Mississippians Influence On American Culture

The Mississippian tribe was the last major tribe to appear in North America before Europeans arrived. They lived in most of Southeast and mid-America, spanning the states of Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, with some areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota and also expanding into the Great Plains of North America. Their main culture focus was growing crops, such as maize (corn), beans, squash, and others. Growing these crops caused growth in large populations living near the water.
They conducted their government in a way that could be explained as theocratic village states. Bigger villages control littler ones, and all villages had priest-rulers. Each village had a central plaza area, and in each villages plaza they had one of more ceremonial earth mounds assembled around the plaza and a temple or the chief’s residence next to it. The earth mounds were typical to South America and Mexico, but were not seen in North America until the rise of the Mississippian culture. The Mississippians built one of the largest man-made earthen structures in their time, such as the Monks Mound in the Cahokia Mounds near Illinois. Monks Mound is one thousand feet …show more content…
From these resources, the Mississippians created elaborate headdresses, ritual weapons, sculptured tobacco pipes, pottery, statues, and wood masks or copper-jacketed wood. Extraordinary designs were carved, molded, embossed, and engraved into feathered serpents, winged warriors, human faces with falcon eyes, and many more. There were never depictions of the crops they grew, but they consistently used the animals, wild and domesticated, living in the wetlands and aquatic environments. Clay work was especially unique. Though the clay itself was of poor quality, the lines drawn in them were delicate, strong, and exhibited confidence. Many designs were floral and geometric to reflect the area the Mississippians lived