HEDGEPETH MOUNDS, AN ARCHAIC MOUND COMPLEX IN NORTH-CENTRAL LOUISIANA

In 1991, test excavations were conducted at Hedgepeth Mounds (16L17), a two-mound complex in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. Radiometric, archaeological, pedological, and geomorphological data suggest that the site dates to the Archaic period (6000-1500 B.C.). Charcoal from a hearth beneath Mound A dates to cal 2888 +/- 100 B.C. A soil sample from the submound surface dates to cal 4930 +/- 117 B.C. Two Archaic projectile points are among the artifacts from the submound surface. Diagnostic soil horizons in Mound A fill suggest the mound is of great antiquity. Soil cores from areas adjacent to Mound A have demonstrated that the living surface of the site is covered with approximately 1 m of alluvium, and that the alluvial mantle contains diagnostic soil horizons indicative of long-term weathering.