REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPHS OF CLARENCE B. MOORE’S EXPEDITION TO THE OUACHITA RIVER VALLEY,LOUISIANA, 1908–1909

Abstract

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Clarence Bloomfield Moore spent approximately 30 years visiting, excavating, and reporting on archaeological sites across the southeastern United States. During the latter 25 years of his research, Moore employed the sternwheel steamer Gopher as his primary mode of transportation. From early November 1908 until late April 1909, Moore and the Gopher, along with an experienced excavation team, the boat’s captain and crew, and several technical experts, examined sites along the Ouachita River in Louisiana and Arkansas. One of the members of this expedition was Arthur W. Clime, whose widow, Celia Clime, donated a number of photographs to the Smithsonian Institution that depict scenes from the Ouachita River work. These photographs of Clarence Moore’s field research are unique in that they provide an important glimpse into some of the earliest archaeological work conducted in Louisiana and into the field techniques employed by Moore.