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When European explorers in the 16th-18th century encountered the Caddo peoples in southwest Arkansas, they stumbled upon a stable, sophisticated community.
Society centered around communal activities and family homesteads often resembled a beehive, sometimes as large as 60 feet in diameter, with a warm hearth at the center. Caddo artisans were known for their intricately decorated pottery, which you can view today at the Arkansas Archaeological Survey at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
European-borne disease decimated the population, however, and its people fled to Texas and then to Binger, Oklahoma, where the Caddo tribe now numbers around 5,000.
– Margaret Willard, The Arkansas 100