  The location of the Lawhorn site is in the St. Francis River valley in an area that has had little archaeological investigation. Using the subdivision of the Alluvial Valley (Phillips, et. al., 1951, Fig. 1) the Lawhorn site comes within the Malden Plain, and lies between Crowley’s Ridge and the Little River Lowland. The Cairo Lowland lies to the north and east and is separated from the Malden Plain by the Morehouse Lowland. All except the Morehouse Lowland were described, at least in part, by Williams (1956). The Malden Plain area is less well known than the other areas described by Williams. To the south of the Malden Plain is the Lower St. Francis Basis which was discussed by Griffin in Archaeology of Eastern United States (1952). The site is relatively small and seemed to have no more than two components represented. The materials that were obtained from the site in the preliminary testing did appear to be somewhat unusual yet not intrusive in the St. Francis valley area. One reason that the site was picked for excavation is that it is relatively small in size making it possible for more aspects of the site to be investigated within a relatively short time. The excavation of the site was, in part, an experiment to determine whether or not a group of serious amateur archaeologists could produce information that would be of value to the field of archaeology and professional and amateur archaeologists alike on the necessary basis of working on weekends and during vacation time. There were no funds for the excavation other than those provided by the group of men interested in carrying out this experiment, and, as is usual in such endeavors, though many worked on the project, a small nucleus of four did most of the work. There were 8 to 10 persons who worked as much as a year on the project. In spite of the changing crews and the difficulties under which the different groups worked, a rather full sample of the entire site was obtained. The total time spent covered a period of four years in the field and two years of laboratory work. The work from start to finish was under the direction of one individual, the writer, and thus there was always an organization and a continuity to it. The methodology followed in the excavation is that of accepted hand methods of archaeology (Fig. 46) controlled by making a map of the site and excavating within a grid system and with depths provided by a farmer’s level transit. All notes and excavation procedures were checked with professional archaeologists and when some new problem arose a professional archaeologist was contacted for advise or consultation before the excavations progressed further. Since time was always at a premium this consultation was many times by telephone and quite often several long distance phone calls were necessary before some phase of the work could be carried to a conclusion. Furthermore, the site was ninety miles from the base station of those working on the project which meant a round tip of 180 miles on each weekend or other excursion to the site. Figure 46. Cutting a Horizontal Profile in Square 27R32, Showing Use of Hand Tools The analysis and interpretation of the materials excavated pointed up the necessity of obtaining many notes and saving all material from the site. Part of the analysis was done prior to the finish of the excavation and this was helpful in gaining fuller information from some of the later parts of the excavation. Most of the analysis was done at the Chucalissa State Park Museum, Memphis, Tennessee, through the courtesy of the museum director, Charles Nash. The site covered approximately four acres and the portions excavated included the village living area with house sites, a plaza area, and cemetery area. What was considered to be a fair sample was obtained from all of these areas. Incidental to this sample was the sampling of the earlier component since all excavations were carried to sterile subsoil. In the analysis most of the time was spent on the pottery since it seemed probable that the pottery was the most diagnostic in determining the cultural position and the time of the site. It was broadly apparent from the beginning of analysis that the pottery represented two distinct traditions. The greatest part of it was the standard shell tempered pottery of the area, Neeley’s Ferry Plain with a small percentage of decorated types on the Neeley’s Ferry Plain base. The secondary type was a sand tempered ware that was plain, cord marked and textile marked. The sand tempered ware was representative of the early component on the site and was of a type that has not been named for this particular part of the lower Mississippi valley. The sand tempered pottery had some variety and was divided upon the basis of the size of the cord markings as well as the textile markings. Only a small percentage was plain. Seemingly associated with the sand tempered pottery was a lithic complex that has not been described elsewhere. The prominent projectile point or dart point type that appeared to be associated was less than 2½ inches in length and was relatively thick. It had little or no shoulders and was approximately twice as long as wide. There were no diagnostic points that were associated definitely with this component but it is possible that the one Motley point found on the site gives an indication of the time period of the component. The Motley points supposedly date between 1300 and 200 B.C. A Uvalde point was also found on the site but there is no assurance that this was not an accidental inclusion in the site. Four Gary points were also found but it is just as possible that these may have been associated with the later component on the site. There were no features that could be definitely related to the early component and it was necessary to separate the early component primarily upon typology and secondarily upon superposition. One reason for this was the fact that the site itself is on a very sandy bench of land and it seems probable that the evidence of the early occupation was shifted and many were exposed at the time the later occupation took place causing a certain amount of mixing in the deposits. Furthermore, earthquake activity had disturbed the deposits (Fig. 47). The old surface that the site lies on is the A1 surface of the Ohio according to Fisk (1944 Plate 15 sheet 1). Figure 47. Vertical and Horizontal Profiles Showing the Intrusion of Sand into Cracks in the Soil, Judged to be caused by Earthquake Activity The sand tempered pottery is very similar to the Barnes series that has been named in the Cairo Lowland area (Williams 1956). The ware also fits the description of the Thomas Plain, Blue Lakes cord marked and Twin Lakes fabric impressed (Phillips, et. al., 1951). It was decided not to utilize the names of the types from either area since the descriptions were not sufficient for it to be certain that the cord marked series here could be equated with either the lower alluvial valley types or the Cairo Lowland area. It does seem relatively certain, however, that the early component on the site is representative of a period that may have preceded the Baytown or Middle Woodland period or which may have been contemporaneous with it. It is of interest that no Baytown Pottery occurred on the site. The fact that Baytown pottery occurs in some profusion on sites in the surrounding area might indicate that the early component on the Lawhorn site is earlier than Baytown and that the site was never utilized during the Baytown or Middle Woodland period. It is possible that the sand tempered wares represented in the early component on the site are a middle Woodland type and the evidence for this is the fact that the Cairo Lowland area to the north, Williams (1956, in his table 2, page 32) places Barnes Ridge where the Barnes Series of Sand tempered types occur after Burkett and Hoecake and prior to Black Bayou. This places it in a Middle Woodland position. Furthermore on page 29 in Williams Table I he places the Barnes Ridge component at LaPlant after the Hoecake. The Hoecake equates with Woodland. Barnes Ridge, in his Table 3 page 38, is noted as Middle Baytown. This would equate with Middle Woodland in the central Mississippi valley. If the situation here in the Malden Plain area is similar to that in the Cairo Lowland and the sequence that Williams has suggested is correct, this would explain why no clay tempered Baytown material occurred on the site for this would be a component of the Middle Baytown period and would be preceded and perhaps followed by the clay tempered Baytown series. The late component on the site, or the Mississippian component, is not easily placed in either its cultural position or the time period in which it existed. The pottery is rather distinctive and is wholly a Neeley’s Ferry Plain and a few associated decorated types. The Neeley’s Ferry Plain vessel shapes consist of water bottles of two types, the long necked and the short necked and an unusual amphora water bottle; plates with undifferentiated rims and undecorated with the exception of red filming; shallow bowls; moderately deep, straight sided bowls; and deep bowls both straight sided and those with an incurvate side similar to some of the Caddo wares; and a usual jar form with strap handles and relatively low rim. A few of the jars are decorated and the most prominent decorated type is Wallace Incised or something very similar. Another minor decorated type is Matthews Incised and there are sherds of incised decoration which were not classified. These may possibly be Barton or Kent Incised but the number of sherds having the decoration on them and their small size was The water bottles had a sub-globular shape in most instances and had a fillet around the base of the neck. They either had a flat base or an annular ring base that was perforated. The shape in general compared favorably with other vessels from the general St. Francis River area and to some extent with water bottles from the Caddoan area to the southwest. The steep sided bowls and the one incurvate sided bowl are similar to some of the Caddo shapes but these shapes in the Caddo area are associated with engraved wares and are upon much different paste. The appendages on the vessels, both effigies and lugs and handles are of aid in determining the relationship of the site to other areas. The handles were perhaps the best guide since they seem to be copies of the typical handles at Crosno, at Kinkaid and in the general lower Ohio River valley. The handles have nodes at the top and in some instances have a groove down the center or have two raised ridges on either side of the strap handle. The strap handle is the most prominent on the site although a very few loop handles do occur. Judging from the pottery, the site is typically St. Francis River Mississippian of the late B period (Phillips, et. al., 1951), and it has some slight relationship to the Cairo Lowland area to the north and to the Lower White River Basin to the south. Both of these relationships might be expected due to the physical or geographical location of the site between the two areas. The other more diagnostic artifacts that were used in determining the relationship of the Lawhorn site to surrounding areas were the projectile points. The typical projectile point type is a small corner notched arrowhead which has been named the Scallorn point in Oklahoma and Texas and is supposed to date between 700 and 1500 A.D. It is also very similar to the Table Rock Corner Notched arrowhead in southwestern Missouri on the White River which is associated with a Shell tempered pottery complex—the latest occupation in the area. Furthermore, the arrowhead appears to be rather similar to the corner notched arrowheads associated with the Matthews site and with the Mississippi cultures in the Cairo Lowland area. Other important arrowhead types that might aid in the association of the site elsewhere is the Bonham point which supposedly dates between 800 and 1200 A.D. and which is found in the Caddo area to the southwest. This point occurs only about a third as frequently as the Scallorn point which seems to be similar to the relationship expressed by the pottery from the site. Also occurring are triangular points that are similar to the rough, ovoid triangular points found at the Campbell site in the Little River Lowland of the Memphis cultural sub-area, and to the triangular points that are common on Mississippi sites throughout the central Mississippi Valley. One of these triangular points, the Fresno, is supposed to date from 800 or 900 to 1600 There are other items that are associated with the complex that might aid in establishing its position and its relationship elsewhere. The one pipe hints at relationships toward the Caddo area for it is similar to those found at Spiro. The thumbnail scraper is similar to the ones found on the Campbell site and other late sites in the Mississippi Valley, but the small number of these suggest an earlier time period. These miscellaneous items strengthen, rather than weaken the conclusions drawn from the pottery and projectile points. It is premature to suggest the sequence in this Malden Plain area of the St. Francis River basin, but it might be helpful to present the sequence here that will show the position of the Lawhorn components to the probable sequence of the general area. The Southeast Missouri Area Chronology Chart of Williams (1956, p. 38, Table 3) has been used, and the probable position of the Lawhorn components are indicated and underlined. The sequence is Williams (1956, Table 3) with the addition of the underlined items. SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AREA CHRONOLOGY
It was not expected that the information contained here is the final answer to the story of the Lawhorn site or more than a start to finding out about the people who lived in the Malden Plain area of the St. Francis valley. It is hoped that this information will be at least a base from which others can work and that it adds enough new information that it will stimulate more people to do similar jobs within this area and surrounding areas. During the final stages of editing, three radio-carbon dates were received from the University of Michigan Memorial—Phoenix Project Radio Carbon Laboratory, H. R. Crane, Director. As these are of interest with regard to Lawhorn and, no doubt, to persons with commitments in that area, the dates are given below.
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