Hiram F. Gregory

“ Many of the twenty-six burials found in Belcher mound exhibited a carry-over of the early Caddo burial ceremonialism, presumably including human sacrifice. Individuals or groups of up to seven persons were placed in shaft burial pits, and often were surrounded by many pottery vessels—sometimes in stacks—in addition to tools, arrows, ornaments, food offerings, vessels with spoons, decorated drinking cups, pipes, and other indicators of high rank. As many as twenty to forty pottery vessels had been placed in a single pit. ”

“ More than 10,000 years of human settlement in Louisiana have left a cultural heritage that is both rich and informative. With the publication of “The Caddo Indians of Louisiana,” the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism is pleased to continue the series of Anthropological Studies that will illuminate some of the major episodes in Louisiana’s past.
The two authors of the present study are eminently qualified authorities on the Caddo Indians. Dr. Clarence H. Webb, a well-known Shreveport physician, is equally distinguished by his pioneer archaeological efforts in the Caddoan area. ”

“ Between A.D. 1100 and 1200 the early Caddo culture was changing into a simpler culture that has been named Bossier, for the parish in which it was first discovered (Webb 1948a) . The large centers faded out or were inhabited by small groups. The people seem to have been secure, not menaced, and beginning to spread out along the streams in small settlements or family homesteads. Local materials were used and few exotic objects have been found. Burial customs became simpler, usually single graves with a few offerings and situated near the home or in small cemeteries. ”

“ The center of Caddoan occupation during contact times and throughout their prehistoric development was along Red River and its tributaries, with extensions to other river valleys in the four-state area of northern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas, eastern Texas, and eastern Oklahoma. The successful agriculture of these farming peoples was best adapted to the fertile valleys of major streams like the Red, Sabine, Angelina, Ouachita and—in Oklahoma—the Canadian and Arkansas rivers. ”

“ All of the Europeans—French, Spanish and [17] Anglo-American—who dealt with them left records relative to their character and intelligence. As late as the 19th century the Caddo still boasted that they had never shed white blood (Swanton 1942) and their chiefs still were respected.
In the age of tribal self-determination and Indian sovereignty, it seems in order to explain basic Caddo tribalism. Contrary to many other southeastern Indian groups, the Caddoan people seem to have clung tenaciously to land and leadership even after the erosive effects of European contact. ”

“ Another trait introduced from Middle America was that of placing the burials of important people, such as chiefs, priests, and family members of the ruling class, in shaft graves, sunk into mounds or special cemetery areas. Some of the more important early Caddo tombs are quite large, as much as fifteen to twenty feet in length and eight to sixteen feet in depth. Many had special sands or pigments on the pit floor, numerous offerings, and indications that retainers or servants were sacrificed to accompany the revered person in the afterlife. ”

“ Other mound centers of Belcher culture, occurring along Red River into southwestern Arkansas, show similar ceremonialism. Villages and hamlets along the river to Natchitoches and into the uplands are marked by typical Belcher pottery sherds. In all, late Belcher people were dispersed widely, and their way of life gave rise to the generalized cultural base that existed at the time of European intrusion. ”

“ Denis returned to Red River in 1714, the Caddoan people in Louisiana were to be impacted constantly by European migrants. Indian polity and territory were eroded severely by more European settlements and the depredations of displaced populations of other Indian tribes like the Choctaw, Quapaw, and Osage.
Fort St. Jean Baptiste aux Natchitos was founded in 1714; it was the earliest European settlement in northwestern Louisiana. The East Texas missions, started in 1690, had not introduced many non-Indians to that area. ”

“ The Caddo now visit Louisiana, especially Natchitoches and Shreveport, to see the places of their tradition. Places are part of Indian tradition and [33] pilgrimages are sacred acts. Perhaps now other Louisianians will join the Caddo who realize how much Indian culture remains in northwestern Louisiana. ”

“ Each lateral lake along Red River—Black Bayou, Caddo, Wallace, Clear, and Smithport lakes on the west side; Bodcau, Bistineau, Swan, and Black lakes on the east—has Bossier period sites around its margins. Occupations continue westward to Sabine River and into eastern Texas, southward almost to Catahoula Lake, eastward along D’Arbonne and Corney bayous toward the Ouachita, and northward into Arkansas. Either late Bossier or Belcher people could have been in the populous Naguatex district described by the De Soto chroniclers, encountered just before the Spaniards crossed Red River. ”

“ Fish Hatchery was a very early French contact site (Gregory and Webb 1965; Gregory 1974) , and it is the only historic Caddo site to share deliberate burial of animals (horses) with the Ouachita River sites. The Ouachita apparently were absorbed completely before the 1720’s.
THE YATASI
The name Yatasi, meaning simply “Those Other People” in Kadohadacho language (Melford Williams, personal communication, 1977) apparently was applied to a number of groups living in the hills north of the Adaes and south of Caddo Lake. At least three villages are attributed to them historically. ”

“ Early Caddo copper objects from Gahagan include beads, a hand effigy, a finger cover, a Long-Nosed God mask, and copper-plated ear ornaments.
[11]
Many other small settlements of this time are known but have not been studied, thirty to forty altogether between Natchitoches and the Arkansas state line (Thomas, Campbell and Ahler 1977; Webb 1975) . They are found in the Red River Valley, on lateral lakes and streams, and in the uplands. Apparently, these were simple farming, gathering, hunting, and fishing folk who did not share in the exotic materials of the complex regional centers. ”

