Many Hopewell communities traded for large amounts of stone from far away. However, the people at Marksville did not do that. They continued to use local stone to make most of their tools and other items.
The people at Marksville created some artifacts in the Hopewell style. They made pottery bowls and jars from local clay. Then, they added designs that were nearly identical to those on pots in Ohio and Illinois. In particular, certain birds are on pots in all these areas. These designs show that the birds had a special meaning for people in the Hopewell world. Marksville potters also modeled their smoking pipes on styles found in Illinois. Although they made them of local clay rather than stone, the shapes are very similar.
Many communities in Louisiana made pots with Hopewell designs on them. At some places, these pottery designs continued long after people left the Marksville site. Pottery is the major example of the long-lasting effect that Hopewell traditions had in Louisiana. Other Hopewell traits were less widely adopted in this region. For example, earthen embankments and elaborate tombs in mounds were very rare, and Marksville is unusual because it had these.
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Hook-billed bird pot,
Marksville site, Louisiana
Hook-billed bird pot,
Mundies Mound site, Illinois
Clay pipe,
Marksville site, Louisiana
Stone "Monitor" pipe,
Oscar Hood site, Illinois