Native Americans and Quarries

Native Americans and Quarries. Hot Springs National Park. Native Americans have occupied the land we now call Hot Springs National Park for well over 10,000 years. This land was part of their hunting grounds, but also offered prime quarrying sites for stone to make sharp-edged, durable tools and weapons. The best stone in the area for this purpose was novaculite. The Ouachita Mountains surrounding the park contain one of only two natural novaculite outcrops in North America., This land was used over the millenia by more than one group. The ancestors of the Caddo lived in this area, and several village sites have been located along the Ouachita River. Other peoples such as the Osage, Tunica, and Quapaw lived nearby and probably acquired novaculite through trade., Captions , Upper Right: Quarry areas are very distinct, appearing as a large hole surrounded with a cast-off or debris pile. From the quarries, the material was reduced to a manageable size and transported to a work area to be knapped or shaped into tools or weapons. This image shows the large debris pile that was left at a historic quarry site. , Lower Right: This image from 1870 shows part of a Caddo Indian village in Oklahoma. The ancestors of the Caddo lived in the Hot Springs area and used the novaculite from the surrounding mountains.