Watson Brake, A Middle Archaic Mound Complex in Northeast Louisiana

Middle Archaic earthen mound complexes in the lower Mississippi valley are remote antecedents of the famous but much younger Poverty Point earthworks. Watson Brake is the largest and most complex of these early mound sites. Wry extensive coring and stratigraphic studies, aided by 25 radiocarbon dates and six huninescence dates, show that minor earthworks were begun here at ca. 3500 B.C. in association with an oval arrangement of burned rock middens at the edge of a stream terrace. The full extent of the first earthworks is not yet known. Substantial moundraising began ca. 3350 B.C. and continued in stages until some time after 3000 B.C. when the site was abandoned. All 11 mounds and their connecting ridges were occupied between building bursts. Soils,formed on some of these temporary surfaces, while lithics. fire-cracked rock. and,fired clay/loam objects became scattered throughout the mound fills. Faunal and floral remains from a basal midden indicate all-season occupation, supported by broad-spectrum foraging centered on nuts, fish, and deer All the overlying fills are so acidic that organics have not survived. The area enclosed by the mounds was kept clean of debris, suggesting its use as ritual space. The reasons why such elaborate activities first occurred here remain elusive. However some building bursts covary with very well-documented increases in El Nino/Southern Oscillation events. During such rapid increases in ENSO frequencies, rainfall becomes extremely erratic and unpredictable. It may be that early moundraising was a communal response to new stresses of droughts and flooding that created a suddenly more unpredictable food base

U.S. Waterways Experiment Station Reports

"Approximately 1000 references to published and unpublished items of geologic literature were selected as being pertinent to engineering problems experienced by the Lower Mississippi Valley Division (LMVD) and its districts. Annotations were prepared for about 600 of the references" (p. vii)

U.S. Waterways Experiment Station Reports

This report is concerned with that part of the Texas Water Project located in the Cypress Creek and Sulphur River Basins and within the New Orleans District (NOD) of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The geological reconnaissance reported herein was performed for the NOD to provide a basis for estimating costs and determining the feasibility of construction of 5 dams and reservoirs, 1 tunnel, 15 pump stations, and about 110 miles of transmission channel and the enlargement of 2 existing reservoirs

Disposal of Dredge Spoil: Problem Identification and Assessment and Research Program Development

Source: https://erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil/jspui/The Corps of Engineers, in fulfilling its mission in developing and maintaining the nation's navigable waterways, will continue to be responsible for extensive dredging operations. Considerable concern has developed as to the environmental impact of the operations, with particular emphasis on open water disposal, especially that involving spoil materials containing pollutants. As a partial solution to the problem, the Corps was authorized to conduct a four-phase comprehensive nationwide study of the environmental impact of current disposal operations, including research leading to new or improved spoil disposal practices. This report contains the results of the first two study phases, i.e., problem identification and assessment and research program development. As a result of the assessment, it is concluded that the nature and magnitude of effects of dredging and spoil disposal on water qual1ty and aquatic organisms are quite poorly known and require extensive research. Since the consequences of confined land disposal are similarly poorly known, considerable research is needed to make this a viable disposal alternative. Research is needed to develop and implement pollution criteria for use in disposal alternative decision making, as existing criteria have major identifiable weaknesses in implementation rrocedures, scope, and application. A broad-based research program is outlined and recommended to develop a wide choice of technically satisfactory, environmentally compatible, and economically feasible disposal alternatives to cover the wide variety of dredging and disposal operations and environments. In addition to extensive research concerning the effects of dredging and open water disposal on water quality and aquatic organisms, ways would be sought to facilitate and improve the overall effectiveness and acceptability of land disposal. Attention would also be devoted to modifying dredge plant equipment and operational procedures to reduce environmental impact, and to physical, chemical, and/or biological spoil improvement methods. Major attention would be given to considering spoil as a manageable resource, including utilization lor marsh creation, wildlife habitat improvement or development, and beach nourishment. Completely new disposal concepts would be considered along with utilization of spoil for productive uses such as landfill and land enhancement. The recommended research program would cost about $30,000,000 over a live-year period and would be accomplished by numerous groups and agencies under the direction of a multidisciplinary team._x000D_ _x000D_ NOTE: This file is large. Allow your browser several minutes to download the file

Executive overview and detailed summary /

"Prepared for Office, Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.""Final Report.""December 1978."Mode of access: Internet

Fourth semiannual interagency briefing : February 1975, Washington, D.C. /

"Final Report.""October 1975."Mode of access: Internet

A Mound Complex in Louisiana at 5400-5500 Years Before the Present

An 11-mound site in Louisiana predates other known mound complexes with earthen enclosures in North America by 1900 years. Radiometric, luminescence, artifactual, geomorphic, and pedogenic data date the site to over 5000 calendar years before present. Evidence suggests that the site was occupied by hunter-gatherers who seasonally exploited aquatic resources and collected plant species that later became the first domesticates in eastern North America