“ His professional career, which began with an exhaustive study of the Spanish presidio of Los Adaes, has acquired a pronounced ethnohistoric orientation in recent years as the result of his close cooperation with the Caddo and other living Indian groups.
Recognizing that the past belongs to everyone, and not just to a handful of scholars, the Anthropological Studies are directed to a general audience. ”

“ None of these archaeological sites seems to correspond to the Red River-Bayou Pierre sites, though they shared the drainage. Although it is known that the Lafittes, Poisot, and Rambin claims were near the Yatasi villages, and all of these settlers traded with the tribe (Pintado Papers:82-84) , their documented sites remain to be found.
Contemporary Caddo, most of whom are Kadohadacho or Hasinai, frequently mention the Yatasi when asked about other groups and know they once existed. However, it remains obscure whether the Yatasi were one or many little groups. ”

“ Caddoan and adjacent Indian groups about A.D. 1700.
Since the early American policy has obscured the tribal diversity and history of the Caddoan groups in Louisiana, it seems in order to return to the older practice of recognizing the individual groups. Each will be discussed [24] briefly, in turn, and archaeological sites will be related where possible. As was the practice in French and Spanish days, the tribes will be discussed from southernmost to northernmost, as they would be encountered as one ascended the Red River. ”

“ The various peoples mentioned above seem to have been regional groups, fairly fluid in nature, but tied to general geographic boundaries. Linguistic differences served to differentiate them (Taylor 1963:51-59) and some, like the Adaes, could hardly be understood by the others. However, the Kadohadacho language dominated in the east—where nearly everyone understood it—and the Hasinai language in the west.
These groups had chiefs, or Caddi. Generally one man had more prestige than any other Caddi, but multiple chiefs—usually two—were present in most communities. ”

“ It is hoped that these studies will bring cultural enrichment to the people of Louisiana and stimulate an interest in preserving our historic and archaeological resources for enjoyment and study by future generations. ”

“ They had absorbed the Ouachita (“Cow River People”) by 1690 (Gregory 1974) and will be treated as a single group here.
The Natchitoches lived in a series of small hamlets, each with its own cemetery and corn fields. One hamlet had a temple which was described by Tonti (Walker 1935) and their whole settlement stretched from about Bermuda, Louisiana, to the vicinity of Natchitoches. Throughout their early history they remained in the alluvial valley of the Red River where only a few areas, usually “islands” of older terraces, were above the active floodplain. ”

“ The Kadohadacho apparently absorbed several smaller groups—Upper Natchitoches, Nanatsoho, and Nasoni—and shifted south. [21] Osage raids had taken their toll and the Kadohadacho moved to Caddo Prairie, farther from the plains, on marginal land (Swanton 1942) . They settled on the hills to the southwest of the prairie (Soda Lake) near modern Caddo Station and added their numbers to the other Red River tribes in Louisiana.
Beset by many problems, the American agents at Natchitoches began moving the agency about, trying to keep the Caddo away from white settlements. ”

“ Their simple tools and arrow points were made of local cherts; ornaments are missing and polished stone tools are rare. Residues of gathered or hunted food stuffs are present: hickory nuts, acorns, persimmons, mussels, turtle, fish, and deer bones. No corn, beans, or pumpkin seeds have been found, but they must have grown these crops and probably did so in gardens rather than in fields. Their pottery, as shown by broken sherds, ranged from rough culinary or storage pots to nicely engraved bowls and red-surfaced or engraved bottles. ”

“ The Gahagan site is on the west side of Red River, almost equidistant between Natchitoches and Shreveport. Formerly it was situated on an old channel but much of the channel and site have been destroyed by river caving. A village area, a conical burial mound, and a small flat-topped mound surrounded a large plaza at Gahagan. Another small mound is about a quarter mile distant. The burial mound was excavated by Clarence B. Moore in 1912, and by Webb and Dodd (1939) . ”

“ They occupied a widely dispersed settlement with a temple and a mound, in northeastern Texas and probably near the Great Bend at Texarkana. The Petit Caddo, Nasoni, Nanatsoho, and Upper Natchitoches were absorbed by the Kadohadacho, and the tribes abandoned their Great Bend villages (at least four archaeological sites there seem related to these groups) and shifted south to Caddo Lake. Once there, their chief, Tinhiouen, dealt politically with both the Spanish (Bolton 1914) and the Americans. ”

“ Many settlements were larger than in previous times and large ceremonial centers evolved, some of which featured mounds around a central plaza. There probably were temples atop the flat-topped mounds and burials within other mounds. The temples were either chiefs’ or priests’ lodges, or sacred temples, and ceremonies and [3] festivals presumably were held in the plazas. Pottery was well made and hunting was with the bow and arrow which replaced the atlatl and dart in this area about A.D. 600.
Distribution of principal archaeological sites in northwestern Louisiana. ”

“ Each of the groups had its own political existence, and both the Spanish and French realized that. Their approach to Indian affairs has left us much better information than that of the Americans. John Sibley, the first American agent, with the aid of the half-Caddo, François Grappe, gave us good information, but through time the American policy increasingly obscured tribal groups. By the time of the 1835 land cession the Americans were talking merely of the Caddo Nation. In the 1835 Treaty not a single warrior was identified by tribe, nor were the chiefs (Swanton 1942) ”

“ For more than four decades, he has led the professional community in the illumination of Caddoan prehistory. Dr. Hiram F. Gregory is Professor of Anthropology at Northwestern State University and also a veteran of many years of Caddoan archaeology. ”