Shell Gorget   Save
A. T. Wehrle Collection
Description: This circular, shell gorget is decorated on the observe (convex) side with an incised design showing two "bird-men" facing one another. One figure is very visible, showing wings; the other is less visible due to encrustations on the face. The reverse side of the gorget is plain. Several perforations, many triangular in shape, are cut out of the piece. There are two small drilled holes at the top center, about 6.5 mm from the edge. The shell is pale yellow, yellow, and strong brown in color. This gorget comes 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: A3490_000240
Subjects: Mississippian Culture (A.D. 900–1500); Mound-builders;
Places: A. T. Wehrle Collection