Mississippian tradition
The Mississippian tradition refers to a significant cultural phenomenon that flourished across the Missouri-Mississippi drainage and neighboring regions in the Midwest and southeastern United States from approximately 900 CE until the arrival of Spanish explorers in the early 16th century. Often called the "temple mound" period, this tradition is marked by the establishment of sedentary village societies with hierarchical social structures, primarily dependent on maize agriculture. Notable settlements such as Cahokia, Etowah, and Moundville featured large, earthen pyramidal mounds which served as foundations for temples and residences of elite individuals.
Culturally, the Mississippians were skilled in various crafts, producing intricate pottery, ceremonial axes, and elaborate pipes, alongside distinctive ceramic vessels often adorned with symbolic decorations, including motifs related to warfare. Their religious practices included celestial observations and, at times, human sacrifice, reflecting complex spiritual beliefs. A notable cultural development toward the end of this period was the emergence of the "Southern Cult," characterized by ceremonial objects bearing rich symbolism.
The decline of the Mississippian tradition was influenced by multiple factors, notably the introduction of European diseases that devastated Indigenous populations. Additionally, internal challenges such as malnutrition and conflicts further weakened these societies, leading to the abandonment of major sites long before European contact. Despite its decline, the legacy of these sophisticated Mississippian communities persisted among later Indigenous groups, such as the Creeks.
Mississippian tradition
Category: Prehistoric tradition
Date: 900-1540
Location: Midwestern and southeastern North America
Cultures affected: Caddo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Natchez, Pawnee
The Mississippian tradition was a widespread cultural phenomenon that affected peoples of the vast Missouri-Mississippi drainage and neighboring regions of the Midwest and southeastern United States between 900 c.e. and the arrival of the first Spanish expedition by Hernando de Soto in 1539-1540. Also known as the “temple mound” period, the Mississippian tradition was characterized by the presence of sedentary, village societies with marked social ranking whose agricultural economies were characterized by a strong reliance on the cultivation of maize and whose technology included shell-tempered pottery. Large Mississippian settlements, such as Cahokia, Etowah, and Moundville, were dominated by the presence of massive, pyramidal mounds of earth that served as the bases for temples and residences of powerful individuals. The term “Mississippian” has been applied to a wide variety of sites and complexes, and the culture was by no means uniform.
The Mississippian people were accomplished at a variety of crafts. Among them was the manufacture of elaborate ceramic vessels, often bearing symbolic decorations. A distinctive class of vessels are those sculpted to look like trophy heads taken in warfare. Ground stone objects included elaborate pipes and ceremonial axes. From a number of sites, most notably the Spiro Mound in eastern Oklahoma, come beautiful shell gorgets, carved with representations of warriors, snakes, and esoteric symbols. Cold-hammer metallurgy was used to manufacture copper sheet-metal portraits and representations of warriors.
The religious life of the Mississippians included the observation of celestial events, such as the summer and winter solstices, and occasional human sacrifice. Toward the end of the period, a phenomenon called the “Southern Cult” is manifest in the production and trade of ceremonial objects decorated with symbols such as hands with eyes, crosses, and snakes as well as depictions of individuals dressed in bird costumes holding severed human heads. Some archaeologists have suggested that these are related to ceremonial traditions from Mesoamerican civilizations.
The Mississippian tradition came to an end as a result of a variety of stresses. The most significant of these was the introduction of European diseases and the subsequent devastation of native populations by fatal epidemics in the sixteenth century. Problems such as malnutrition and internecine warfare were present long before the arrival of the Spanish, however, resulting in the decline and abandonment of large sites such as Cahokia generations before European contact. The legacy of complex Mississippian societies continued into the historic period among tribes such as the Creeks.