Delta Themes

Ancient Earthworks of the Quachita Valley in Louisiana
by Jon L. Gibson

His long, lean frame made occasional contact with the seat as my four-by-four pickup bounced along the gravel "road" running at the foot of Harrisonburg's Fort Hill. We were bound for Pritchard Landing, the largest prehistoric mound group on the Ouachita River.... So begins Ancient Earthworks of the Ouachita Valley in Louisiana by Jon L. Gibson, a professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette. Gibson's vast experience as an archeologist and a teacher and his love for a region he calls home come through clearly in this immensely readable study of the rich archeological resources in the Ouachita River Valley of the Lower Mississippi Delta. In introducing the ancient mound-building cultures, Gibson gives his readers perspective by putting the various episodes of mound building into worldwide context. His overview of previous research and researchers provides a rich historical backdrop for the wealth of data he has consolidated. Although Gibson and his colleagues have discovered no new hidden cities, they have certainly helped renew appreciation for some of the most important mound-building regions in the Delta. Ancient Earthworks of the Ouachita Valley in Louisiana is the fifth volume in the Technical Reports Series published by the Technical Assistance and partnerships section (formerly the Interagency Archeological Services Division, Atlanta) of the Southeast Archeological Center, National Park Service. With a limited number of books available beginning October 1st 1996, write soon to receive a free copy:

Ancient Earthworks, Southeast Archeological Center, 2035 East Paul Dirac Drive, Johnson Building - Suite 120, Tallahassee, Florida 32310

Monumental American Indian Architecture