Mississippian Indians

This dramatic and controversial new interpretation of Cahokian leadership strategies examines the authority a ruling elite exercised over the surrounding countryside through a complex of social, political, and religious forms. Using the theoretical concepts of agency, power, and ideology, this study explores the development of cultural complexity within the hierarchically organized Cahokia Middle Mississippian society of the American Bottom from the 11th to the 13th centuries. By scrutinizing the available archaeological settlement and symbolic evidence, Thomas E. Emerson demonstrates that many sites previously identified as farmsteads were actually nodal centers with specialized political, religious, and economic functions that were integrated into a centralized Cahokian administrative organization. These centers are accompanied by such "artifacts of power" as figurines, ritual vessels, and sacred plants. The consolidation of this symbolism into a rural cult marks the expropriation of the cosmosas part of,the increasing power of the Cahokian rulers.

A collection of essays by renowned scholars of Native American economic history, The Other Side of the Frontier presents one of the first indepth studies of the complex interaction between the history of Native American economic development & the economic development of the United States at large. Although recent trends in the field of economics have encouraged the study of minority groups such as Asian & African American, little work has been done in Native American economic history. This text fills an existing gap in the economic history literature & will help students come to a richer understanding of the effects that U.S. economic policy has had on the culture & development of its indigenous peoples.

The Mississippi Valley region has long played a critical role in the development of American archaeology and continues to be widely known for the major research of the early 1950s. To bring the archaeological record up to date, fourteen Central Valley experts address diverse topics including the distribution of artifacts across the landscape, internal configurations of large fortified settlements, human-bone chemistry, and ceramic technology.

The authors demonstrate that much is to be learned from the rich and varied archaeological record of the region and that the methods and techniques used to study the record have changed dramatically over the past half century. Operating at the cutting edge of current research strategies, these archaeologists provide a fresh look at old problems in central Mississippi Valley research.

Though they speak several different languages and organize themselves into many distinct tribes, the Native American peoples of the Southeast share a complex ancient culture and a tumultuous history. This volume examines and synthesizes their history through each of its integral phases: the complex and elaborate societies that emerged and flourished in the Pre-Columbian period; the triple curse of disease, economic dependency, and political instability brought by the European invasion; the role of Native Americans in the inter-colonial struggles for control of the region; the removal of the "Five Civilized Tribes" to Oklahoma; the challenges and adaptations of the post-removal period; and the creativity and persistence of those who remained in the Southeast.

In this volume, leading scholars use archaeological discoveries and, in a few instances, historical documents from the early sixteenth century to examine Mississippian chiefdoms. These native polities are not viewed as static constructs but as dynamic systems.