Mississippian culture

United States, 800 CE–1600. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Mississippian period is an archaeological cultural era in the history of the Southern United States and adjacent areas of the Eastern Woodlands spanning the end of the 10th century to the 16th century. The Mississippians were characterized by theocratic governance, population centers, and the predominance of maize agriculture. Founded in 1050, the city of Cahokia likely had a population of at least 22,400 at its peak around 1124.

Seat of power: Cahokia

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

Most Mississippians retained the Hopewell clan system, where each clan functioned like a ritual society rather than solely kin groups, and travelers were able to obtain hospitality from a fellow clan member thousands of miles from their original home.
The flat-topped platform mound, once thought to be a uniquely Mississippian trait, has been found to have its origins as far back as the Archaic period, although summit structures still appear to be a uniquely Mississippian occurrence.
Cahokia was located in a strategic position near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers. It maintained trade links with communities as far away as the Great Lakes to the north and the Gulf Coast to the south, trading in such exotic items as copper, Mill Creek chert, shark teeth, and lightning whelk shells.
The inhabitants left no written records beyond symbols on pottery, marine shell, copper, wood, and stone, but the evidence of elaborately planned community, woodhenge, mounds, and burials later in time reveal a complex and sophisticated society.

Picture

Today, the Cahokia Mounds are considered to be the largest and most complex archaeological site north of the great pre-Columbian cities in Mexico.

Image: Skubasteve834, CC BY 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.