Jami J. Lockhart (Computer Services Program), Juliet E. Morrow (ASU Research Station), & Shaun McGaha
The Old Town Ridge site is located in northern Craighead County, Arkansas. Recognized historically for more than a century, the ca. A.D. 1350 site was formally recorded in 1967 by Mr. R.W. Lyerly, Jr. The site is known to contain houses and numerous ceramic and lithic artifacts, including a ceremonial mace discovered in 1925 and a spectacular gorget displaying elements rooted in Braden and Craig-style iconography associated with the Southeastern Ceremonialism of the Mississippi Period, which links geographically-distant sites such as Cahokia (Illinois), Spiro (Oklahoma), Etowah (Georgia), and Moundville (Alabama).
Prior to the geophysical fieldwork, aerial photographs were examined, resulting in interpretations of potential site boundaries and interior features. Horizontal striations visible in the photo above are east-west trending cotton furroughs. The red arrow marks a large rectangular anomaly that is visible from the air and in the gradiometer data at right.
Looking beyond surficial artifact discovery, objectives of the project were to locate the corners of bounding earthworks and other internal site features as initially interpreted from aerial photography. Onsite, centimeter-level spatial precision was achieved by establishing a permanent grid system using a total station. Most of the 18-acre fortified site has now been surveyed using a fluxgate gradiometer to identify and locate structures and other archeological features for use in ongoing research examining intrasite organization and Middle-to-Late Mississippian Period life ways in the region. Results indicate a fortification ditch, palisade, numerous structures (large and small, burned and unburned), and earthquake features from the New Madrid or earlier, possibly-contemporaneous quakes. The study also compares areas of the site that have been land-leveled for agriculture with areas that have been less disturbed.
Depiction of an engraved “birdman” gorget said to have been found at 3CG41. Stylistically, the gorget suggests long-distance trade and communication with Spiroan and other contemporaneous cultures.
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Above is a photo of a Braden-style engraved gorget that is more realistically rendered, but portrays similar symbolism and design elements. (Castalian Springs site, Sumner County, Tennessee).
Describing the gorget from 3CG41, Dr. George Sabo III:
