Cahokia
Cahokia

Author: Timothy R. Pauketat

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2000-01-01

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 9780803287655

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About one thousand years ago, Native Americans built hundreds of earthen platform mounds, plazas, residential areas, and other types of monuments in the vicinity of present-day St. Louis. This sprawling complex, known to archaeologists as Cahokia, was the dominant cultural, ceremonial, and trade center north of Mexico for centuries. This stimulating collection of essays casts new light on the remarkable accomplishments of Cahokia.

Archaeomagnetic Dating
Archaeomagnetic Dating

Author: Jeffrey L. Eighmy

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 9780816511327

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Archaeomagnetic dating—dating archaeological and geological materials by comparing their magnetic data with known changes in the earth's magnetic field—has proved to be of increasing reliability in establishing behavioral and social referents of archaeological data. Now this volume presents the first book-length treatment of its theory and methodology in North American archaeology. The sixteen original papers in many cases represent the work of individuals who have been intimately involved with the development and refinement of archaeomagnetic dating techniques. They discuss the geophysical underpinnings of archaeomagnetism; general methodological problems associated with present archaeomagnetic studies, such as sample collection, data measurement and analysis, and experimental control; and advances in experimental archaeology. Case histories consider both successful and unsuccessful applications of the technique in New World fieldwork. Raw data is provided in an appendix. While the volume deals specifically with problems of archaeomagnetic direction dating in the Americas, it should prove useful in constructing exact chronologies in other archaeological sites as well and in the geologic record at large. As the only single volume devoted to the subject, it will serve as the standard reference in the field.

From Quarry to Cornfield
From Quarry to Cornfield

Author: Charles Cobb

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0817310509

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From Quarry to Cornfield provides an innovative model for examining the technology of hoe production and its contribution to the agriculture of Mississippian communities. Lithic specialist Charles Cobb examines the political economy in Mississippian communities through a case study of raw material procurement and hoe production and usage at the Mill Creek site on Dillow Ridge in southwest Illinois. Cobb outlines the day-to-day activities in a Mississippian chiefdom village that flourished from about A.D. 1250 to 1500. In so doing, he provides a fascinating window into the specialized tasks of a variety of "day laborers" whose contribution to the community rested on their production of stone hoes necessary in the task of feeding the village. Overlooked in most previous studies, the skills and creativity of the makers of the hoes used in village farming provide a basis for broader analysis of the technology of hoe use in Mississippian times. Although Cobb's work focuses on Mill Creek, his findings at this site are representative of the agricultural practices of Mississippian communities throughout the eastern United States. The theoretical underpinnings of Cobb's study make a clear case for a reexamination of the accepted definition of chiefdom, the mobilization of surplus labor, and issues of power, history, and agency in Mississippian times. In a well-crafted piece of writing, Cobb distinguishes himself as one of the leaders in the study of lithic technology. From Quarry to Cornfield will find a well-deserved place in the ongoing discussions of power and production in the Mississippian political economy.

Following the Mississippian Spread
Following the Mississippian Spread

Author: Robert A. Cook

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-06-29

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 3030890821

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This book is the first to specifically trace the movement of Mississippian maize farmers throughout the US Midwest and Southeast. By providing a backdrop of shifting climatic conditions during the period, this volume also investigates the relationship between farmers and their environments. Detailed regional overviews of key locations in the Mississippi Valley, the Ohio Valley, and the peripheries of the Mississippian culture area reveal patterns and variation in the expression of Mississippian culture and interactions between migrants and local communities. Methodologically, the case studies highlight the strengths of integrating a variety of data sets to identify migration. The volume provides a broader case study of the links between climate change, migration, and the spread of agriculture that is relevant to archaeologists and anthropologists studying early agricultural societies throughout the world. Key patterns of adaptation to and mitigation of the effects of droughts, for example, provide a framework for understanding the options available to societies in the face of climate change afforded by the time-depth of an archaeological perspective.

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE LOWER OHIO RIVER VALLEY
ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE LOWER OHIO RIVER VALLEY

Author: Jon Muller

Publisher: Left Coast Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1598744518

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Although it has been occupied for as long and possesses a mound-building tradition of considerable scale and interest, Muller contends that the archaeology of the lower Ohio River Valley—from the confluence with the Mississippi to the falls at Louisville, Kentucky – remains less well-known that that of the elaborate mound-building cultures of the upper valley. This study provides a synthesis of archaeological work done in the region, emphasizing population growth and adaptation within an ecological framework in an attempt to explain the area’s cultural evolution.

Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians
Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians

Author: Timothy R. Pauketat

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2004-06-17

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780521520669

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Using a wealth of archaeological evidence, this book outlines the development of Mississippian civilization.

Cahokia and the Hinterlands
Cahokia and the Hinterlands

Author: Thomas E. Emerson

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 9780252068782

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Covering topics as diverse as economic modeling, craft specialization, settlement patterns, agricultural and subsistence systems, and the development of social ranking, Cahokia and the Hinterlands explores cultural interactions among Cahokians and the inhabitants of other population centers, including Orensdorf and the Dickson Mounds in Illinois and Aztalan in Wisconsin, as well as sites in Minnesota, Iowa, and at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Proposing sophisticated and innovative models for the growth, development, and decline of Mississippian culture at Cahokia and elsewhere, this volume also provides insight into the rise of chiefdoms and stratified societies and the development of trade throughout the world.

Mississippian Political Economy
Mississippian Political Economy

Author: Jon Muller

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-21

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 1489918469

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This ambitious work offers a coherent and comprehensive look at the material conditions underlying and stimulating political development in southeastern North America during the Mississippian period. After introducing theoretical issues, Muller addresses reproduction, production, distribution, and consumption within their social and material contexts. Examined through the lens of the production, distribution, and consumption of prestige and staple goods, a profoundly domestic, though significantly differentiated, Mississippian political economy emerges. This study's broad synthetic view ensures that neither environment nor ideology are overemphasized. A fine statement of an important theoretical position, the volume features considerable graphic and tabular presentation of data.

King
King

Author: David Hally

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2008-09-21

Total Pages: 616

ISBN-13: 0817354603

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At the time of Spanish contact in AD 1540, the Mississippian inhabitants in north-western Georgia and adjacent portions of Alabama and Tennessee were organized into a number of chiefdoms distributed along the Coosa and Tennessee rivers and their major tributaries. This book is about one such town, known to archaeologists as the King site.