Northeast Arkansas has drawn people from prehistory to the present, including ancient and native peoples, explorers, planters, builders, and visionaries who shaped the American frontier. At Parkin Archeological State Park in Parkin, Arkansas, in the heart of the Delta, the Parkin site provides the place where written evidence begins to document events and native people in Arkansas. This 17-acre site on the St. Francis River was occupied during the Mississippian period, approximately A.D. 1000 to 1600, and the height of that culture is reflected in pottery, earthworks, and other remains preserved in the soil. Artifacts and first-person accounts from de Soto's expedition, the only description of the native population in what became Arkansas, reveal this powerful culture. The site's significance is underscored by its designation as a National Historic Landmark and its listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is also home to one of ten Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Stations, where archeologists continue learning about the people who lived there.