Ancient Chiefdoms of the Tombigbee

by Blitz, John Howard

• ISBN13: 9780817306724
• ISBN10: 0817306722
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-03-30
• Publisher: Univ of Alabama Pr

Summary

A Dan Josselyn Memorial Publication Within the last 50 years archaeologists have discovered that around the 10th century A.D., native southeastern peoples began a process of cultural change far more complex than anything that had occurred previously. These late prehistoric societiesknown as Mississippianhave come to be regarded as chiefdoms. The chiefdoms are of great anthropological interest because in these kinds of societies social hierarchies or rank and status were first institutionalized. Ancient Chiefdoms of the Tombigbeefocuses on both the small- and large-scale Mississippian societies in the Tombigbee-Black Warrior River region of Alabama and Mississippi. Exploring the relationships involving polity size, degree of social ranking, and resource control provides insights into cycles of chiefdom development and fragmentation. Blitz concludes that the sanctified, security maintenance roles of communal food storage management and war leadership were a sufficient basis for formal chiefly authority but insufficient for economically based social stratification.

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction	p. 1
Organizational Variability in Mississippian Societies	p. 5
The Cultural-Historical Context for the Mississippian Occupation Along the Central Tombigbee River	p. 31
Platform-Mound Excavation at Lubbub Creek	p. 69
Storage, Defense, and Chiefs	p. 98
Ceramic Distributions at Lubbub Creek	p. 126
Prestige Goods at Lubbub Creek and Beyond	p. 153
Interpretations and Conclusion	p. 179
Appendix	p. 185
Bibliography	p. 193
Index	p. 215
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