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Louisiana Archaeological Society
-Baton Rouge Chapter-
Welcome to the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Louisiana Archaeological Society!
We are a Non-Profit organization dedicated to promoting archaeology in Louisiana. We often partner with the State Chapter, the Division of Archaeology, and the Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism to organize archaeological events throughout the state. Our goals include increasing the general public’s awareness of Louisiana’s cultural heritage and making archaeology more accessible to the public through free public talks and workshops. See our calendar for more information on meeting times and locations.
To receive information about our meetings, please email batonrougelas1975@gmail.com.
Meeting Announcements!
When: March 27 at 7 pm
Where: Bluebonnet Library
Join us as Joanne Ryan, MA (Coastal Environments, Inc.), presents "All but Lost - Louisiana's Antebellum Sugarhouses, with Case Studies from Iberville Parish, Louisiana."
Abstract:
Most of the over 1,500 sugarhouses in Louisiana prior to the Civil War have been lost to development. Portions of only two remain standing. The archaeological remains of a small number of others survive below the ground but are fast disappearing. Through complete and detailed excavation and interpretation, industrial archaeologists can recover a wealth of information from these sites before they are gone forever.
Coastal Environments, Inc., conducted excavations at the former locations of the Greenfield-Allemania, Plaisance, and Arcadia Plantation sugarhouses, on the west bank of the Mississippi River in Iberville Parish, before the sites were destroyed to make way for new chemical plants. The Greenfield-Allemania Sugarhouse operated from the 1840s to 1914, the Plaisance Sugarhouse from 1830 to 1890, and the Arcadia Sugarhouse from 1851 to 1880. These investigations consisted of intensive historical background research and extensive mechanical and hand excavations. The over 450 subsurface features encountered at the three sites physically reflect the sugar-making process and the evolution of sugar-making technology in Louisiana during the nineteenth century.
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