19 feet (5.8 m) by 15 feet (4.6 m) and 12 feet (3.7 m) by 11 feet (3.4 m) in dimensions.
The grave goods found during the excavations included intricately flaked flint knives, known since as Gahagan blades, a matched pair of Long-nosed god maskette
Long-nosed god maskette
Long-nosed god maskettes are artifacts made from bone, copper and marine shells associated with the Mississippian culture and found in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast. They are small shield-shaped faces with squared-off foreheads, circular eyes, and large noses of...
earrings made of sheet copper, Missouri flint clay statues and pipes
Mississippian stone statuary
The Mississippian stone statuary are artifacts of polished stone in the shape of human figurines made by members of the Mississippian culture and found in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast...
, copper ear ornaments, greenstone
Greenstone (archaeology)
Greenstone is a common generic term for valuable, green-hued minerals and metamorphosed igneous rocks and stones, that were used in the fashioning of hardstone carvings such as jewelry, statuettes, ritual tools, and various other artefacts in early cultures...
celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
s and spuds, and caches of beads and arrow heads. Many of the grave goods were exotic imports from such distant places as the Gulf Coast, the Central Texas
Central Texas
Central Texas , is a region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is roughly bordered by San Marcos to Fredericksburg to Waco, and to Brenham, and includes the Austin–Round Rock, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Bryan-College Station, and Waco metropolitan areas...
plateau, 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...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
, and may be indicative of involvement in continent wide trade and religious networks such as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies, and mythology of the Mississippian culture that coincided with their adoption of maize agriculture and chiefdom-level complex social organization from...
. Many of the disinterred remains and grave goods were donated to Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science
Louisiana Museum of Natural History
The Louisiana Museum of Natural History is the state's museum of natural history located on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge...
by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, and is particularly strong in New World ethnography and...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and few more later by Dr. Webb.
Gahagan blades
The burial offerings at Gahagan contained particularly beautifully flaked stone knives which has since become known as Gahagan blades. The knives have been found at other Caddoan sites, including the Caddoan Mounds State Historic SiteCaddoan Mounds State Historic Site
The Caddoan Mounds State Historic Site is an archaeological site in Cherokee County, Texas built by the Caddoan Mississippian culture. The site has two platform mounds and one burial mound. Archaeologists believe the site was founded in approximately 800 CE, with most major construction taking...
, but are thought to originate to the west of the Caddo territory in central Texas. They were made from chert from this area and archaeologists believe they were produced as a trade export by groups there.