| Abstract: | Native North American Indians built and maintained water control and irrigation facilities, especially in the southwestern United States. However, the use of human-made structures to manage water for agriculture and personal use is rarely documented in the Southeast. Excavations at the protohistoric period Jordan site in Louisiana demonstrate the use of earthworks, ponds, and ditches to channel and direct surface water for drainage and irrigation. The Jordan site is remarkable for its preservation, as well as for having evidence for sophisticated hydraulic engineering, but it is unlikely that it is unique in the Southeast in regard to the degree and kind of earthmoving related to water management. Archaeological and geological contexts provide the background for understanding the Jordan site features. Results of geoarchaeological subsurface investigations demonstrate the scale and nature of the site's aboriginal constructions and provide evidence that they were part of a deliberate plan to make the site area habitable during the immediate post-contact era in the Mississippi Valley. |
