During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. The WPA Guide to Louisiana features a state influenced greatly by both Cajun and Southern cultures, as seen in the excellent photography and the chapter focused solely on traditional Louisiana cuisine. From Acadiana to the northern Sportsmans’ Paradise, this guide takes the reader on a journey across the swamplands of the Pelican State with several driving tours and special essays on the rich histories of Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

The Marksville site, which is believed to be contemporaneous with and connected to Hopewell sites in Ohio and Illinois, is in Avoyelles Parish in central Louisiana, in the Lower Mississippi Valley. In this volume, Alan Toth compiles information drawn from three early archaeological excavations at Marksville. The excavations were led by Gerard Fowke in 1926; Frank M. Setzler and James A. Ford in 1933; and Robert S. Neitzel and Edwin B. Doran in 1939. Includes a ceramic analysis for all three excavations, black and white photographs of ceramics, and 14 tables of ceramic counts.