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The Mystery of Caddo Moundsby
Bob Bowman | |
Long
before Anglos settled East Texas,
the region’s first settlement was going about its business on a prairie slope
near the Neches River in what is now Cherokee
County.
Caddoan Mounds, a settlement of dwellings and temples, was the
home of a prehistoric group of Caddo Indians, who settled in the Neches Valley
sometime in the late eighth century, A.D.
What is left of the mound-building
Caddos is found in stone artifacts and small tools at the Caddoan Mounds State
Historic Site east of Alto
on Texas Highway 21, often known as El Camino
Real. Founded in the l960s, it is a wonderful place for a weekend family trip
and to learn about the Caddos.
The Texas Forest Service’s tree nursery,
standing across the road from Caddoan Mounds, was also a part of the Indians’
village. Nearby are two natural flowing springs likely used by the Indians.
While
the Caddo were among the first to establish villages in East
Texas, they were not the first Indians to come here.
During
some 11,000 years preceding the Caddo occupation at the prairie, small groups
of nomadic hunters and gatherers wandered through East
Texas, following game animals and collecting nuts and fruits.
Over
several centuries, the introduction of corn,
pottery and the bow and arrow transformed the nomad hunters and gatherers into
village dwellers. The result was villages such as the one found at Caddoan Mounds.
As their populations grew and their influence spread, the Mound Builders
established trade networks extending from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic
Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
Trade goods included
foods, raw stone materials, pottery, and finished luxury and ceremonial objects,
such as copper, ear spools, and stone effigy pipes.
The Caddos lived in
round beehive-shaped houses, which ranged from 25 to 45 feet in diameter and of
similar heights. Temples and other public buildings ranged in shape from round
to squarish thatched structures, often built on platforms.
Periodically
for more than sixty years, archaeologists have been investigating the mounds,
attempting to learn more of their origin. Conclusions from the excavations indicate
that the site was an important Caddoan community for centuries.
The volume
of information gathered at Caddoan Mounds has provided more knowledge about East
Texas’ oldest known “town,” but many questions remain unresolved.
Among
them: What happened to the Caddos? Did they travel to another land? Were they
vanquished by rival tribes? Did they die of starvation or an epidemic illness?
Or did they simply leave when French and Spanish explorers brought new and different
people to East Texas?
The answers
are still to be resolved. | |
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