Rectangular shaped houses were built by digging trenches 12-18 inches wide and as deep. Poles 6 inches or smaller were set upright in the trench and earth was packed around them until the trench was filled. Sometimes rocks or horizontal logs were laid in the trench to brace the upright poles. The spaces between the rows of upright poles were intertwined and woven with vines and mud smeared over the entire structure. When the first Europeans came to Louisiana this type of house was very common among the Indians. The houses were usually arranged in small clusters around several large mounds which surrounded a central plaza. The plaza was used primarily for ceremonies. The famous Emerald Mound near Natchez, said to be the second largest prehistoric man-made object in the United States, is a nearby example of such a village arrangement. _Mississippian Period_ (1400-1700) Trade routes with other Indians in the Southwest and Mexico increased and cultural diffusion was extensive. Trade with the first Europeans began during the 16th century. After 1,000 years the elaborate burial practices from the Tchefuncte Period were revived and expanded into a “Cult of the Dead”. Great burial mounds were built to contain the dead and their burial artifacts. Many wooden forms of men and animals covered with hammered copper, pottery shaped as human or animal heads, and pottery depicting bones, skulls, rattlesnakes, and “feathered serpents” were placed with the corpse in the mound. Villages were enclosed by walls of poles plastered with mud. During this period Indian populations decreased significantly. As they decreased and the palisade walls rotted, smaller and smaller compounds were built around the remaining village. _1540-Present_ It is not known how many Indians lived in Louisiana, however, archaeological evidence, as well as written accounts by early Spanish and French explorers indicate there were large numbers. From the northern farmlands of the Caddo and Tunica to the southern swamps and bayous of the Chitimacha; from the southwestern prairie of the Atakapa to the eastern hills and rivers of the Natchez and the Muskhogee (Houma) were many tribes who adapted their culture, their lives, and their economy to available products in their segment of Louisiana’s environment. Following is a brief history of the major tribes and those groups which merged with them. HISTORIC PERIOD ATAKAPA _Atakapa_—