Watson Brake is an archaeological site in present-day Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, from the Archaic period. Dated to about 5400 years ago (approx. 3500 BCE), Watson Brake is considered the oldest earthwork mound complex in North America.
The site had been privately controlled since the 1950s. Approximately half the site is still owned by several family members, who have allowed archaeological excavations and associated work, but do not permit public viewing. Recognizing the site's significance, in 1996 The Archaeological Conservancy purchased half the site and later sold it to the state for preservation.
The analysis of 27 radiocarbon dates indicates that the site was initially occupied around 4000 BCE during the Middle Archaic period. Mound construction began at approximately 3500 BCE, and continued for approximately 500 years.
Evidence of the middens indicate that Watson Brake may have been used as a "base by mobile hunter-gatherers from summer through fall."
See also
- Marsden Mounds
- Poverty Point
- LSU Campus Mounds
References
External links
- Amelie Walker, "Earliest Mound Site", NewsBrief, Archeology, Volume 51 Number 1, January/February 1998
- "Man-made mounds said oldest in North America", The Japan Times, September 20, 1997
- "A Mound Complex in Louisiana at 5400-5000 Years Before the Present", Science, 19 September 1997
- OCR Carbon Dating of the Watson Brake Mound Complex PDF
- Ancient Earthworks of Eastern North America