Revisiting a Historic Manuscript: Vere Huddleston’s Report on East Place (3CL21) Excavations

Abstract

Vere L. Huddleston was one of several amateur archaeologists who excavated Caddo sites in Clark County, Arkansas, during the 1930s and 1940s. Huddleston took better notes about the sites and contexts of his finds than many of his contemporaries. His large collection of artifacts is now part of the Joint Educational Consortium’s Hodges Collection in Arkadelphia. A manuscript on his excavations at the East Place – the largest Caddo mound group in Clark County – is presented here with new vessel documentation and grave lot information. Since many of these artifacts have appeared in previous publications with little description, this work provides context for interpreting the site and its placement in the Caddo Indian history of this region.