Clarence H. Webb

“ This point has been the subject of considerable discussion because of its frequency in Louisiana and southern Arkansas; it has been included in the Alba type in some publications, in the Scallorn type in others, but has distinct and, we believe, meaningful differences from each of these types. We have therefore given it the type name Colbert. It rivals the Alba type in frequency at sites like Smithport Landing, Colbert, Greer, Swanson’s Landing, and Mounds Plantation (Fig. 1) where there are Alto and Coles Creek components in respectable amounts. ”

“ Tempering is clay-grit, the surface coloring is gray to black or dark brown, and the thickness is 5 to 8 mm. The incised lines are 2.5 to 4.5 mm. in width and appear to have been made with tools which had bluntly rounded or flat ends.
Two sherds (Fig. 6, H, I) are possibly Mazique Incised (Ford, 1951) but may be well executed Dunkin Incised. They are light gray and tan in color, and one is a rim sherd. The decoration consists of finely made parallel incisions, closely placed in diagonal fields or herring-bone effect on the upper body. Vessel shape is uncertain. ”

“ The Smithport Landing Site is one of a number of village and mound sites along the Red River valley and its tributaries in northwestern Louisiana (Fig. 1) at which varying amounts of Alto Focus pottery, whole vessels or sherds, have been found. The mound sites shown are within the river flood plain, with exception of Thigpen Mound and Village Site, which are on a terrace immediately overlooking the valley ”

“ The incisions are bold, horizontal, and usually more closely spaced than in Davis Incised. The subjacent triangles on four sherds are pressed into the paste more deeply at the apex. It must be pointed out that it is not a simple task, in studying sherds from northern Louisiana, to distinguish the four related types which are characterized by parallel incisions around the rim—Davis Incised, Coles Creek Incised, Hardy Incised, and Kiam Incised—unless the technique and paste are characteristic or a large part of the vessel available. Much overlapping occurs. ”

“ The trait of making firm punctations at the ends of the lines (Fig. 7, F, H-J) is more frequent than in type Kiam Incised, and gaps are left at times (Fig. 7, F) . One sherd (Fig. 7, P) has a wide, smoothed band interrupting the previously placed incisions below the lip. The numerous body or rim-body sherds which show fields of varying incising more nearly resemble Dunkin Incised from the Davis Site in having full body decoration than the central Louisiana Manchac and Mazique types, where the decoration is usually confined to a narrow rim band. ”

“ The latter sherds have Kiam Incised decoration on the rim and appear to have come from a modified globular body shape with directly or mildly everted rim. Nine of the 153 sherds are bone tempered, the remainder are clay-grit or ground sherd, rather granular and coarse. The walls are thick in many instances, the range 4 to 10 mm. with the majority 7 to 8 mm. Many of the sherds are large (Fig. 9, I, J) indicating large, heavy jar forms. Surface colors range from tan and buff to dark grays and a few reddish-browns, with more tendency to darker colors than in other types. ”

“ Tempering is clay-grit in most instances, sometimes with finely ground sherds, and a few with enough grit to feel slightly sandy (none is fully sand tempered) . Bone temper occurs in 31 of the 1496 sherds (2%) and shell is totally missing. ”

“ A small triangular point of brown chert probably belongs to the Fresno type. The tip is broken but the original length was about 2 cm.
Miscellaneous Chipped Stone Tools
Generally, the tools from this site are made from native tan chert cores and flakes, or from petrified wood, and are rough to the point of being almost nondescript. Imagination is often required to attempt assignment to types.
A massive axe-shaped object of petrified wood is worked to a near-blade form at the expanded end (Fig. 12, K) , but appears to have been used as a maul. The groove is natural. It is 15 cm. long, 9 cm. ”

“ It appears, then, that the major complex at this site is Alto; certainly the burial pottery is of this complex. Coles Creek is present to a minor extent and it is probable that some of the uncertain punctated and incised sherds are from Hardy, Manchac, and Rhinehart types. Finally, occupation seems to have lasted into the Alto-Bossier transition to the stage when distinctive Bossier Focus types had developed, so that there is a respectable representation of this period. The brushed wares and some of the incised and punctated also probably relate to the Bossier pottery complex. ”

