Ceramic vessel   Save
Archaeology Collections, Ledger #1
Description: This ceramic vessel has a globular body, rounded base, and rounded shoulders. The neck has straight sides and is slightly smaller in diameter than the shoulders. There are four strap handles spaced evenly around the circumference, made by twisting two strips of clay together. The lip flares out and there is a narrow horizontal ridge just below the lip. Small, closely-spaced vertical notches decorate the edge of the lip. The body of the pot is covered with round pieces of clay that resemble hobnails, which are 8 mm in diameter and extend about 4 mm from the body. The vessel is shell tempered and very dark gray to dark gray in color. There are two chips missing from the lip. 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_001911
Subjects: Mississippian Culture (A.D. 900–1500); Mound-builders; Pottery, Prehistoric;
Places: Archaeology Collections, Ledger #1