Mound Excavations at Moundville

Mound Excavations at Moundville

Author: Vernon James Knight

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2010-06-09

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 0817316876

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This work is a state-of-the-art, data-rich study of excavations undertaken at the Moundville site in west central Alabama, one of the largest and most complex of the mound sites of pre-contact North America.


Rethinking Moundville and Its Hinterland

Rethinking Moundville and Its Hinterland

Author: Vincas P. Steponaitis

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780813061665

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"The Moundville archaeological site, located in Alabama, is well-known as a prime example of a Mississippian mound complex. Building upon the 1998 volume 'Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom,' this volume closes the information gap and presents the results of ongoing and multifaceted research into the life of the people of the Moundville chiefdom"--Provided by publishe


Moundville

Moundville

Author: John H. Blitz

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2008-09-21

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13: 0817354786

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"In the thirteenth century, Moundville was one of the largest Native American settlements north of Mexico. Spread over 325 acres were 29 earthen mounds arranged around a great plaza, a mile-long stockade, and dozens of dwellings for thousands of people. Moundville, in size and complexity second only to the Cahokia site in Illinois, was a heavily populated town, as well as a political and religious center." "Moundville was sustained by tribute of food and labor provided by the people who lived in the nearby floodplain as well as other smaller mound centers. The immediate area appears to have been thickly populated, but by about 1350 a.d., Moundville retained only ceremonial and political functions. A decline ensued, and by the 1500s the area was abandoned. By the time the first Europeans reached the Southeast in the 1540s, the precise links between Moundville's inhabitants and what became the historic Native American tribes were a mystery." "Illustrated with 50 color photos, maps, and figures, Moundville tells the story of the ancient people who lived there, the modern struggle to save the site from destruction, and the scientific saga of the archaeologists who brought the story to life."--BOOK JACKET.


Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom

Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom

Author: Vernon James Knight

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2007-01-28

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 0817354212

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Brings together nine Moundville specialists who trace the site’s evolution and eventual decline Built on a flat terrace overlooking the Black Warrior River in Alabama, the Moundville ceremonial center was at its height a densely occupied town of approximately 1,000 residents, with at least 29 earthen mounds surrounding a central plaza. Today Moundville is not only one of the largest and best-preserved Mississippian sites in the United States but also one of the most intensively studied. This volume brings together nine Moundville specialists who trace the site’s evolution and eventual decline.


Recent Developments in Southeastern Archaeology

Recent Developments in Southeastern Archaeology

Author: David G. Anderson

Publisher: University Press of Colorado

Published: 2012-04-03

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1646425596

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This book in the SAA Press Current Perspectives Series represents a period-by-period synthesis of southeastern prehistory designed for high school and college students, avocational archaeologists, and interested members of the general public. It also serves as a basic reference for professional archaeologists worldwide on the record of a remarkable region.


Early New World Monumentality

Early New World Monumentality

Author: Richard L. Burger

Publisher: University Press of Florida

Published: 2012-05-20

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 0813042739

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In studies of ancient civilizations, the focus is often on the temples, palaces, and buildings created and then left behind, both because they survive and because of the awe they still inspire today. From the Mississippian mounds in the United States to the early pyramids of Peru, these monuments have been well-documented, but less attention has been paid to analyzing the logistical complexity involved in their creation. In this collection, prominent archaeologists explore the sophisticated political and logistical organizations that were required to plan and complete these architectural marvels. They discuss the long-term political, social, and military impacts these projects had on their respective civilizations, and illuminate the significance of monumentality among early complex societies in the Americas. Early New World Monumentality is ultimately a study of labor and its mobilization, as well as the long-term spiritual awe and political organization that motivated and were enhanced by such undertakings. Mounds and other impressive monuments left behind by earlier civilizations continue to reveal their secrets, offering profound insights into the development of complex societies throughout the New World.


Moundville's Economy

Moundville's Economy

Author: Paul D. Welch

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 1991-03-30

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 0817305122

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A Dan Josselyn Memorial Publication Anthropologists have long talked about chiefdoms as a form of sociopolitical organization, and for several decades Elman Service's description of chiefdoms has been widely accepted as definitive. Nevertheless, in the 1970s, scholars began to question whether all, or any, chiefdoms had the entire range of characteristics described by Service. Most of the questions focused on the (nonmarket) economic organization of these polities, and several contrasting economic models were suggested. None of the models, however, was comprehensively tested against actual chiefdom economies. This study examines the economic organization of the late prehistoric (A.D. 1000 to 1540) chiefdom centered at Moundville, Alabama. Rather than attempting to show that this case fits one or another model, the economic organization is determined empirically using archaeological data. The pattern of production and distribution of subsistence goods, domestic nonutilitarian goods, and imported prestige goods does not fit precisely any of the extant models. Because Moundville's economy was organized in a way that promoted stability, it may be no accident that Moundville was the dominant regional polity for several hundred years. This research opens a new field of archaeological investigation: the relationship between fine details of economic organization and large-scale political fortunes.


From Cahokia to Larson to Moundville

From Cahokia to Larson to Moundville

Author: A. Martin Byers

Publisher: Univ Tennessee Press

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 706

ISBN-13:

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The orthodox view of the Mississippian social world hinges on the ideas that chiefdoms--dominance based hierarchical societies in the Eastern Woodlands of North America--vied for power, often violently bit at times cooperatively, through political and economic avenues. These chiefdoms represented something of a feudal state in prehistoric North America, which lasted up to the contact period with Europeans around 1500 A.D. In From Cahokia to Larson to Moundville, noted archaeologist A. Martin Byers challenges these assumptions and offers a contrasting view by deconstructing the chiefdom model and offering instead an autonomous social world that focused on spiritual renewal and sacred rituals. Byers presents his case through the archaeological record of Cahokia, Larson, and Moundville's monumental earthworks and, in doing so, reveals the Mississippian social community to be more complex, and more cooperative, than previously envisioned. A. Martin Byers, now retired, was a research associate in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University in Montreal.