“ Vessel 94 (Fig. 4, F) is a firm, intact, well made cylindrical jar, clay tempered, with dark gray-brown surface color except for a few light fire clouds. The upper 2.5 cm. has irregular horizontal incisions, 5 to 7 in number, and the remaining body exterior is covered with fingernail punctations, spaced rather regularly but not in exact rows. Vessel 134 (Fig. 4, G) is a jar with semiglobular body, narrowed toward the rim, which is vertical. The clay tempered paste is softer than the other three vessels and is fired black over the exterior, dark gray on the interior. ”

“ Site reports for Coles Creek and Plaquemine types. One new type of the Alto period, Carmel Engraved, will be described herein.
Certain characteristics of paste, temper, surface and core colors, and sherd thickness extend throughout the earlier wares from this site. The paste is generally uniform and compact, rarely lumpy or porous. The range of hardness is 2 to 3 (Moh’s Scale) , the sherds are broken with difficulty and seldom can be scored with a fingernail; the majority of the sherds give a metallic ring when dropped on a hard surface (except for the dark chocolate to black wares) . ”

“ Although the sherds as well as whole vessels are predominantly derived from Alto Focus ceramics, a small percentage of Coles Creek, a somewhat larger representation of Bossier Focus, and a few late Caddoan pottery types are identified. Similarities and differences between the ceramics of this site, the Davis (Alto) Site in eastern Texas, and the central Louisiana sequence of pottery, are pointed out. Possible relationships between Coles Creek, Alto, Bossier, and Plaquemine ceramics are developed. ”

“ Most recurve to form widened shoulders which may be right angled or barbed; edges may be mildly serrated. I have placed in this type only points with square or rectangular stems.
There are two Hayes points (Fig. 11, C, D) , of gray and red-brown chert. They are small, 2.6 and 2.8 cm. long, 1.3 and 1.9 cm. wide; the 180 first differs from the type description in having straight edges and no barbs, but the stem shape is typical.
Five points are of Friley type (Fig. 11, E, F) , characterized by definite shoulders with extreme curves so that the barbs turn toward the blade tip. ”

“ Eight of the sherds of this type (Fig. 5, E, G) are tan to gray with black areas, while the ninth (Fig. 5, F) is black and polished, with cross-engraved decoration. No other Hickory sherd is polished. Temper is clay-grit or sherd, one with bone. The bowls appear to have vertical or outsloping rims, with walls 5 to 7 mm. thick, but one sherd is from an incurvate bowl, 4 mm. thick. Five of the sherds have horizontally engraved lines, 4 to 9 mm. apart; three have diagonal parallel lines and one has cross diagonals. The latter is a rim sherd and the rounded lip has transverse notching 7-9 mm. ”

“ Don Marcelo de Soto, acting justice of Bayupier, Jurisdiction of Nacogdoches, together with Jose Lafitte, Silvestre Poissot, Pedro Robleau and Miguel Rambin, all of aforesaid community, who have come to this capital together, has the honor of appealing with all respect to your lordship’s equity, conjointly with and in the name of all the other residents of the specified Bayupier. [These] consist of thirty Spanish families gathered together and long established in the aforesaid place, with no large number of educated persons at their service ”

“ There are 15 small scrapers (Fig. 11, MM-PP) which are ovate or triangular in outline and made from flakes which vary from 3 to 8 mm. in thickness. They are of tan, brown and mottled gray chert, petrified wood, and gray quartzite. Most are flaked bifacially but some show a preponderance of flaking on the convex face. Sizes range from 2 to 4.5 cm. Five small broken flake objects show some flaking.
There are four drills, all made of tan chert. One flake drill (Fig. 11, KK) has an expanded base, a shaft which is triangular in cross section and a keen point which shows use polish. ”

“ It also shares with numerous village and mound sites evidences of admixture of Coles Creek ceramic types and influences with the Alto pottery types as the earliest pottery at these sites. It seems increasingly clear that the advent of Coles Creek and Alto Caddoan peoples and/or ceramics, arrow points, and riverine mound building into this area were virtually simultaneous occurrences. Out of this blending developed the subsequent Bossier Focus ceramics and other cultural manifestations over a wide portion of northwestern Louisiana, extending into eastern Texas and southern Arkansas. ”

