Ear spools,ceramics, and burial mounds from southwest Missouri: Caddoan and Spiro connections on the Northern Frontier

A Caddoan presence in the extreme southwest portion of Missouri was firmly established after investigations were conducted in the upper White River valley in the late 1950s. Later, James Brown exposed the myth that the southwestern Ozarks was a cultural enclave that lagged behind Mississippian developments in other parts of the Trans-Mississippi South. Recent discoveries and reanalysis of artifacts from sites located across much of southwest Missouri suggest that a substantial presence and influence of Caddoan peoples extended far beyond the upper White River valley. This area, referred to here as the Northern Frontier, extends from the lower James River valley on the south to the Osage River on the north. Multiple lines of evidence are presented that suggest this portion of the western Ozarks was within the Caddoan orbit and sphere of influence.