Anthropology 2231F/G Lecture 12: Lecture 12 Part 2– Mississippian Society
13 Jul 2012
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Largely confined to river valleys: fertile soils, replenished by flooding. Elaborate mounds: some burial mounds, 3 kinds: ridgetop, conical, platform, temple mounds: usually square with a flat top with beveled sides. Not burial mounds, not built over dead. Had structures built on top of them. Some where the elite lived, some were charnal houses: impressive in size. Over 30 meters tall, 316x210 meters, covers 16 acres. Some have ramps up to the top, logs used as steps. Not built all at once, building episodes. Defensive works: earthworks encircling villages, bastions built of wood, stockades and palisades, ditches on the outside of the structure, definitely defensive. Some built close to water so it would flood, early moats: very large borrow pits, some became filled with water small lakes, moundville, alabama found shell and copper fish hooks, evidence of stocking lakes. Housing: large, standing posts, wove flexible wood material between, then plastered with walls with clay/mud mixed with grass.
