The Caddo Ceramic Assemblage from the New Hope Site (41FK107), Franklin County, Texas

The New Hope site (41FK107) is located on an alluvial terrace (330-340 ft. amsl) on the west side of the Big Cypress Creek valley, about 200m west of the channel at the time it was inundated by Lake Bob Sandlin. The site covers an estimated 2.5 acres.lt is about I km north of the confluence of Brushy Creek and Big Cypress Creek. In addition to what would have been the broad floodplain of Big Cypress Creek, there are gently sloping upland landforms (340-490 ft. amsl) to the northwest, west, and south of the site, and these landforms are dissected by several intermittent streams. Previous archaeological work at the New Hope site indicates that the landform on which it sits has been occupied on several different occasions in prehistoric times. This includes use during the Late Paleoindian, Late Archaic, Woodland, Early Caddo, Middle Caddo, and Late Caddo period times. The most extensive prehistoric use of the New Hope site appears to have taken place in Early and Middle Caddo period times (ca. A.D. 1000-1400); the 20-30 grave-sized looter holes and burials that have been reported to have eroded out along the shoreline at the site are evidence of Caddo cemetery use during this era. The ceramic assemblages from these components have been recently documented in a private collection, and are the subject of this article