Current Research: Renewing Research on Holman Springs (3SV29), A Caddo Saltworks in Western Arkansas

The Holman Springs site (3SV29) lies in western Sevier County, Arkansas, near the Oklahoma border. It is, along with Bayou Sel (3CL27), one of two major excavations of Caddo saltworks that has not been substantially reported. Excavated between 1984 and 1986 by the Arkansas Archeological Society during their annual Training Program digs, the collections remain at the Arkansas Archeological Survey's research station (ARAS) at Southern Arkansas University (SAU) in Magnolia. The collections lay dormant for many years. Then, in 2015, the station staff revived the project and started moving it towards completion. This is a daunting challenge, given the massive size of the collection (estimates for the ceramics alone run to 4,000 pounds of sherds). We detail some of the efforts that have been taking place.

First Reported Samples from the Radiocarbon Laboratory of the University of Tennessee Center for Archaeometry and Geochronology: Dates from the Mccrosky Island Archaeological Site (40SV43), Sevier County, Tennessee, USA

This study presents the results of archaeological samples submitted for dating at the recently constructed University of Tennessee Center for Archaeometry and Geochronology (UTCAG) radiocarbon dating laboratory (Knoxville, Tennessee, USA). The samples selected for this initial study were obtained from excavations at the McCrosky Island site (40SV43) in Sevier County, Tennessee, USA. Three of the samples dated were split between the UTCAG laboratory and another laboratory to assess the UTCAG laboratory protocols. In an effort to further validate the laboratory methods employed, several other samples were submitted without prior knowledge of contextual data. The dates obtained for these samples were then compared to their association with recovered artifacts and/or archaeological context.