Heritage, Volume 12, Number 2, Spring 1994 Page: 25
30 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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much-vaunted new archaeology of the early
1960s received its Southwest debut at the
Pecos Conference in El Paso, and Ciudad
Juarez, Chihuahua, in 1968, the 31st
meeting. Rex Gerald and Vernon Brook, of
the University of Texas at El Paso and the
El Paso Archaeological Society, respectively,
convened the meeting with the
program dominated by heavyweights in
the new theory: Fred Plog, Michael Glassow,
Mark Leone. The morning session was devoted
to discussion of theory, "the first time
the half-day symposium, now a regular feature
of Pecos Conferences, had been devoted
to theory. It was chaired by Joe Ben
Wheat of the University of Colorado."
Not all in attendance were happy with
the changes in the Conference. Florence
Hawley Ellis responded to author Richard
Woodbury's query: "My impression of the
first very strong switch to emphasis on
methodology rather than on new finds came
out the year we met in Juarez, with some of
the young fry, especially from (the) Chicago
area, not even knowing pottery types or
various things (which) Schroeder attacked
them for being vague about - but they
spent their entire time in giving papers
which went into techniques of survey, etc.
- forever. They - the louts - made a point
of leaving the room when the old conservatives
got up to do their papers. For shame!"
This book is not only an interesting
anecdotal account of one of the great traditions
of Southwest studies but also provides
a very readable and biographical account of
the changes in the field throughout its last
half century and more.
The Caddo Nation:
Archaeological and
Ethnohistoric Perspectives
Dr. Timothy K. Perttula, University of Texas
Press, Texas Archaeology and Ethnohistory
Series, 1992.
Reviewed by David 0. Brown of Archaeological
Research, Inc.
The Caddo were once one of the most
populous and prosperous Native American
groups of the southeastern U.S. Their
tragic decline from a group that oncecontrolled much of eastern Texas and
Oklahoma and western Louisiana and
Arkansas is the story told by Tim Perttula
in this excellent new addition to the...the book questions
the accuracy of the
view that the decline of
Caddo culture began
after sustained
European contact was
initiated in the last
decades of the
17th century.
Texas Archaeology and Ethnohistory series.
The book's focus is the whole of the
Caddo region and the changes that took
place after A.D. 1520.
In this book, Perttula questions the
accuracy of the view that the decline of
Caddo culture began after sustained European
contact was initiated in the last
decades of the 17th century. By examining
archaeological and historic data from
the Caddo region, he demonstrates that
changes in settlement pattern, in population
density, and in culture began during
the protohistoric period. Following a brief
but thorough summary of the history of
the contact between European and
Caddoan peoples, and a review of the
archaeology of the protohistoric and historic
Caddo, Perttula carefully details his
hypotheses regarding the early decline of
Caddoan culture. The core of the book
consists of summaries of the two primary
periods of interest: the protohistoric and
historic Caddo, which he dates from 1520
to 1685, and the early historic, from 1685
to 1800. The discussion of the archaeology
and ethnohistory of these two periods is
broken down by major regions and includes
a comprehensive review of the data on
sites from these periods. There are individual
summaries as well as discussions of
special issues such as European trade policy
with the Caddo. His final summary includes
an overview of the data presented and its
relevance to his thesis and some detailed
suggestions for future research on the
Caddo.
The demise of the Caddoan culturetained contact. Perttula's thesis is that this
demise may have actually begun sometimes
after the first indirect contacts, perhaps
as early as 1520. This is not only
viable but quite likely, as Perttula ably
demonstrates. Where there is any hard
evidence for such a process, it is apparent
that Native American populations succumbed
quickly to indirect but rapidly
transmitted disease vectors.
The apparent effects of depopulation
due to disease were widespread. Whole
regions were abandoned and new social
groups appear to have arisen from the
remnants of depopulated ones. The wellknown
Caddo confederacies appear to
have been a result of such post-decline
consolidation, and, as Perttula also notes,
these confederacies seem to have centered
upon the areas of direct European
contact. Other possible effects are equally
dramatic. At most sites, the construction
of mounds ended prior to the period of
intense European contact. European trade
goods are relatively rare, even in late
Caddo sites, and Perttula argues, that in
contrast to groups such as the Tunica
who were able to maintain or perhaps
even foster status relationships based on
their newly acquired trade wealth, the
Caddo system of rank began to disintegrate
into a more egalitarian one with
increased European contact and trade.
At the same time, isolated farmstead and
hamlet sites may have been less affected,
at least initially, than the town and ceremonial
center sites.
The book is well written and authoritative
and the weaknesses are primarily
inherent in the data, a fact that Perttula is
quick to recognize. The comparison of the
protohistoric period, based largely on archaeological
data, to the historic period,A_
during the period following 1685 has been
well documented. As Perttula points out,
the population declined as much as 90
percent in the 200 years following susHERITAGE * SPRING 1994 25
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 12, Number 2, Spring 1994, periodical, Spring 1994; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45413/m1/25/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.