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Happy birthday Celeste Williams and happy birthday Tuesday to Terry Dardar, Caffrey Delco and Alexes Nerve from family, friends and Ira.

New research reveals more information about the LSU Campus Mounds, including the discovery of thousands of years-old charred mammal bone fragments and a coordinated alignment of both mounds toward one of the brightest stars in the night sky. This new information offers more insight into the oldest known man-made structures in North America.

The two large, grassy mounds that are about 20 feet tall, on LSU’s campus, are among the more than 800 man-made, hill-like mounds in Louisiana, built by ancient indigenous people. While many mounds in the region have been destroyed, the LSU Campus Mounds have been preserved and are listed on the National Register for Historic Places.

“There’s nothing known that is man-made and this old still in existence today in North America, except the mounds,” said LSU Department of Geology & Geophysics Professor Emeritus Brooks Ellwood, who led this study, published in the American Journal of Science by Yale University.

He and colleagues collected sediment cores from the two mounds that are located on LSU’s campus along Dalrymple Drive to learn more about them. The cores revealed layers of ash from burned reed and cane plants, as well as the burned bone fragments. Radiocarbon dating of the layers of material indicates the mounds were built over thousands of years. These findings show that people began to build the first mound about 11,000 years ago. The scientists think that sediment for the southern mound, which they’ve named “Mound B,” was taken from a location immediately behind LSU’s Hill Memorial Library, because there is a large depression in the ground there. The mound was built up over a few thousand years, layer by layer, to about half of its current height.

The layers of ash and charred microscopic bone fragments may indicate the mound was used for ceremonial purposes, which included burning reed and cane plants to make large, hot fires that would have been too hot for cooking. The scientists do not know what type of mammals were cremated or why. However, they found many microscopic, charred bone fragments, known as osteons, the building blocks of large mammal bones, in the ash beds in both LSU Campus Mounds.

Then, around 8,200 years ago, the southern Mound B was abandoned. Tree roots found in the 8,200-year-old sediment layer indicate that the mound was not used for about 1,000 years. Also around 8,200 years ago, the northern hemisphere experienced a major climate event with temperatures suddenly dropping on average by about 35 degrees Fahrenheit, which lasted about 160 years.

“We don’t know why they abandoned the mounds around 8,200 years ago, but we do know their environment changed suddenly and dramatically, which may have affected many aspects of their daily life,” Ellwood said.

Then, around 7,500 years ago, the indigenous people began to build a new mound just to the north of the first mound. However, this time, they took mud from the floodplain where the entrance to LSU’s Tiger Stadium is currently located, which at that time was an estuary. With this mud, they built the second mound, “Mound A,” layer by layer, to about half of its current height. Mound A contains mud that is saturated with water, which liquefies when agitated. As a result, Mound A is unstable and degrading, which is why it is critical to stay off the mounds to preserve them.

According to the new analyses of the sediment layers and their ages, it looks like indigenous people cleared the abandoned first-built Mound B and began to build it up to its current height before completing Mound A. Both mounds were completed around 6,000 years ago and are similar in height.

The crests of both mounds are aligned along an azimuth that is about 8.5 degrees east of true north. According to LSU astronomer and study coauthor Geoffrey Clayton, about 6,000 years ago, the red giant star Arcturus would rise about 8.5 degrees east of north in the night sky, which means it would have aligned along the crests of both LSU Campus Mounds. Arcturus is one of the brightest stars that can be seen from Earth.

“The people who constructed the mounds, at about 6,000 years ago, coordinated the structures’ orientation to align with Arcturus, seen in the night sky at that time,” Ellwood said.

Still, there is more to learn and discover about these archaeological treasures on LSU’s campus.

Ellwood will be presenting this research to the public at the LSU Department of Geology & Geophysics Centennial and Endowed Seminar Series on Friday 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Dalton Woods Auditorium in the LSU Energy, Coast & Environment building located at 93 South Quad Drive in Baton Rouge.

If you’re hoping for fresh news on next year’s race for governor, you will be disappointed by this column. Very little will transpire on that front until the fall elections are concluded. Eight years ago, during the last open race for governor, candidates were knocking each other over to get into the field. This go around, few contenders seem eager to actually announce.

