Arkansas Archaeological Survey creates website on Arkansas dry bluff caves

The Arkansas Archaeological Survey and archaeologists Jamie Brandon and Lydia Rees partnered with the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council and the University of Arkansas Museum collections to create the Bluff Shelters of the Arkansas Ozarks website.

The project was funded by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council.

The website features a simple, easy-to-follow design that explains the current knowledge about bluff shelters and bluff caves. The native people who inhabited the area used the Arkansas Ozarks sites for shelter for approximately 10,000 years.

The website answers commonly asked questions about the bluff shelters and bluff caves, such as the geology, a time line, early excavations and the rare items found inside the shelters. The southeast's moist climate usually rots fabrics and other fragile materials, but the caves are dry and in some cases these fragile items have survived to the present. It also discusses the myths and misconceptions associated with the bluff shelters.

The website includes information on bluff shelters in the Arkansas State Parks and the Buffalo National River. These sites are protected and interpreted. A reading list is available for the public and researchers to delve further into the archaeology and history of bluff shelters and bluff caves.