Ceramic vessel   Save
Archaeology Collections, Ledger #1
Description: This small, ceramic vessel is in the shape of a cylindrical tumbler, with straight sides and a flat bottom. There are two parallel, incised lines below the rim and three sets of two parallel, vertical lines on the body. In between the vertical lines are incised, spiral designs. Parallel, incised lines around the base have been nearly obscured. The bottom of the vessel is black and the color lightens toward the rim to reddish brown and pinkish gray. This piece is from Mississippian Culture. Between about A.D. 700 and 1600, people living in the central Mississippi River valley developed a lifestyle that archaeologists refer to as Mississippian. Mississippian farmers raised the same crops as their Woodland ancestors. However, they relied more and more on corn, squash, and beans. It is believed that the Mississippian people had to move to new sites, perhaps every ten years, as their soil became less fertile. Most Mississippian groups lived on single farms or in small villages, but, because their food supply could support more people, their villages grew in size and density. Some archaeologists believe the Mississippian cultures developed chiefdoms in which certain persons held a great deal of power. In many of the larger towns and regional centers, the Mississippian people built flat-topped pyramid-shaped mounds of earth that served as bases for buildings. Archaeologists believe that these buildings may have been the homes of leaders or places for public rituals. What happened to the Mississippian cultures is not clear, but there was a decline or disruption of their lifestyle beginning in some places as early as A.D. 1350. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: A4345_001868
Subjects: Mississippian Culture (A.D. 900–1500); Mound-builders; Pottery, Prehistoric;
Places: Archaeology Collections, Ledger #1