Mississippian Cultures of North America

 

Figure 1: Geographic territory of Mississippian cultures

 

Between A.D. 1000 and 1700 several different cultural groups that shared common characteristics, including material culture, religion, and sociopolitical organization, flourished across the North American landscape in what is known today as the American Midwest and Southeastern United States (Figure 1).  Collectively known as the Mississippians these cultural groups were regionally distinct despite their commonalities.  While early scholars refused to believe the accomplishments of these people were credited to the ancestors of modern American Indians more recent archaeological inquiries have rectified and refuted those prejudicial ideas.  Today’s blog post will provide an overview of Mississippian cultural characteristics.

 

Mississippian cultures characterized as sedentary groups of people who practiced large scale agriculture, existed within chiefdom societies, and developed large scale monuments, specifically earthen mounds.  Mound building was actually a hold over from the preceding cultural period, the Woodland Period, but the Mississippian Period mounds were different in various ways.  Whereas Woodland Period mounds were largely created for mortuary purposes Mississippian mounds were much larger and served ritual and/or residential purposes, specifically providing elevated housing for chiefs or social elites.  They would reside atop the mounds in wooden, mud plastered houses, using their raised residences to mimic their elevated status among the people.  While Mississippian Period mounds are found throughout the American Midwest and Southeast the largest mounds are found at the site of Cahokia.

 

The Mississippians required a great deal of human labor and effort to construct their monumental earthworks, which required large populations and political leadership.  Both were sustained through large scale agricultural exploits.  Mississippians were adept at maize cultivation, along with beans and squash (often referred to as the “Three Sisters”).  These cultigens provided the primary means of subsistence for Mississippian groups, who also supplemented their diets with meat collected through hunting and fishing activities.

 

Mississippian groups were organized socio-politically into chiefdoms, which dotted the landscapes and provided regional variation among groups.  The chiefs would lead their people in not only the creation of the mounds and the agricultural duties but also in craft specialization.  The Mississippian people had robust crafts, including diagnostic shell tempered ceramics, copper metallurgy, and shell artifacts.  Many of these depict the complex religious traditions of the Mississippian people, including the Long Nosed God, a common motif among various Mississippian groups.

 

The Mississippian cultural groups began to decline around A.D. 1500, which coincides with the arrival of Europeans to the New World.  While diseases and conflict between American Indians and Europeans disrupted many Mississippian lifeways they continued to construct earthen mounds and practice their traditions.  This has been most recently demonstrated by archaeological evidence from the Dyar Mound site in Georgia, although other sites demonstrate similar phenomena.  This just shows the reliance of these people, who eventually abandoned the Mississippian cultural patterns but continued on and still exist among their descendant populations today.

 

Bibliography

Baires, S. E. (2018, February 23). White Settlers Buried the Truth About the Midwest’s Mysterious Mound Cities. Retrieved from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/white-settlers-buried-truth-about-midwests-mysterious-mound-cities-180968246/

Emerson, T. E. (1991). The Apple River Mississippian Culture of Northwestern Illinois. In T. E. Emerson, Cahokia and the hinterlands: middle Mississippian cultures of the Midwest. (pp. 164-182). University of Illinois Press.

Mehta, J. (2020). Mississippian Culture and CahokianIdentities as Considered ThroughHousehold Archaeology at Carson, a Monumental Center in North Mississippi. Journal of Archaeological Method & Theory, 27, 28-53.

National Park Service. (No Date). The Mound Builders. Retrieved from Indian Mounds of Missippii: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/mounds/builders.htm

Powell, E. A. (2021, January/February). Enduring Rites of the Mound Builders. Retrieved from Archaeology Magazine: https://www.archaeology.org/issues/407-features/top10/9271-georgia-dyar-mound?fbclid=IwAR0shXoUG3zXP5lUb3Y-PxM0LQ1-6wJR9i0KR8tJXXN1J9KiSo_eEp7dD1g

Unknown. (n.d.). Mississippi Mound Builders, Ancient Indian Civilizations. Retrieved from AAANativeArts.com: https://www.aaanativearts.com/ancient-indians/mississippi-mound-builders.htm