Mississippian period

E798341

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.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Mississippian period canonical 20
Mississippian era 1

How this entity was disambiguated

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
Woodland period
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
Aztalan State Park
Cahokia Mounds
Etowah Indian Mounds
Kincaid Mounds
Mound Bottom
Moundville Archaeological Site
Ocmulgee Mounds
Parkin Archeological State Park
Shiloh Indian Mounds
Spiro Mounds
Town Creek Indian Mound
Winterville Mounds
hasPart Caddoan Mississippian culture
linked to: Caddo

Cahokia culture
Etowah culture
linked to: Etowah chiefdom

Fort Ancient culture
Middle Mississippian tradition
Missouri River Mississippian tradition
Moundville culture
Oneota culture
Plaquemine culture
South Appalachian Mississippian tradition
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
Midwestern United States
Mississippi River Valley
Ohio River Valley
linked to: Ohio Valley region

Southeastern United States
Tennessee River Valley
linked to: Tennessee Valley
namedAfter Mississippi River
partOf pre-Columbian North America
precededBy Hopewell tradition
startTime c. 800 CE
studiedBy anthropologists
archaeologists
temporalOverlap Late Prehistoric period in North America
usesCalendarEra Common Era

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (21)

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

Spiro Mounds period Mississippian period
Angel Mounds timePeriod Mississippian period
Kincaid Mounds timePeriod Mississippian period
Winterville Mounds period Mississippian period
Town Creek Indian Mound timePeriod Mississippian period
Hiwassee Island periodOfMajorOccupation Mississippian period
Safety Harbor archaeological culture timePeriod Mississippian period
Chiefdom of Tuskaloosa hasTimePeriod Mississippian era
linked to: Mississippian period
Monks Mound constructedInPeriod Mississippian period
Grand Plaza timePeriod Mississippian period
Woodhenge (Cahokia) timePeriod Mississippian period
subject linked to: Woodhenge
Modoc Rock Shelter periodOfUse Mississippian period
Southern Cult timePeriod Mississippian period
Mound A associatedPeriod Mississippian period
Mound C timePeriod Mississippian period
Fitzhugh Mounds usedDuring Mississippian period
Craig Mound timePeriod Mississippian period
Mound B timePeriod Mississippian period
Mound C period Mississippian period
Ocmulgee Earth Lodge timePeriod Mississippian period