TOM JONES (3HE40): GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AT A CADDO MOUND SITE IN SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS

Abstract

This article outlines a process that has facilitated discoveries of intrasite pattern, architecture, and diagnostic artifacts at the prehistoric Caddo mound site Tom Jones (3HE40) in southwestern Arkansas. A methodology of multisensor geophysical survey using electrical resistance, electromagnetic conductivity, gradiometry, magnetic susceptibility, high accuracy survey and mapping, and data georeferencing enabled by geographic information system technology has proven to be an efficient, effective, and essential component of an overall research plan. In addition to providing insights regarding the intrasite organization of an upland Caddo ceremonial mound center, this technologically integrated approach has established that Saratoga chalk geology and Blackland Prairie clays combine to form an advantageous medium for geophysical discovery.