“Right now there is a lot of maneuvering between some of the potential candidates, and some congressmen and senators,” Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said in a recent interview. “I don’t think we will have a clear picture of the field until after the midterms. Once the field is set, mapping out a clear path to victory is going to be important before anyone fully commits. The campaign will be in full gear next year.”

Nungesser and roughly a dozen other politicos, including Attorney General Jeff Landry and Treasurer John Schroder, say they’re thinking about running for governor. Landry, Nungesser and Schroder are particularly notable because their candidacies would in turn open up other statewide offices in 2023.

For example, former Congressman John Fleming of Minden said last week he intends to run for lieutenant governor — just as long as Nungesser runs for governor. Nungesser, however, is probably waiting to see if any big names from Louisiana’s federal delegation enter the gubernatorial fray.

If Democrats capture the U.S. House and Senate this fall, some Bayou State Republicans may become more attracted to the governor’s office. Likely suspects include Congressman Garret Graves and Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy. For now, Cassidy, Graves and Kennedy are busy with their own re-election campaigns, leaving hopefuls like Fleming to angle for seats like lieutenant governor.

The potential field to replace Nungesser seems to grow by the day, and it has already produced a rather interesting storyline. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder has publicly toyed with the idea of running for months, but this spring Senate President Page Cortez announced he was considering the same race. Cortez hopes to make a final decision soon.

Others thinking about the lieutenant governor’s race include Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle, state Rep. Ray Garofalo of St. Bernard Parish, former state Sen. Elbert Guillory of Opelousas and Jefferson Parish Councilwoman Jennifer Van Vrancken.

The developing statewide race for insurance commissioner doesn’t have any direct connections to the governor’s election (yet), but there have been a few political mile-markers as of late. Senate Insurance Chairmain Kirk Talbot of River Ridge told www.LaPoliticsWeekly.com he has decided to run for re-election in 2023. “The plan is to run for the Senate again,” he said.

While that will certainly cool the heels of anyone eyeing Senate District 10 in Jefferson Parish, the news will also move quickly through the insurance lobby and the other corners of Capitoland keeping tabs on next year’s race for insurance commissioner. Talbot has been quoted a number of times saying he would run for commissioner if — and only if — incumbent Commissioner Jim Donelon, also of Jefferson Parish, opted against a re-election bid. That puts a spotlight back on Donelon, who has more than $400,000 in his campaign war chest.

While he’s telling close supporters he intends to be on the ballot next year, the public-facing Donelon is joining his statewide contemporaries by doing everything he can to not sound or look like a candidate. Not yet, at least.

Every bit the candidate is former C100 Chair Tim Temple, who can’t wait to return to the ballot. The Baton Rouge Republican reported $170,000 in his campaign account in February, with a notable donation last year from GOP super-donor Boysie Bollinger.

Back in 2019, Donelon bested Temple by 82,596 votes, out of more than 1.1 million cast. Yet Temple, the CEO and president Temptan, has managed to remain a part of the larger conversation. He’s presently fielding interviews on insurance issues for the approaching coverage of the anniversaries of hurricanes Ida and Laura.

A Donelon-Temple sequel seems likely, but they may not be the only names on the ballot. Former state Sen. Ryan Gatti of Bossier City said in a spring interview he was considering an entry into the race.

Of course, all of this represents just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to statewide elections in 2023. There will likely be highly competitive races for attorney general and treasurer, and maybe a few candidates will take interest in agriculture commissioner and secretary of state. Stay tuned.

For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @ LaPoliticsNow.

A St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office corrections deputy has been fired and faces charges related to violence against an inmate, Sheriff Blaise Smith said Thursday night.

Abreante Jacole Harris, 20, Jeanerette, was arrested at 3:52 p.m. Thursday on charges of simple battery and malfeasance in office.

SMPSO detectives conducted an internal investigation of an incident in which Harris, a corrections deputy, entered a St. Mary Law Enforcement Center dorm and struck an inmate several times.

Harris was booked on the charges and terminated on her arrest.

“I am disappointed in this deputy’s actions,” said Chief Deputy Gary Driskell. “She violated her training, the policies of the Sheriff’s Office, and the laws of the State of Louisiana. We hold the men and women of our agency to high standards of professional conduct, which means holding them accountable when they violate the boundaries of their authority.”