BECKWITH LECTURER SEEKS TRACES OF HERNANDO DE SOTO IN ARKANSAS

Although the native American Mississippian people may have embraced Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto with open arms, Dr. Jeffrey Mitchem doesn't.

"You can make the argument of de Soto contact," Mitchem said. "I don't think we'll ever know unless we find something that says `I was here.' But I can guarantee the site was occupied."

Mitchem spoke Sunday afternoon during the annual Thomas Beckwith Memorial Lecture at the Southeast Missouri State University Museum. He is the site archaeologist for Parkin Archaeological State Park in Parkin, Ark., about 40 miles west of Memphis, Tenn.

Mitchem has studied de Soto's route into North America and knows he crossed into Arkansas and Mississippi, but exact dates and places are hard to determine, he said.

Hernando de Soto traveled in the southern U.S. around 1500. He landed in Florida and traveled north, possibly as far as Missouri and Arkansas. Four accounts of the expedition have been written and each tells different stories and details.

Most historians and archaeologists agree that de Soto came through Arkansas, Mitchem said. "But to trace the route is a big headache. And everybody wants de Soto to go through their back yard," he said.

But de Soto might have actually gone through Mitchem's back yard. During recent archaeological digs at the park, Mitchem discovered lead shots, metal fragments and glass beads that serve as evidence of European contact.

Some people believe that Parkin was known as Casqui when de Soto visited the area. Casqui was the name given to a Mississippian chief, a village and a native American province in the written accounts of de Soto's travels.

"When de Soto arrived at Casqui, the Indians sent messengers to the chief," Mitchem said. "The chief came out bearing gifts and welcoming them with open arms. According to the accounts, he thought the men had come from heaven," Mitchem said. "And de Soto, being a good Catholic, had Mass said for the Indians and then had a cross built."

Pieces of the cross, which were raised on a mound near the chief's home, have been found at Parkin.

Several pieces of a large, wooden stake were found in the 1960s but never studied. When Mitchem came to Parkin in the early 1990s, he studied past archaeology collections, including the cross.

The wood, which could likely be the cross, dates between A.D. 1515 and 1663 De Soto was in Arkansas around A.D. 1541. Mitchem hopes to continue research on the cross in the next few years.

The park has ongoing digs throughout the summer months. Visitors can see both the field sites and the laboratory research at the park.

Parkin Archaeological State Park opened in 1994. It was purchased by the state in the 1960s.