GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF LATE FOURCHE MALINE AND EARLY CADDO SETTLEMENT PATTERNING AT THE CRENSHAW SITE (3MI6)

Abstract

The Terán-Soule model provides a testable means to establish if the prehistoric settlement pattern of the Caddo in the Great Bend region of the Red River consists of vacant mound centers with associated dispersed farmsteads. To evaluate the model, a geophysical survey of the Crenshaw site (3MI6) mound center was conducted in off-mound areas to determine if structures were present there. The 3.2-ha survey identified over 100 geometric anomalies, of which more than 50 are possibly structures associated with either Late Fourche Maline or Early Caddo occupations. Several possible structures were found in linear rows, including an oval series of possible structures 90 × 85 m in diameter. Additional finds include large circular anomalies between 25 and 48 m in diameter, sometimes around possible structures, suggesting the presence of compound fences, as shown in the Terán map.