Dr. Jeffrey M. Mitchem Ph.D.
Associate Archeologist, Arkansas Archeological Survey, Parkin, Arkansas
Volume 46, Numbe 4, October 1999 Central States Archaeological Journal
Archeologists and historians have long been interested in the route of the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto, who traveled through the southern United States for four years in the middle 1500s. Four chronicles of the expedition were written, and they include interesting details about the Native American groups encountered by the Spaniards. The accounts are incomplete, however, and researchers disagree about the exact route of the expedition. We do know that the expedition crossed the Mississippi River in June of 1541. The crossing place has been long debated, and several crossings are still proposed.
Archeology as a tool for learning about Arkansas’s past serves as a unique technique for finding out if there are other towns mentioned in the chronicles. Research in other Southern states, especially Florida, has helped us understand where the expedition traveled and what effect the Spanish presence had on the Native American inhabitants.
Very little evidence of De Soto’s expedition has been found in Arkansas. The most convincing evidence so far has been found at the Parkin Site, a village site near the present town of Parkin on the St. Francis River. A small bead made of several layers of glass was found at the site, and we know from archeological work on other De Soto contact sites that this type of bead was carried by the expedition for giving or trading to the Indians. In addition, a small brass bell and two fragments of brass were excavated at the site. Bells of this distinctive style were also carried by the expedition. We have also found several additional De Soto related artifacts at Parkin, including two lead shot (one of which was .61 caliber), and another fine Claudius bell was found on a backdirt pile at the site in the late 1960s or 1970s. We also excavated a bronze coin a few years ago, but it had been hammered and abraded so much that no writing or design was discernible. Although it could be a Spanish coin, it could also be an Indian head cent, since many people have lived on and around the site in the last century and a half (and it was found in an area with lots of modern disturbance).
But can these few small artifacts demonstrate that the De Soto expedition actually visited the Parkin Site? By themselves, the answer is no, because the artifacts could have been brought to the site by Indian traders. But when we combine the artifacts with the information in the expedition accounts, it may be possible to identify the Parkin Site as one of the towns mentioned by the writers.
After crossing the Mississippi River, the expedition passed through an Indian province called Aquixo. The residents of this region told De Soto of a great chief named Casqui, who lived in a town three days’ journey from there. The expedition traveled to Casqui’s town, passing through other smaller towns which were ruled by him. Upon arriving, Casqui himself greeted the Spaniards, and friendly relations were established. After both leaders exchanged gifts, the Spaniards stayed two nights outside the town before proceeding on their journey. While at the town of Casqui, De Soto erected a large wooden cross and had a large cross built from two pine trees. This cross was erected on top of a large mound at the village and was worshiped by Casqui and his subjects.
Archeologists believe that the Parkin Archaeological Site is the main town of the Casqui province, where the chief resided. The native towns in the area are described in the chronicles as being surrounded by moats with palisade walls. The Parkin Site is surrounded by a moat (now a ditch) which is still visible today. It is located on the east bank of the St. Francis River and a large earthen mound is situated near the river. All of these features tie the area with the descriptions of Casqui in the expedition accounts. The artifacts mentioned earlier support the identification of the site as the Indian town of Casqui. Similar archaeological sites in the region were probably villages under the rule of the chief Casqui. Few destroyed or so badly disturbed by recent farming that little information about the original residents is left intact.
Late Haley engraved tripod water bottle from the Caddo culture. Found in Sevier County, Arkansas. From the collection of Larry Parkhill
The Parkin Site is largely preserved and is now the Parkin Archaeological State Park. Many archaeologists believe that Parkin is the most intact archaeological site from this period in all of northeast Arkansas. An ongoing program of archaeological research is being conducted at the site by the Arkansas Archeological Survey, and visitors can see the results of careful professional excavations as we learn more about the original residents of this area.
Not only does archaeology promise to tell us more about the De Soto expedition, but we can learn much about everyday life of the Casqui people. For instance, what kind of houses did they have, and what foods did they eat? These kinds of questions can be answered by careful archaeological research. By examining house floors and trash pits, we glimpse the day-to-day existence of the original Arkansans at the time of their first contact with Europeans. We may be able to learn whether the Casqui people of 1541 were the ancestors of the Quapaw of 1673, or whether the Casqui succumbed to diseases brought by De Soto’s men and were vanquished by the Quapaw coming down river sometime between 1541 and 1673.
Late Caddo East (Fulton) effigy bowl with a tail rider from Little River County, Arkansas. The base of the bowl is 4 inches in diameter; over all the piece is 3 4/8 inches high and 9 1/2 inches long. From the collection of Larry Parkin, a prehistoric artifact restoration specialist. Mr. Parkin said this piece is very rare and required little restoration. He has seen only nine Caddo pots with tail riders. He believes the tail-rider on this bowl to be a deer. Please note the three incised lines under the bowl rim and the incised circles approximately 1/16 inch in depth on the wood duck (?) effigy. The same type of incising is on the back of the rider and on the mouth of the effigy.
REFERENCES CITED
Morse, Dan F. and Phyllis A. Morse
1983 Archaeology of the Central Mississippi Valley. Academic Press, New York.
Morse, Phyllis A.
1981 Parkin: The 1978–1979 Archeological Investigation of a Cross County, Arkansas Site. Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Series No. 13.
Mitchem, Jeffrey M.
1996 Investigations of the Possible Remains of De Soto’s Cross at Parkin. The Arkansas Archeologist 35:87–95.
1996 Mississippian Research at Parkin Archaeological State Park. In Proceedings of the 14th Annual Mid-South Archaeological Conference, edited by Richard Walling. Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Series No. 14.