Pap. No!' 2^lY' TEXARKANA RESERVOIR — JELKS 5 



the Archaic is ancestral, at least in part, to the Neo- American in the 

 Caddoan Area. 



Archaic sites tend, in general, to be small, probably reflecting a 

 seasonal, migratory economy fomided on hunting and gathering. 

 In contrast to many Neo-American and Historic sites that are situated 

 on stream terraces, most Archaic sites lie on the crests and slopes of 

 hills. 



In terms of absolute dates, accurate placement of the Caddoan 

 Area Archaic cannot be made at present. Its relative position, prior 

 to the Neo-American Stage, is well established, however, on distribu- 

 tional, typological, and stratigraphic evidence. 



NEO-AMERICAN STAGE 



This stage is marked by the appearance of ceramics and the bow 

 and arrow. Sedentary villages with permanent houses and an agri- 

 cultural economy typify most sites, but the use of those two features 

 as time markers in distinguishing between Archaic and Neo-American 

 complexes is subject to an element of doubt because present knowl- 

 edge of the Archaic is only superficial. 



Two aspects have been recognized in the Neo-American Stage of 

 the Caddoan Area. The Gibson Aspect, earlier of the two, is char- 

 acterized by the following traits: 



Ceramics — clay, sand, grit, and bone-tempered pottery; well polished bowls 

 and bottles with expertly engraved designs ; polished, incised vessels ; carinated 

 bowls, usually with concave bases; bottles vrith tapering necks; long-stemmed, 

 thin-walled clay pipes ; effigy clay pipes of human and animal forms ; absence 

 of brushing as a surface treatment of ceramics; absence of shell as a temper- 

 ing agent. Compared with the later Fulton Aspect, Gibson Aspect has a rela- 

 tively large proportion of plain and polished-incised vessels and a relatively 

 small proportion of roughened utility vessels. 



Ground and polished stone artifacts — effigy pipes, earspools, celts, and sand- 

 stone hones. 



Chipped-stone artifacts — Copena blades and projectile points of several dis- 

 tinctive types. 



Mounds — Both temple and burial mounds are common. 



Five Gibson Aspect Foci have been recognized: Alto, Gahagan, 

 Spiro, Sanders,^ and Haley. One feature common to all is that most 

 sites are large, centralized villages with few outlying sites. The 

 large villages are widely separated as a rule. 



Alto Focus and the closely related Gahagan Focus are thought to 

 be earliest of the Gibson Aspect Foci. No burials were found at the 

 Davis Site, type site for Alto Focus, but a large conical mound 

 located there has not been excavated and burials are probably to be 



2 The Nelson Focus (Bell and Baerreis, 1951) appears to be the Oklahoma equivalent 

 of Sanders Focus. Since too little data are available for accurate definition of the Nel- 

 Bon Focus, it will not be considered here. 



