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Dr. Tony Boudreaux, associate professor of anthropology and Middle Eastern cultures at Mississippi State University and director of curation and CRM for the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, will give a lecture at the University of Arkansas at Monticello on April 21 on his Natchez battlefield research.

In the talk, “The Search for ‘Missing’ Mounds and Traces of a 1730 Battle at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians,” Dr. Boudreaux will discuss recent efforts to use French battlefield maps, geophysical surveys and subsurface archeological excavations to identify features from the conflict that occurred in 1730 when an army of French, Choctaws and other Native allies attacked the Natchez Indians near their principal town.

Dr. Boudreaux’s talk will center around his research on the battle, which occurred near the town that the French called the “Grand Village.” The battle was in reprisal for earlier attacks by the Natchez. Anticipating this counterattack, the Natchez built two forts near the Grand Village. When the French and their Native allies arrived, they laid siege to these forts, established firing positions on and around the mounds at the Grand Village and proceeded to dig a sap—a type of fortified trench—toward one of the Natchez forts.

Dr. Boudreaux was invited to give the talk at UAM by station archeologist Dr. Matthew P. Rooney, who has worked extensively with Dr. Boudreaux on previous archeological projects. The event is sponsored by the Tunican chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society and the UAM School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

The talk is open to the public and will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, in the UAM Student Success Center, Room 102. Free parking is available in front of the building.

For more information, contact Dr. Matthew Rooney at (870) 460-1090.