Archaeology of the Caddo Indians and Louis T. Baker, Sr.

 If you’ve ever visited the History Center, then perhaps you remember our miniature scene of pre-historic life along Willow Chute Bayou. This diorama of a Caddo Indian village was constructed by the late Mr. Louis Baker, an archaeology enthusiast from Benton, Louisiana. He was one of the local residents who helped the History Center become a reality in the late 1990s. Not only did this skilled craftsman build our diorama, but he also did much of the archaeological field work right at the Caddo Indian village site of Vanceville. The diorama is based on this work - even the dirt in the diorama is authentic! 

Louis Baker was born in 1930 in North Carolina. He served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, met his wife Dot while stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, and they eventually settled in Benton. Louis worked in civil service until retirement when he established Baker Heating and Air. 

Louis didn’t take up his archaeology avocation until he was roughly in his 50s, but according to Jeff Girard, retired archaeologist from the Louisiana Division of Archaeology, Louis Baker’s contributions to Louisiana archaeology were immense, and his skill with a trowel was considered among the best around. He identified and plotted over a hundred archaeological sites in northwest Louisiana and worked with professional archaeologists on numerous projects in both Louisiana and Arkansas.  

As told by Jeff Girard, Louis began recording sites in Bossier Parish, where he made extensive surface collections and kept excellent records. His favorite area of investigation was along Willow Chute Bayou, a stream on the eastern side of the Red River floodplain between Benton and Bossier City. Now largely developed by residential expansion, the area was cultivated in the 1980s and 1990s. Louis maintained close relationships with the local farmers and systematically surveyed most of the existing fields, recording almost 100 sites. 

After the Regional Archaeology Program was established in 1989, Jeff Girard worked with Louis re-visiting these sites, making additional collections, conducting test excavations, and analyzing the extensive collections which are now curated at Northwestern State University. The broad and systematic nature of Louis’ endeavors enabled Louis, Jeff, and other archaeologists to interpret the area as home to a dispersed Caddo village relating to the Middle Caddo period, about 1200 to 1500.

Louis was instrumental in the beginnings of the History Center, which started in 1997 as a room in the library and later moved into its own building in 1999. In the History Center meeting room, we have a large display case that contains many of the best artifacts from Louis Baker’s collections. 

Archaeology of the Caddo Indians and Louis T. Baker, Sr.

Based on investigations that Louis and Jeff Girard conducted at the Vanceville Site in Bossier Parish, Louis designed and constructed the History Center’s diorama. It was significant to Louis that the soil that’s in the diorama is from the actual site the Caddoan people lived and walked on. According to Louis, that dark soil is what archaeologists call midden, which gets its color from the discarded debris of living, such as from years of preparing food and making tools. The Caddo lived on this site for approximately 500 years and the midden was about six to eighteen inches thick, with lots of artifacts scattered in it.  

The Caddo houses were large, as seen in the diorama.  The houses Louis and Jeff excavated locally are around 33 to 35 feet in diameter and about the same height with containing two stories. The upper story was used to for food storage for field crops like corn, beans, and squash. The grass roof had to be re-covered every fall to get ready for the cold rainy days of winter. The thatch used is a grass similar to what we call “saw grass” that still grows today in Willow Chute next to the banks of the bayou. 

Louis Baker also was an accomplished craftsman and artisan. He replicated a set of Indian tools including bows, atlatls, shell dippers, knives, celts, and ornamental items of wood and bone.  Many of the implements are compised of stone tools made by local flintknappers and hafted by Louis into finely carved and polished bois d’arc handles. The tools and ornaments are housed at the History Center and used frequently in public presentations and hands-on demonstrations. Louis’ many years of field research and the inherent difficulty of carving bois d’arc (the hardest dried wood in North America) make these replicas even more impressive. 

History Center staff will be displaying and demonstrating this set of replicas at the 7th Annual Archaeology Day at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum on Saturday, September 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Archaeologists and educators will fill the museum and grounds with demonstrations and activities for the whole family to enjoy. For those interested in learning more about archaeology, the Louisiana Archaeology Society, of which Louis Baker was a member, will have representatives to discuss joining the Northwest Louisiana Chapter. This event is free and open to the public. For more information about the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, visit www.laexhibitmuseum.org. 

Come see the Caddo Indian diorama or Louis Baker’s artifact collection at the History Center or request a program where we use the replica tools and decorative items either here at the History Center or in your classroom or other public facility. We are located at 2206 Beckett St, Bossier City, LA and are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org

For other fun facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok

Photos: Louis Baker at an archaeological dig on Loggy Bayou south of Bossier Point in 1999

Article by: Pam Carlisle