The Evolution of a Caddo Community in Northeastern Texas: The Oak Hill Village Site (41RK214), Rusk County, Texas

Abstract

The Oak Hill Village (41RK214) in northeastern Texas is a prehistoric (ca. A.D. 1150–1450) Caddo settlement that was completely excavated in the mid-1990s prior to lignite mining activities. Analysis of the architectural remains, key calibrated radiocarbon dates, and changes in ceramic decorations, indicates that the village evolved as three temporally and spatially different communities composed of a number of separate households. Emerging in the latter two communities were important social institutions (a plaza, an earthen mound, and specialized structures with extended entranceways) that bound this singular Caddo community together for approximately 150–200 years (ca. A.D. 1250–1450).