“ Not all of the mound or village sites in this same area show this kind of representation of Alto or Coles Creek; there are as many or more which are well developed Bossier sites and have little or no Alto. For example, we have 230 surface sherds from the Vanceville Mound in Bossier Parish with no Alto or Coles Creek types; the 3942 sherds from the lower and premound levels of the Oden Mound include two questionable Hickory Engraved, no other Alto or Coles Creek types ”

“ Cross incising (Fig. 7, M, N) , which is called Harrison Bayou Incised (from the Harrison Bayou Site on Caddo Lake) in central Louisiana, but is included in Dunkin Incised in eastern Texas (Suhm and Jelks, 1962: Pl. 19) , is present on nine sherds from Smithport. They are clay tempered, light to dark gray in color, with smoothed surfaces. The incisions vary from narrow and closely placed to firm, wide lines. ”

“ PASTE Temper: Clay-grit or ground sherd; bone in 2 of 17 sherds. Texture: Compact, generally fine, occasionally coarse. Color: Shades of gray from light to almost black, often on same sherd (fire clouds) ; buff, tan and reddish-brown. Nearly half of the Smithport sample has reddish-brown exteriors and interiors. Cores may be same color as exterior, sometimes darker. Surface Finish: Smoothed exteriors and interiors, a few with fair polish, none highly polished. FORM Wall Thickness: 5 to 7 mm., uniform. Lip: Rounded, usually unmodified; occasional thinning. ”

“ These range from 6 to 13 cm. in diameter and are 6 to 12 mm. thick. One large basal sherd has a smooth central perforation, 13 mm. in diameter, and rounded edges. It possibly was used as a spindle whorl. These are frequently found at Bossier and Belcher sites, but usually are smaller and lighter.
An additional 46 plain sherds show the wall-base junction. Eight of these are from open flat bowls, one from a deeper bowl, one from a bottle, four from miniature vessels and 32 from jar, deep bowl or cylindrical vessel forms. ”

“ Curving, wide bands outlined by parallel single engraved lines, with transverse, widely spaced lines producing a ladder effect. Usually two of such bands form arcs or meanders, with undecorated bands of similar width between them (Fig. 5, I-K) . Occasionally one or more engraved lines flank the engraved bands or bisect the intervening plain band. Some sherds (Fig. 5, M, N, P) have straight instead of curving bands, but otherwise seem to fit into the type. CULTURAL AFFILIATIONS
This type has occurred only in sites which have Alto Focus pottery ”

“ Nineteen pottery vessels, all but two identifiable as Alto Focus types, were found with fourteen burials. Included are Hickory Fine Engraved, Davis Incised, Kiam Incised, Wilkinson Punctated, and Smithport Plain (virtually identical with Bowles Creek Plain) types.
Surface materials comprise 1553 sherds, 61 dart and 55 arrow points, and a modest number of chipped and polished stone tools or ornaments. The stone tool assemblage seems to be basically late Archaic with the addition of small arrow points. ”

“ Rims are 3 to 7 cm. in height, about equally divided between 3-5 and 5-7 cm. range, from an obtuse angle at the junction of base and rim. The bases appear to be shallow; the rims mildly excurvate, or direct and slanted outward. A few appear to be vertical. Curvatures suggest diameters of 20-30 cm. DECORATION Treatment: Engraving. ”

“ It is found, along with Alba, in central Louisiana, especially in Troyville-Coles Creek context (Ford, 1951: Fig. 45, U-W) . Recent excavations at the Crenshaw Site in southwestern Arkansas uncovered Coles Creek and Caddoan burials in Mound B; consistently the Coles Creek burials had points similar to Colbert (called Homan in Arkansas) and the Caddoan had Alba or Hayes. The Colbert points have triangular blades with concave or recurved edges, distinct and usually wide shoulders, barbs, and triangular or fan-shaped stems. The stem bases may be straight or more often convex, rarely concave. ”

“ Fig. 8. Punctated Sherds. A-F, Pennington Punctated-Incised. G-I, Pennington-Crockett hybrid (I has incurving rim, hole for suspension) . J-O, Pennington or Rhinehart Punctated (N has triangular punctations between horizontal lines in Coles Creek tradition) . P, Similar to Dupree Incised but shape suggests Bossier sherd. Q, R, Random punctations.
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Free punctations made with tools, without zoning or incising, are present on one vessel (Fig. 4, I) and 19 sherds (Fig. 8, Q, R) . Paste and color are as described above; one is bone tempered, six are soft, chocolate brown in color. ”