The UAM research station is located on the University of Arkansas campus in Monticello, where the station archeologist teaches anthropology courses in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Station territory covers seven counties in southeastern Arkansas -- Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Cleveland, Desha, Drew and Lincoln Counties. This portion of the state consists of landforms deposited by the ancestral Arkansas and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries and contains numerous small to moderate habitation sites and occasional mound and/or mortuary centers of the later prehistoric and protohistoric periods. Several mound sites are mentioned in the reports of Victorian era archeologists, such as Edward Palmer. To the west are uplands of the West Gulf Coastal Plain, dissected by the Saline-Ouachita drainage and its tributaries. This area contains some older Archaic period sites as well as the later sequence. Among many significant sites in station territory, the small Lake Enterprise Mound is affiliated with the famous Poverty Point culture and is the oldest known Indian mound in Arkansas. At the opposite end of the time scale are the Taylor/Hollywood Plantation 1840s log house, a National Register site, and Lakeport Plantation in Chicot County, Arkansas’s sole remaining pre-Civil War plantation mansion on the Mississippi Delta.
Public outreach
The UAM research station provides a variety of public outreach activities. They work closely with the Tunican Chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society and offer opportunities for people to get actively involved in archeological projects in the lab and in the field. They also provide lectures and other outreach activities for ages 8 and up. Our discovery box, dig boxes, and mock excavation activities introduce young people to Arkansas archeology through hands-on-activities. Ever felt the sharpness of a stone arrow point, or wondered at the workmanship of a bone fish hook? The discovery box is a way to learn about the kinds of tools made and used by Arkansas's Native Americans in times past. The Tunican Chapter and the UAM research station recently published the book, Behind the scenes of Hollywood: Science and problem solving at Hollywood Plantation. The activity book written for students 13 and up includes an overview of archeology and hands on activities to get you thinking like an archeologist. To request a copy of the book or to schedule a public program, contact the UAM research station.
Arkansas Archeological Survey
Box 3087, UAM
Monticello, AR 71656-3087
