Coles Creek and Mississippi Period Foragers in the Felsenthal Region of the Lower Mississippi Valley

ABSTRACT Excavations in undisturbed, stratified over-the-bank dumps at the Bang Slough site in the Ouachita Valley yielded data on four significant occupations: an occupation by Small Slough phase people of the Coles Creek culture ca AD 800; a well dated occupation by Cypress Swamp phase people of the Late Coles Creek - Early Mississippi period, between AD 950 and AD 1050- the major component; a Middle Mississippi period Gran Marais phase occupation ca AD 1250-1350, and a light. Late Mississippi period Caney Bayou phase occupation between AD 1550 and AD 1700. Despite the use of sophisticated collection techniques, no evidence of horticulture was found, raising the question of whether Felsenthal region peoples or their neighbors to the south in the Lower Mississippi Valley were ever seriously involved in horticulture.