Mississippian period

E798341

North American cultural period archaeological culture period pre-Columbian era

The Mississippian period was a pre-Columbian era in North America characterized by complex mound-building societies, intensive agriculture, and large, hierarchical settlements centered along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

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Statements (94)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	North American cultural period ⓘ archaeological culture period ⓘ pre-Columbian era ⓘ
culturalContinuityWith	historic Southeastern chiefdoms ⓘ
declineCause	climate change in some regions ⓘ disruption of trade networks ⓘ epidemic diseases after European contact ⓘ social and political upheaval ⓘ
endTime	c. 1600 CE ⓘ
follows	Late Woodland period NERFINISHED ⓘ Woodland period NERFINISHED ⓘ
hasCharacteristic	agricultural surplus ⓘ centralized leadership ⓘ communal feasting events ⓘ complex mortuary practices ⓘ complex social stratification ⓘ construction of earthen embankments ⓘ copper working ⓘ elite-controlled ritual paraphernalia ⓘ fortified towns and palisades ⓘ hierarchical chiefdoms ⓘ iconographic art style ⓘ iconography associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex ⓘ intensive horticulture of beans and squash ⓘ intensive maize agriculture ⓘ intensive use of floodplain environments ⓘ inter-chiefdom warfare ⓘ large settlements ⓘ long-distance trade networks ⓘ mound-building societies ⓘ palace-temple complexes on mounds ⓘ platform mounds ⓘ plaza-centered community layouts ⓘ population aggregation into large centers ⓘ ranked kin-based societies ⓘ regional ceremonial centers ⓘ regional variation in material culture ⓘ ritual human sacrifice in some centers ⓘ settlement hierarchies with towns and hamlets ⓘ shell ornament production ⓘ shell-tempered pottery ⓘ specialized craft production ⓘ stone effigy production ⓘ sun-oriented cosmology in many areas ⓘ tribute-based economies ⓘ use of chunkey game ⓘ use of riverine transportation routes ⓘ use of thatched wattle-and-daub houses ⓘ widespread religious iconography ⓘ
hasMajorSite	Angel Mounds NERFINISHED ⓘ Aztalan State Park NERFINISHED ⓘ Cahokia Mounds NERFINISHED ⓘ Etowah Indian Mounds NERFINISHED ⓘ Kincaid Mounds NERFINISHED ⓘ Mound Bottom NERFINISHED ⓘ Moundville Archaeological Site NERFINISHED ⓘ Ocmulgee Mounds NERFINISHED ⓘ Parkin Archeological State Park NERFINISHED ⓘ Shiloh Indian Mounds NERFINISHED ⓘ Spiro Mounds NERFINISHED ⓘ Town Creek Indian Mound NERFINISHED ⓘ Winterville Mounds NERFINISHED ⓘ
hasPart	Caddoan Mississippian culture NERFINISHED ⓘ Cahokia culture NERFINISHED ⓘ Etowah culture NERFINISHED ⓘ Fort Ancient culture NERFINISHED ⓘ Middle Mississippian tradition NERFINISHED ⓘ Missouri River Mississippian tradition NERFINISHED ⓘ Moundville culture NERFINISHED ⓘ Oneota culture NERFINISHED ⓘ Plaquemine culture NERFINISHED ⓘ South Appalachian Mississippian tradition NERFINISHED ⓘ Upper Mississippian tradition ⓘ
influenced	ancestral cultures of the Caddo ⓘ ancestral cultures of the Cherokee ⓘ ancestral cultures of the Chickasaw ⓘ ancestral cultures of the Choctaw ⓘ ancestral cultures of the Creek ⓘ ancestral cultures of the Natchez ⓘ historic Southeastern tribes ⓘ
mainRegion	Eastern North America NERFINISHED ⓘ Midwestern United States NERFINISHED ⓘ Mississippi River Valley NERFINISHED ⓘ Ohio River Valley NERFINISHED ⓘ Southeastern United States NERFINISHED ⓘ Tennessee River Valley NERFINISHED ⓘ
namedAfter	Mississippi River NERFINISHED ⓘ
partOf	pre-Columbian North America NERFINISHED ⓘ
precededBy	Hopewell tradition NERFINISHED ⓘ
startTime	c. 800 CE ⓘ
studiedBy	anthropologists ⓘ archaeologists ⓘ
temporalOverlap	Late Prehistoric period in North America ⓘ
usesCalendarEra	Common Era NERFINISHED ⓘ

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Spiro Mounds → period → Mississippian period ⓘ

Winterville Mounds → period → Mississippian period ⓘ

Hiwassee Island → periodOfMajorOccupation → Mississippian period ⓘ

Angel Mounds → timePeriod → Mississippian period ⓘ

Kincaid Mounds → timePeriod → Mississippian period ⓘ

Safety Harbor archaeological culture → timePeriod → Mississippian period ⓘ

Town Creek Indian Mound → timePeriod → Mississippian period ⓘ