This paper is based on the works of many authors who have investigated and written upon archaeological materials involving pre-Caddo cultures that existed in the Caddo Area, west of the Mississippi River. I will be concentrating on one particular archaeological manifestation known as the Fourche Maline Culture, which existed perhaps as early as 500 B.C. and ended sometime during the 2nd millenium A.D.
The origins of the Fourche Maline Culture are still not well understood, however, it can be stated with some assurance that it was an in-place development occurring somewhere within the Caddo Area. How far widespread was this culture? Some researchers believe that the Fourche Maline Culture was ubiquitous throughout the Caddo Area in the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas