History

Middens in Jefferson Parish

Although most middens were destroyed by Europeans or sank into the wetlands, a few sites have survived and are prominant features of the delta landscape. The marshes of Jefferson Parish are dotted here and there with small knolls supporting a growth of oak, hackberry, palmetto and other vegetation not found in the surrounding wetland. These are the remains of middens.

These middens genarally indicate the presence of sunken natural levees which were once the banks of streams where pre-historic peoples built their villages. The levees afforded a degree of evelation and the waterways provided an abundant food source in the form of the brackish water clam rangea cuneata.

Compared to the surrounding delta lands, middens provide a favorable environment for the preservation of artifacts. Excavations have provided a wealth of information about the ecology and pre-historic inhabitants of the region. Information obtained from explring the contents of middens indicates....

Back to Pre-History

Back to History

Back to the East Jefferson Community Online Home Page