How certain Southern indigenous viewed themselves from prehistory to decimation by Europeans was already a significant subject of study fifty years ago, but more recent scholarship has proven that what was once considered a single cult was actually a complex of cults, with myriad adaptations of myths and artifacts. This collection of 12 articles details archeological findings and analysis of how this warrior-based set of precepts and practices developed and grew into elaborate ceremonial places and burial grounds. Topics include the implications of recent analysis of sites, early evidence of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC) and its contexts, the role of time in development of the SECC, material and iconographic evidence of the SECC in Erowah culture, evidence from Moundville potsherds, SECC ritual regalia in the southern Appalachians and other regions, the role of sex in SECC, and future directions of research.

First published in 1996. In recent years there has been a general increase of scholarly and popular interest in the study of ancient civilizations. Yet, because archaeologists and other scholars tend to approach their study of ancient peoples and places almost exclusively from their own disciplinary perspectives, there has long been a lack of general bibliographic and other research resources available for the non-specialist. This series is intended to fill that need.

This book deals with the prehistory of the region encompassed by the present state of Alabama and spans a period of some 11,000 years—from 9000 B.C. and the earliest documented appearance of human beings in the area to A.D. 1750, when the early European settlements were well established. Only within the last five decades have remains of these prehistoric peoples been scientifically investigated. This volume is the product of intensive archaeological investigations in Alabama by scores of amateur and professional researchers. It represents no end product but rather is an initial step in our ongoing study of Alabama's prehistoric past. The extent of current industrial development and highway construction within Alabama and the damming of more and more rivers and streams underscore the necessity that an unprecedented effort be made to preserve the traces of prehistoric human beings that are destroyed every day by our own progress.

A study on Mississippian culture derived from the author's visits to archaeological sites and collections in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, Missouri, and Texas.

This edited volume mainly focuses on the practice of taking and displaying various body parts as trophies in both North and South America. The editors and contributors (which include Native Peoples from both continents) examine the evidence and causes of Amerindian trophy taking. Additionally, they present objectively and discuss dispassionately the topic of human proclivity toward ritual violence. This book fills the gap in literature on this subject.

A chronological summary of major stages in Southeastern United States' development, this unique textbook overviews the region's archaeology from 20,000 years ago to World War I. Early chapters review the history and development of archaeology as a discipline. The following chapters, organized in chronological order, highlight the archaeological characteristics of each featured period. The book's final chapters discuss new directions in Southeastern archaeology, including trends in teaching, research, the business of archaeology, and the public's growing interest. This versatile text perfectly suits undergraduates or anyone requiring a hands-on guide for self-exploration of the fascinating region. This is the first-of-its kind book to summarize Southeastern archaeology. It includes both prehistoric and historic archaeology. Its easy-to-read format is filled with valuable research information. Each chapter is chronologically organized and fully referenced. It has broad audience appeal.

Miskwabik, Metal of Ritual examines the thousands of beautiful and intricate ritual works of art—from ceremonial weaponry to delicate copper pendants and ear ornaments—created in eastern North America before the arrival of Europeans. The first comprehensive examination of this 3,000-year-old metallurgical tradition, the book provides unique insight into the motivation of the artisans and the significance of these objects, and highlights the brilliance and sophistication of the early civilizations of the Americas.Comparing the ritual architecture and metallurgy of the original Americans with the ethnological record, Amelia M. Trevelyan begins to unravel the mystery of the significance of the objects as well as their special functions within the societies that created them. The book includes dozens of striking color and black and white photographs.

Early Art of the Southeastern Indians is a visual journey through time, highlighting some of the most skillfully created art in native North America. The remarkable objects described and pictured here, many in full color, reveal the hands of master artists who developed lapidary and weaving traditions, established centers for production of shell and copper objects, and created the first ceramics in North America. Presenting artifacts originating in the Archaic through the Mississippian periods--from thousands of years ago through A.D. 1600--Susan C. Power introduces us to an extraordinary assortment of ceremonial and functional objects, including pipes, vessels, figurines, and much more. Drawn from every corner of the Southeast--from Louisiana to the Ohio River valley, from Florida to Oklahoma--the pieces chronicle the emergence of new media and the mastery of new techniques as they offer clues to their creators’ widening awareness of their physical and spiritual worlds. The most complex works, writes Power, were linked to male (and sometimes female) leaders. Wearing bold ensembles consisting of symbolic colors, sacred media, and richly complex designs, the leaders controlled large ceremonial centers that were noteworthy in regional art history, such as Etowah, Georgia; Spiro, Oklahoma; Cahokia, Illinois; and Moundville, Alabama. Many objects were used locally; others circulated to distant locales. Power comments on the widening of artists’ subjects, starting with animals and insects, moving to humans, then culminating in supernatural combinations of both, and she discusses how a piece’s artistic “language” could function as a visual shorthand in local style and expression, yet embody an iconography of regional proportions. The remarkable achievements of these southeastern artists delight the senses and engage the mind while giving a brief glimpse into the rich, symbolic world of feathered serpents and winged beings.