The Medora site ( 16WBR1) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

that is a

type site In archaeology, a type site is the site used to define a particular archaeological culture or other typological unit, which is often named after it. For example, discoveries at La Tène and Hallstatt led scholars to divide the European Iron A ...

for the prehistoric

Plaquemine culture The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture (circa 1200 to 1700 CE) centered on the Lower Mississippi River valley. It had a deep history in the area stretching back through the earlier Coles Creek (700-1200 CE) and Troyville culture ...

period. The name for the culture is taken from the proximity of Medora to the town of

Plaquemine, Louisiana Plaquemine is a city in and the parish seat of Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. At the 2010 United States census, the population was 7,119; the 2020 census determined its ...

. The site is in

West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana West Baton Rouge Parish (french: Paroisse de Bâton Rouge Ouest) is one of the sixty-four parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Established in 1807, its parish seat is Port Allen. With a 2020 census population of 27,199 residents, West Baton ...

, and was inhabited from approximately 1300 to 1600 CE. It consisted of two

mounds A mound is an artificial heap or pile, especially of earth, rocks, or sand. Mound and Mounds may also refer to: Places * Mound, Louisiana, United States * Mound, Minnesota, United States * Mound, Texas, United States * Mound, West Virginia * ...

separated by a

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

. In the winter of 1939-40 excavation of this site was undertaken by the Louisiana State Archaeological Survey, a joint project of

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...

and the

Work Projects Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, in ...

. It was directed by

James A. Ford James Alfred Ford (February 12, 1911–February 25, 1968) was an American archaeologist. He was born in Water Valley, Mississippi, in February 1911. While growing up in the region, where ancient earthwork mounds are visible, he became interested ...

, and George I. Quimby. The excavations of the site were instrumental in defining the characteristics of the Plaquemine period and culture.

The Medora site

Location

The Medora site is located in

adjacent to Bayou Bourbeaux (or Bourbeau or Bourbaux) on the flood plain of

Manchac Point Manchac (also known as Akers) is an unincorporated community in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. Etymology Dr. John R. Swanton, a linguist who worked with Native American languages, suggested that the name Manchac is derived from ...

(also called Australia Point). Manchac Point is a hair-pin bend of the Mississippi River. Bayou Bourbeaux, a point stream which flows away from the river to the west, drains the back slopes of the natural levees that border Manchac Point, and connects with Bayou Gross Tete. The land surrounding the site is wet and subject to annual flooding, being only twenty feet above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

. The site is part of the Medora Plantation, after which it is named, and had been cultivated for many years prior to the excavation.

Date

It was possible to date the site by geological and archaeological means and obtain an estimate of the period of time in which the site was occupied. According to the

Louisiana Geological Survey The Louisiana Geological Survey is a state geological survey established by the Louisiana legislature by Act 131 in 1934 to serve the citizens Louisiana by collecting, preserving, and disseminating impartial information on the geomorphology, hydrog ...

abandoned river course maps of

Harold Norman Fisk Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts ...

, a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ban ...

of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

began migrating from north to south across the area now occupied by Manchac Point at stage 9 (900 CE). The land of which Manchac Point is composed was not built up behind the meander until the beginning of stage 13 (1300 CE), meaning it was not suitable for habitation until then. And since all artifacts found at the site were from the Plaquemine period and not the succeeding Natchez period which begins in 1700, the dates for occupation are approximately from 1300 to 1600 CE.

Mounds

The main part of the Medoras site is a pyramid and plaza arrangement. Mound A is a

platform mound Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

about to at the base and high. The sides sloped inward toward the top, which is flat, except for a conical projection in diameter in the northeast corner of the summit that raises the gross elevation to . It was probably surmounted by a square or rectangular temple. About to the southeast of Mound A was a low mound about in diameter and high, designated Mound B. Although it has been modified by plowing and flood waters, and is now only about high. It was flat-topped, with an irregular oval outline. Its pre-mound surface was found to have a wall-trench structure, probably a house or temple. The floor contained patches of burned clay and fragments of charcoal. At the center there was a rounded fire basin in diameter and six inches deep, lined with burned clay. The mounds were composed of gray clay and brown silt, applied basket load at a time. Between Mounds A and B was a

about long and wide. Its west side bordered Bayou Bourbeaux.

Artifacts

Pottery

About 18,508 pottery sherds were obtained from the Medora site, classified into more than twenty different

Plaquemine culture pottery The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture (circa 1200 to 1700 CE) centered on the Lower Mississippi River valley. It had a deep history in the area stretching back through the earlier Coles Creek (700-1200 CE) and Troyville cultures ( ...

types. About 90 percent were classified as the Addis Plain variety, although Plaquemine Brushed; Manchac Incised; Hardy Incised; Medora Incised; Harrison Bayou Incised; Evangeline Interior Incised; Australia Interior Incised; L'Eau Noire Incised; Dupree Incised; Lulu Linear Punctated; Chevalier Stamped, Coles Creek Incised, Larto Red Filmed, and Pontchartrain Check Stamped were also present. The pottery of the Medora site was uniform in paste characteristics, soft, clay-tempered, and poorly fired, with the exception of a few shell-tempered sherds. The color generally ranges in grays and tans, with a smooth surface finish that feels soft and chalky to the touch. Although the vast majority of the pottery was plain, about 10 percent had decorative elements applied. The designs were usually simple arrangements of lines, made by incising, engraving, brushing, and punctation, with incising and brushing the most common technique. A few of the type L'Eau Noire Incised have complicated curvilinear elements. The designs are usually placed on the exterior vessel wall, mostly confined to the rim. The most common vessel forms were jars and bowls, with some cups and carinated bowls.

Stone

Although more than 18,000 pottery sherds were found, only seven artifacts of stone were found at the Medora site. Reddish pebbles of flinty stone were found in Mound A, even though they do not naturally occur in the vicinity of the Medora site. They must have been brought there, possibly from the

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, ...

vicinity. Only three projectile points of chipped flint were found at the site, although several objects of polished greenstone and sandstone were found. Two ovate-oblong greenstone celts and a sandstone discoidal were found in the fill of Mound A. A spoon-shaped object of ground and polished greenstone was found in the fill Mound B. A discoidal was probably used in the well-known game of

chunkey Chunkey (also known as chunky, chenco, tchung-kee or the hoop and stick game ) is a game of Native American origin. It was played by rolling disc-shaped stones across the ground and throwing spears at them in an attempt to land the spear as cl ...

, which was played by almost all of the historic Indians of the Southeast. It is very likely that chunkey was played ceremonially in the plaza of the Medora site. A cylindrical earspool of fired clay with flat faces and straight sides was found in Mound A. It was in diameter and thick, with engraved geometric designs composed of a circle and curvilinear elements.

Excavations

The land is part of the Medora Plantation, after which the site is named, and had been cultivated for many years prior to the excavation. In the winter of 1939-40 excavation of this site was undertaken by the Louisiana State Archaeological Survey, a joint project of

and the

. It was directed by James A. Ford, and George I. Quimby. The excavations of the site were instrumental in defining the characteristics of the Plaquemine period and culture. Permission to investigate this site was given by the owner of the land, W. L. Grace, Jr., of

References

* Quimby, George I., Jr. (1951). The Medora Site, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Field Museum of Natural History, Anthropological Series 24:81-135.

External links

Plaquemine Culture

{{Pre-Columbian North America Plaquemine Mississippian culture Mounds in Louisiana Geography of West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Archaeological type sites