Archaeology

Mississippian Culture: 1000 CE to Historical Contact (Janzen)

     During the Mississippian Period (not to be confused with the Mississippian Period of geology), between 300 to 1100 years ago, people living along the Ohio River established large permanent settlements encircling a central plaza with two earthen mounds. One mound was used for ceremonial activities and a residence was build on the top of the other to house the chief. It is believed that the buildings surrounding the plaza were places of trade and that the manufacturing of pottery, jewelry, leather goods and other items took place there. Dwellings, like the suburbs of today, were arranged in orderly rows behind the manufacturing and trading areas.   

     Beyond the town were smaller villages, farmsteads, and hunting camps. Houses and other buildings were usually rectangular, made of mud mixed with dried grass, (called wattle and daub) and were covered with thatched roofs.  Some of the villages were fortified with earthen walls and tall log stockades, which indicates that there was a need of protection.  Built along rivers, these ceremonial complexes and settlements, over time, became centers of trade and supported stable communities.

     The people grew to be dependent upon farming as their main source of food. They developed food storage methods, such as fired pottery, gourd containers, and baskets with pine tar coating, which allowed them to live comfortably year round and to save seed from year to year.  Fishing, gathering mussels, and communal hunting supplemented their agricultural efforts to ensure a stable food supply.

     The Mississippian people were also skilled craftsmen able to produce a variety of distinctive pottery, some of which was painted with natural minerals like red ochre or decorated with incising, punctuated, or with handles and finished rims. They also manufactured a wide range of stone, bone, and shell artifacts for use as tools and personal adornment.

     Much of the development of agricultural practices, social organization and culture was directly related to the sharing of ideas and techniques through trade with people in Central and South America.  Shells were an important material in the economy of the riverine townspeople. From river mussel shells they made spoons, scrapers, and hoes, which were traded for whelk and conch shells from the Gulf of Mexico.  Shells were shaped into disk beads, pendants, earplugs and gorgets, which were often carved or engraved with figures or designs. Copper, another trade item from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, was probably considered sacred for it was used to create important ceremonial objects.  Mica was made into jewelry and ceremonial figures and came from the Southern Appalachian Mountains.  Obsidian from the Yellowstone region was used to make razor-sharp blades (to cut meat) and arrow points. Grizzly bear teeth were used as jewelry and came from the Rocky Mountains.  After European contact, glass beads were traded and made into jewelry and adorned clothing.

     Evidence leads archaeologists to believe that around 700 years ago, a long drought caused crops to fail. The village farmers were unable to provide the large populations in their towns with sufficient food. The threat of starvation and epidemic diseases in the settlements caused people to make new lives in small nomadic bands, living off the land by hunting and gathering.

Contact with Europeans

     It is believed that the first Europeans to make contact with the natives were the French and Spanish. The French came as fur traders; the Spanish to convert.   Both peoples affected the lives of Native Americans.  With the Europeans came disease and it has been calculated the over 95% of the Native peoples living across America were killed by diseases to which they had no immunity.  Another change that came about due to European contact was that elaborate mortuary practices declined and were eventually replaced with European practices.  At the Falls of the Ohio the Shawnee seemed to be the dominate tribe who occupied the region.

Text written by Gwen Corder, edited by Bett Etenohan

To explore other cultural periods, click Paleoindian, Archaic, or Woodland.

A little information about Clarksville Archaeological Sites.

          Mississippian Arrow Points                                Fort Ancient Drill    Fort Ancient Knife        Chert Celt

Created July 6, 2011, Updated July 26.