Caddo Connections

Jeffrey S. Girard is a regional archaeologist for the Louisiana Division of Archaeology and assistant professor at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.Timothy K. Perttula is the owner and cultural resources director of Archaeological & Environmental Consultants, LLC, a Texas-based cultural resource management firm established in 1996.Mary Beth Trubitt is an archaeologist for the Arkansas Archaeological Survey and research professor of anthropology at University of Arkansas.

This five-chapter book is an excellent, deep summary of what scholars know about Caddo archaeology and ethnohistory. Chapter 1 notes that Caddo refers to a historical ethnic group, a geographic area, a collection of archaeological traits, and a language family. The authors examine the history of Caddo archaeology, including how it was defined as a culture area; the individuals involved in its definition, via 'Caddo conferences'; its various foci, complexes, and phases; and problems of chronology and dating. The second chapter examines the origins of Caddo remains out of Late Woodland complexes in the regions of eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas, eastern Texas, and western Louisiana—the core of the Caddo heartland. Chapter 3 deals with cultural elaborations as expressed in various archaeological phases, focusing on ceramics, subsistence practices, settlement models, and trade among the Caddo themselves as well as with peoples of the Southeast and Southwest. Chapter 4 outlines in detail the relations between the historical Caddo peoples and the various European and, ultimately, American peoples, starting with the de Soto entrada. The final chapter is a three-page summary of the book. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

• Table of ContentsList of FiguresList of TablesChapter 1 - The Scope of Caddo ArchaeologyChapter 2 - Caddo OriginsChapter 3 - Cultural ElaborationsChapter 4 - The Caddo World at the Time of EuropeansChapter 5 - Conclusions: Caddo ConnectionsReferences CitedAbout the Authors