CADDO ARTIFACTS

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1. A necklace of five conch shell pendants or "lizard effigy" beads from the Cedar Grove site near Garland City. This necklace was worn by an adolescent male. Pottery vessels in his grave indicate that he lived between A.D. 1700 and A.D. 1750.

2. Novaculite arrow points of the late Caddo period from a site near Caddo Gap. The Caddo made extremely powerful bows of bois d'arc or Osage Orange. Fragments of a Caddo bow from a site in Louisiana indicate that they were a little over five feet long and a little over an inch in diameter at the middle. Archeologists made a bow of bois d'arc to fit those apparently rather puny dimensions. To everyone's surprise, it proved to have a "pull" or draw weight of between 65 and 70 pounds. Only strong and experienced archers can handle a bow that powerful.

3. & 4. Caddo bowls from the Ouachita Valley near Arkadelphia, made about A.D. 1500.

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5. Large knives, beautifully chipped from rare imported cherts, were an important part of the paraphernalia of Caddo leaders, particularly in Early Caddo times (A.D. 900 to A.D. 1200). These knives show no signs of use. They were probably worn or carried as ceremonial daggers.

6. The Caddo were expert potters. They made bottles, to hold water or bear oil, bowls for cooking or eating, and jars for cooking and storage. Their fanciest vessels had highly polished black surfaces with intricate engraved designs on them. Red or white paint was rubbed into the designs to make them stand out. The three-legged bottle in picture 6 is from the Ouachita Valley, from around A.D. 1600. The other bottle in picture 6 is from the Red River Valley and dates back to A.D. 1400.

7. A small Caddo cooking pot (large cooking pots could hold seven to ten gallons) from the Ouachita Valley near Arkadelphia, circa A.D. 1400.