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TeamworkPreserves Mound at ToltecAgencies Provide Materials, Tools and People PowerBy Jeff WilliamsToltec Archeological StatePark SuperintendentStewart Carlton hefts a rollof coconut matting to helpcover the base of Mound P.Photo by Jeff Williams.Not much is obvious at Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park – even the name is a misnomer. Severalancient mounds dominate the surface, but much of what makes this ground intriguing is buried.Park Superintendent Stewart Carlton says 19 mounds have been identified, and excavations as recent as2010 have helped piece together the lives of people who lived here from about 650 through 1050.The park lies along Mound Pond, an Arkansas River oxbow, in western Lonoke County. Several stateagencies recently created a partnership because water in the lake was eroding part of Mound P, one of thepark’s smaller mounds. Erosion was exposing artifacts such as arrowheads and pipes, and eventually thewater would create irreparable damage to the site.The problem arose from Mound Pond’s fluctuating water level. Since homes have been built across thelake from the pond, the water level tends to be higher on average than it was for years, which means wavesslap the base of the mound.16ARKANSAS WILDLIFE NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2011