Copper Gorget from Parkin, Arkansas

Today, we are highlighting this copper gorget recovered from Parkin, Arkansas! Located between the St. Francis and Tyronza rivers, Parkin is believed to be the capital of Casqui’s Province, an indigenous community that was recorded during the expedition of Hernando de Soto in 1541 (“The Parkin Site” 1). Parkin rose to prominence during the end of the Mississippian period, circa 1400-1650 C.E., and was likely a paramount chiefdom that controlled nearby villages (“Parkin Historic Site”). Consistent with other late-Mississippian villages, Parkin has a series of earthen mounds and defensible structures, such as palisades and ditches (Morse 118-134). Village inhabitants during this period all lived within the confines of the palisade due to constant warfare in the area between competing chiefdoms (Morse 123). To learn more about Parkin or if you would like to visit in the future, check out the Parkin Archeological State Parkin webpage: https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/parkin-archeological-state-park

Rediscovered by Don Willis in the 1950s, this copper gorget was recovered at the base of Parkin’s central mound (“Mississippian Copper Artifacts” 1-2). In Mississippian communities, gorgets were worn as ornamental pieces around the neck and were often made from copper or shell (“Shell Gorget”). Gorgets were decorated with certain motifs that were reflective of the individual’s social status (Stauffer 61). As seen on this gorget from Parkin, a spider is embossed on the front of the plate. Spiders were common motifs throughout the Mississippian world, and many descendant communities connect the spider to aspects of their creation story (Stauffer 60-90). Within Choctaw tradition, the Grandmother Spider provided fire and light to the humans, gifting them the ability to see (“Grandmother Spider”). It is likely that this spider gorget from Parkin was a “badge of... distinction” for a high-status individual (Stauffer 61). For a more detailed explanation of the Choctaw’s creation story and the Grandmother Spider, make sure to visit the Choctaw Nation’s webpage: https://www.choctaw.org/culture/pdf/Grandmother%20Spider%20Steals%20the%20Fire%202fold%20pamphlet.pdf

Come by and see this artifact and many more at the museum in Bentonville!

Works Cited

Grandmother Spider Steals the Fire. Department of the Chahta Immi, 2011 Mitchem, Jeffrey M. “Mississippian Copper Artifacts from Arkansas.” 65th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Charlotte, NC, 2008.

Mitchem, Jeffrey M. “Parkin Historic Site.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 2019, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/parkin-historic-site-570/. Accessed 12 April 2023.

Mitchem, Jeffrey M. “The Parkin Site: Hernando de Soto in Cross County, Arkansas.” Arkansas Archeological Survey, 2011, pp. 1-4, https://archeology.uark.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Parkin-Site-and-State-Park.pdf. Accessed 12 April 2023.

Morse, Phyllis A. “The Parkin Site and the Parkin Phase.” Towns and Temples Along the Mississippi, edited by David H. Dye and Cheryl Anne Cox, The University of Alabama Press, 1990, pp. 118-134.

Paine, Claudine. “Mississippian Period.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 2019 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/mississippian-period-544/. Accessed 12 April 2023.

“Shell Gorget – Mississippian, date unknown.” Saint Lewis Science Center, 11 Nov. 2020, https://www.slsc.org/platypus-collected-from-australia-2/. Accessed 12 April 2023.

Stauffer, Grant J. “The McAdams Style Revisited: Matching Spider Iconography with Material Culture.” New Methods and Theories for Analyzing Mississippian Imagery, 1st ed., University of Florida Press, 2021, p. 60–90, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1z7kgtw.7.

Credit to Liley Bozard and Olivia Lee