Historical society to host ‘Novaculite Quarries in the Ouachita Mountains’
The Garland County Historical Society will present the program “Novaculite Quarries in the Ouachita Mountains” at its meeting at noon Tuesday at the Garland County Library. The public is welcome to attend.
“Novaculite has been mined from deposits in the southern Ouachita Mountains for a few thousand years. Archeologists have visited many of these sites, both prehistoric and historic, and have documented their use and extent. This presentation will discuss limited aspects of the geology, mining, and use during prehistory, historic use, and efforts at mapping several major quarry features in the southeastern corner of Garland County,” a news release said.
“Novaculite is a very important geological resource in Arkansas and during prehistory it could have been considered the ‘sharp edge of survival.’”
The program will be presented by Meeks Etchieson, who served as the forest archeologist/ Heritage Program manager for the Ouachita National Forest for 27 years. Prior to that, he was a staff archeologist for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, SW Region, working out of Amarillo, Texas.
Since retiring in 2014, Etchieson has continued archeological and historical research, working with the Clark County Historical Association, and currently serves as president of the CCHA. Originally from Clark County, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Memphis State University in 1973 and also has an MA from Northern Arizona University. He currently lives in Magnet Cove.