HIST 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Weeden Island Culture, Troyville Culture, Mound Builders
24 Jul 2020
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Document Summary
From 950-1600 ad, mississippi moundbuilders were a vibrant group in ancient. North american history, centered around the mississippi river and extending east to much of the northern gulf coast. The moundbuilders were comprised of a complex patchwork of large and small chiefdoms that relied on maize agriculture, marine or river valley (floodplains) foraging, and trade for their prosperity. The antecedents can be found among weeden island culture (in northeastern florida), known for its cohesive spirituality (with consistent and long-standing ceremonial practices) but diverse secular and economic practices. The catalysts for the brilliant flowering of mississippi culture were 1) the emergence of powerful chieftains leading local communities, 2) the increased reliance on maize agriculture, and 3) the increasing complexity of spiritual ceremonies centered on mortuary practices. Mississippian chiefdoms continued this pattern of homogenous spirituality but diverse local communities. The largest and most powerful of these chiefdoms was. Cahokia, located where the missouri and mississippi rivers merged.
