essay

Social differentiation in Mississippian and Fort Ancient societies

mississippian communities and householdsTuscaloosa • Published In 1995 • Pages: 58-80

By: Nass, John P., Yerkes, Richard W..

Abstract
Although Nass and Yerkes are concerned with social power and the organization of small communities, their focus in this article is less on change through time and more on the particulars of recognizing the material correlates of differential power within communities. Here, specifically, they compare the settlement organization associated with Cahokia and Fort Ancient complexes. They note that the type of multi-tiered settlement system Melvin Fowler (1978) described for the Cahokia region does not exist in the Upper Ohio valley. Given this type of variability, they ask whether or not differences in the settlement systems reflect acutal differences in social organization, as is often assumed. Through detailed analyses of lithic tool function, artifact distributions, and feature morphology, they compare the sites of Labras Lake and Sun Watch Village (of the Fort Ancient tradition) to determine how leadership might have been organized at the community level (32: Rogers, p. 4).
Subjects
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Preservation and storage of food
Dwellings
Settlement patterns
Status, role, and prestige
Social relationships and groups
Household
Territorial hierarchy
tradition
Mississippian
HRAF PubDate
2000
Region
North America
Sub Region
Eastern Woodlands
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Archaeologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 2005
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
1200 BP - 600 BP (800 A.D. - 1400 A.D.)
Coverage Place
southeastern United States
Notes
John P. Nass, Jr. and Richard W. Yerkes
For bibliographical references see document 31:[Rogers and Smith]
LCCN
94044049
LCSH
Mississippian culture