Tradition and Transformation: Mississippian Households and Communities in the Appalachian Summit, AD 1200-1600

Abstract

The long process of Mississippianization (AD 900 – 1500) across the midwestern and southeastern United States affected many regions at different times, albeit with a great deal of regional variation. For this dissertation, I study the changes that occur in local communities in the Appalachian Summit of North Carolina, during the Pisgah phase, when local practices appear to undergo “Mississippianization”. Through excavations at a 13th and 14th century village site (the Cane River site, 31Yc91) and analysis of previously excavated collections at a mound center (the Garden Creek site, 31Hw1) and village site (the Warren Wilson site, 31Bn29), my research will examine the nature of these Mississippian practices, and the manner and extent to which they were integrated into communities across the region and throughout the Pisgah time period. Current models for early Mississippian community and household practice are based on research and data from South Appalachian Mississippian and Late Woodland communities. Utilizing data from the Garden Creek and Warren Wilson sites, along with newly excavated areas of the Cane River site, I compare the archaeological assemblages and spatial organization of both household and community activities across the central Appalachian Summit during a major cultural transformation. This dissertation will (1) investigate the extent to which Mississippian contact and exchange influenced major Pisgah settlements and (2) how these changes affected community practice within the ecology of the Appalachian Summit.