The Search for Mabila

by Knight, Vernon James, Jr.

• ISBN13: 9780817355425
• ISBN10: 0817355421
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-04-26
• Publisher: Univ of Alabama Pr

Summary

One of the most profound events in sixteenth-century North America was a ferocious battle between the Spanish army of Hernando de Soto and a larger force of Indian warriors under the leadership of a feared chieftain named Tascalusa. The site of this battle was a small fortified border town within an Indian province known as Mabila. Although the Indians were defeated, the battle was a decisive blow to Spanish plans for the conquest and settlement of what is now the southeastern United States. For in that battle, De Sotors"s army lost its baggage, including all proofs of the richness of the land-proofs that would be necessary to attract future colonists. Facing such a severe setback, De Soto led his army once more into the interior of the continent, where he was not to survive. The ragtag remnants of his once-mighty expedition limped into Mexico some three years later, thankful to be alive. The clear message of their ordeal was that this new land, then known as La Florida, could not be easily subjugated. But where, exactly, did this decisive battle of Mabila take place? The accounts left by the Spanish chroniclers provide clues, but they are vague, so lacking in corroboration that without additional supporting evidence, it is impossible to trace De Sotors"s trail on a modern map with any degree of certainty. Within this volume, 17 scholars-specialists in history, folklore, geography, geology, and archaeology-provide a new and encouragingly fresh perspective on the current status of the search for Mabila. Although there is a widespread consensus that the event took place in the southern part of what is now Alabama, the truth is that to this day, nobody knows where Mabila is-neither the contributors to this volume, nor any of the historians and archaeologists, amateur and professional, who have long sought it. One can rightfully say that the lost battle site of Mabila is the predominant historical mystery of the Deep South. Contributors Kathryn H. Braund, Lawrence A. Clayton, Linda Derry, Robbie Ethridge, Ned J. Jenkins, Douglas E. Jones, Vernon James Knight Jr., George E. Lankford, Neal G. Lineback, Michael D. Murphy, Amanda L. Regnier, Craig T. Sheldon Jr., Gregory A. Waselkov, Eugene M. Wilson, and John E. Worth

Author Biography

Vernon James Knight Jr. is Professor of Anthropology at The University of Alabama.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Background
An Account of the Battle of Mabila, by an Eyewitness	p. 13
The Battle of Mabila in Historical Perspective	p. 17
How Historical Are the De Soto Chronicles?	p. 31
The De Soto Map and the Luna Narratives: An Overview of Other Sixteenth-Century Sources	p. 45
A Review of De Soto's Itinerary between Talisi and Apafalaya	p. 64
The Village of Mabila: Archaeological Expectations	p. 72
What Indian Pottery of Sixteenth-Century Central Alabama Looks Like and Why It Matters	p. 83
What Do Spanish Expeditionary Artifacts of Circa 1540 Look Like and How Often Are They Preserved?	p. 94
The Present State of Archaeological Survey and Site File Data for the Alabama River and Adjacent Regions	p. 107
The United States and Alabama De Soto Commissions	p. 129
Seeking Methods That Work	p. 139
Conference Results
A Comparative Analysis of the De Soto Accounts on the Route to, and Events at, Mabila	p. 153
The Battle of Mabila: Competing Narratives	p. 182
Tracing De Soto's Trail to Mabila	p. 193
The Archaeology of Mabila's Cultural Landscape	p. 227
Postscript	p. 245
Bibliography	p. 247
Contributors	p. 267
Index	p. 271
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