Belcher Mound Site, Archaeological site in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States
Belcher Mound Site is an archaeological site in Caddo Parish north of Shreveport, featuring a central mound, cemetery area, and residential zones. Excavations here uncovered remains of roughly 46 individuals along with burial items, artifacts, and tools, now preserved at Louisiana State University.
The site was inhabited from around 900 to 1700, with the Belcher Phase occurring between 1400 and 1600, helping researchers date and identify a specific period of Caddoan Mississippian culture. This timeframe marks an important chapter in the region's early occupation history.
The site shows how residents built new homes directly over old ones, with each generation reusing structures from the past. This pattern of construction and abandonment reveals how communities adapted and changed over time.
The site sits in the Red River Valley north of Shreveport and remains largely undeveloped, though public access may be limited. Most findings and research details are available through Louisiana State University's natural science museum, where collections and scholarly work are documented and displayed.
The layers reveal a striking pattern where residents repeatedly burned or abandoned their structures, then rebuilt directly on top in the same spot. This repeated cycle of destruction and renewal was unusual and suggests both practical and possibly ritual reasons for this behavior.
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