Amateur Historian, Andrew Plylar, dives deep into the colorful cultural roots of the state of Louisiana.
Louisiana native, Andrew Plylar, is fascinated by his home state’s history. Digging beneath the modern surface, his work often focuses on Native American influences, including Tchefuncte culture.
Tchefuncte Culture
Historical Hindsight
In the year 2000, the Tchefuncte Site of Louisiana was officially added to the United States National Register of Historic Places. Although this small archaeological site represents less than one acre of Louisianian land, Andrew Plylar is fascinated by the area. Tchefuncte represents a small — and yet uniquely vibrant — design within Louisiana’s colorfully multicultural fabric. Founded in 600 CBE, the Tchefuncte culture was present within the area until 200 CE. The cuisine and diet of the Tchefuncte culture is both familiar and foreign to modern day locals of Louisiana. A culture of hunter-gatherers, the Tchefuncte people procured their cuisine in the coastal and lowland areas in which they lived. Hunting along slow-moving streams, their seafood based diet consisted of clams, alligators and other varieties of fish. In terms of land-roaming meats, they also hunted raccoons, deer and some species of birds.
The Tchefuncte people were the first group within Louisiana to make large amounts of pottery. Their ceramic artistry has been discovered in various areas of the southern United States. Both functional and creative, these pots were used for a variety of new storage and cooking techniques, including food management and stewing.
As far as Andrew Plylar is concerned, the representation of the Tchefuncte people in Louisiana’s history is surprisingly minimal. Despite the fact that this culture existed within such a small area, Plylar believes that each and every culture in Louisiana’s chronology impacts the modern fabric of the state. He looks forward to diving even deeper into the significance of the Tchefuncte culture in Louisiana’s unique history.