Eaker site

	Eaker site
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. National Historic Landmark
	Overview of the site
Nearest city	Blytheville, Arkansas
Coordinates	35°57′48″N 89°56′4″W / 35.96333°N 89.93444°W
Area	80 acres (32 ha)
NRHP reference No.	91001048
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 25, 1992
Designated NHL	June 19, 1996

The Eaker site (3MS105) is an archaeological site on Eaker Air Force Base near Blytheville, Arkansas, that was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1996.^[2]^[3] The site is the largest and most intact Late Mississippian Nodena phase village site within the Central Mississippi Valley,^[4] with archaeological evidence indicating a palisaded village some 50 acres (20 ha) in size, with hundreds of structures. The site's major period of occupation was 1350–1450 CE, although evidence of occupation dates back to 600 CE. The site is also hypothesized to have been occupied by the Quapaw prior to a migration further south, after which they made contact with Europeans in the late 17th century.^[3]

Description and archaeological history

The Eaker site is located in northeastern Arkansas, overlooking Pemiscot Bayou, a tributary of the St. Francis River. It is an area that saw little development before 1900, when agricultural endeavors resulted in the drainage of local swamps. The property was acquired by the United States Air Force in 1942, and has been part of Eaker Air Force Base since then.^[3]

The site was first recorded in 1973, although its location was incorrectly given, and was not corrected until 1978, when an amateur archaeologist collected samples from the site. Preliminary surveys were made in 1980 and 1982 by state archaeologists, and in 1988 a full investigation established the boundaries of the 80-acre (32 ha) site. This work yielded more than 100 projectile points and over 2,000 pottery fragments. A portion of the site has since been surveyed using a magnetometer, identifying a significant number of subsurface features of interest, including as many as 400 house sites. Excavations have yielded evidence of refuse middens, houses, toolmaking workshops, and human remains.^[3]

The most significant damage to the site took place shortly after the Air Force occupation in 1942, when a portion of a platform mound was apparently used as fill for one of the airfield runways. A mound-like feature in the northeast of the site is believed to represent the surviving element of this structure.^[3]

Analysis

According to the archaeological finds, the site appears to have been occupied several times between about 600 CE and 1500 CE. The pottery finds are similar in distribution to those found at the Nodena site, and the Nodena period (1350–1450 CE) is when this site appears to have been occupied to its greatest extent. This occupation included a large village, occupying about 50 acres (20 ha) of the site, which was surrounded by a wooden palisade and ditch. The southern 30 acres (12 ha) have evidence of Late Woodland Period occupation.^[3]

The site is significant for its size, which should enable archaeologists to uncover substantial evidence about the society which occupied it, including information such as social stratification (as indicated by differing burial practices, and the arrangement of structures in the village), and trading patterns with surrounding communities. It may also yield valuable information about agricultural practices, given its location in a place favorable for such uses.^[3]

The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996.^[2]^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Eaker Site". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Carmichael, David (January 14, 1994). Barnes, Michael R. (ed.). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Eaker Site (redacted)" (pdf). National Park Service.
^ "National Historic Landmarks Program – Eaker Site". Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.

[nhlsum-2] "Eaker Site". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009.

[nhlnom-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Carmichael, David (January 14, 1994). Barnes, Michael R. (ed.). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Eaker Site (redacted)" (pdf). National Park Service.

[4] "National Historic Landmarks Program – Eaker Site". Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Pre-Columbian North America
Periods Lithic Archaic Formative Classic Post-Classic
Archaeological cultures	Adena Alachua Ancient Beringian Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi) Anishinaabe Avonlea Baytown Belle Glade Buttermilk Creek complex Caborn-Welborn Cades Pond Calf Creek Caloosahatchee Clovis Coles Creek Comondú Deptford Folsom Fort Ancient Fort Walton Fremont Glacial Kame Glades Hohokam Hopewell List of Hopewell sites La Jolla Las Palmas Maritime Archaic Mississippian List of Mississippian sites Mogollon Monongahela Old Cordilleran Oneota Paleo-Arctic Paleo-Indians Patayan Plano Plaquemine Poverty Point Red Ocher Safety Harbor Santa Rosa-Swift Creek St. Johns Steed-Kisker Suwannee Valley Tchefuncte Troyville Weeden Island
Archaeological sites	Angel Mounds Anzick site Bandelier National Monument Bastian Benson Blue Spring Shelter Bluefish Caves The Bluff Point Stoneworks Brewster Cahokia Candelaria Cave Casa Grande Chaco Canyon Coso Rock Art District Crystal River Cuarenta Casas Cueva de la Olla Cutler Eaker El Fin del Mundo El Vallecito Effigy Mounds Etowah Indian Mounds Eva Folsom Fort Ancient Fort Center Fort Juelson Four Mounds Gila Cliff Dwellings Glenwood Grimes Point Helen Blazes Holly Bluff Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Horr's Island Huápoca Key Marco Kimball Village Kincaid Mounds Kolomoki Mounds Lake Jackson Mounds Lehner Mammoth-Kill Site L'Anse aux Meadows Lynch Quarry Site Marksville Marmes Rockshelter Meadowcroft Rockshelter Mesa Verde Moaning Cavern Moorehead Circle Morrison Mounds Moundville Mummy Cave Nodena site Ocmulgee Mounds Old Stone Fort Orwell site Paquime Painted Bluff Parkin Park Pinson Mounds Plum Bayou Mounds Portsmouth Earthworks Poverty Point Pueblo Bonito Rassawek Recapture Canyon River Styx Roberts Island Rock Eagle Rock Hawk Rosenstock Village Russell Cave Salmon Ruins Serpent Mound Sierra de San Francisco Shell ring sites Spiro Mounds Stallings Island SunWatch Taos Pueblo Town Creek Indian Mound Turkey River Mounds Upward Sun River Velda Mound West Oak Forest Earthlodge Wickiup Hill Windover Winterville Wupatki
Human remains	Anzick-1 Arlington Springs Man Buhl Woman Kennewick Man La Brea Woman Leanderthal Lady Melbourne Man Minnesota Woman Peñon woman Spirit Cave mummy Vero man
Miscellaneous	Aridoamerica Ballgame Black drink Ceremonial pipe Chanunpa Chunkey Clovis point Container Revolution Eastern Agricultural Complex Eden point Effigy mound Falcon dancer Folsom point Green Corn Ceremony Horned Serpent Kiva Medicine wheel Metallurgy Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing Mound Builders N.A.G.P.R.A. Norse colonization of North America Oasisamerica Piasa Projectile point Southeastern Ceremonial Complex Stickball Three Sisters agriculture Thunderbird Transoceanic contact Underwater panther Water glyphs
Related Genetic history Pre-Columbian era

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Description and archaeological history

Analysis

See also

References