The three sisters crops; corn, squash, and beans; first arrived in the lower Mississippi River basin around 700 CE. For the first time in the Eastern Woodlands, agriculture could be used as the primary source of food. Thanks to this innovation, providing secure and abundant food supplies, the scattered tribes and clans of the area rapidly began to coalesce into larger permanent settlements, creating opportunities for greater artisanal and building endeavors. One such endeavor was the building of massive dirt mounds, atop of which were built temples, and the houses and burial sites of important people. While most hunter-gatherer societies tend to be fairly egalitarian in nature, thanks to their small size, the rising complexities of managing large groups of people led to the development of social hierarchies led by chiefs who of course in no way took advantage of their power to gain any benefits. Just kidding, they of course focused both political and religious power onto themselves, thus institutionalizing social inequality, including several different forms of slavery, because after all, if some people are going to be on the top, others are going to be on the bottom. Now this might sound like a pretty shitty deal, bringing up the question of why the hell people would give up the sweet independent life of a hunter-gatherer for such an alternative. Well, maybe you should look at it this way. Option one involves living in a hide tent, constantly moving around and hoping to god you don’t starve to death or get killed by some other asshat trying not to starve to death. Option two involves having to put up with some jerkwad who claims he has the divine right to be an asshole, but you can stay in one place, there’s almost always enough food, plenty of people around to keep you safe, and you even get some leisure time. Now imagine you also have kids. Yeah, makes a bit more sense now doesn’t it.
Anyways, over time a new religion began to form in the coalescing settlements. While it still involved the traditional spirits of nature and a focus on astronomy, new legendary creatures such as the thunder bird and great serpent took center stage, the focal point of a mythology focused on warfare and defense, where chiefs and warriors were seen as elites deserving of great honors and intricate burials. Human sacrifices, usually of young women, were also not uncommon early on. Not surprisingly, it was the adherents of this new religion which came out on top. Their settlements grew into city-states, home to thousands of people and surrounded by satellite villages whose primary purpose was to supply the urban center with food. These city states became religious focal points and drew in craftsmen and artisans which in turn made them important trading centers. The large number of available people also allowed for larger construction projects. Great mounds of dirt, some over ten stories tall were built to enhance the power of the chiefs, and earthen palisades, at times miles long, were built for protection. Intricate art pieces made from beaten copper adorned buildings and their occupants. Entertainment such as music and sports also became more complex, growing from ceremonial religious rites and the practicing of warriors.
What became known as the Mississippi culture spread rapidly throughout the Mississippi basin. By 900 CE, it had spread nearly everywhere a tributary touched. North to the Great Lakes, east across the Midwest to the Appalachian Mountains, and west to the edges of the Great Plains. By 1000 CE, it had further expanded into what is now the southeastern United States. The only area of the Eastern Woodlands it did not touch was the northeast and the northern Atlantic seaboard, where the Algonquin peoples continued living as their ancestors had before them. The amazing thing about the Mississippi culture was how rapidly it spread across not only regions, but also ethnic groups. The Chaddo peoples in the lower Mississippi basin, the Siouan in the Midwest, and the Muskogean in the southeast retained their distinct languages, but otherwise became very similar in culture, building and artisanal techniques, and religious practices. These similarities allowed for people to easily move between city-states, allowing for the creation of extensive trade networks across the Eastern Woodlands.
The largest and most powerful of the Mississippi culture city-states, was by far Cahokia. Built at the site of modern day St. Louis near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio rivers, Cahokia’s central location made it the largest trading center in the region. Beginning with a population of only 1,000 in 1050 CE, it grew to 15,000 by 1100 CE and 40,000 by 1200 CE. Cahokia grew rich from its extensive trade networks which stretched from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Though not common, trade goods even made their way to Cahokia from as far away as the Pacific Coast, the Southwest, and the advanced civilizations of Mesoamerica. It’s mounds towered higher than those of any other city-state and its religious centers were the destination of pilgrimages. Cahokia was larger than London during the same period, and no city in what became the United States would grow as large until Philadelphia in the 1780’s. Cahokia represented the height of Native American civilization in the United States, which is all the more impressive given they were still using stone tools and never developed a system of writing. Unfortunately, it was not to last.
The larger a city-state grows, the more difficult it becomes to sustain it. Large numbers of people need large amounts of food, but there are also other issues to contend with, such as what to do with all the shit. The combination of large numbers of people crammed together with their literal crap creates the perfect situation for the rampant development and spread of disease. Pandemics were not uncommon, and in truth, despite all the benefits of living in a place like Cahokia, people in the larger Mississippi city states died at a rate where maintaining or growing their populations required a constant influx of new migrants looking for the security and opportunities offered by them. As well, overhunting, deforestation, and loss of soil fertility were also growing problems. As such, the survival of the city-states was much more precarious than it likely appeared to those living in them at the time. Something made abundantly clear when the climate began to shift in 13th century.
For the entirety of the Mississippi culture’s formation, the world had been enjoying a centuries long relatively mild climatic period known as the Medieval Warm Period, a combination of warmer temperatures and mild winters and summers. Unfortunately, starting in the mid-thirteenth century, the world’s climate began to shift into what became known as the Little Ice Age, a centuries long cluster fuck of dry summers, freezing winters, and erratic weather that would last into the 19th century. Such mass climatic cycles are not uncommon in world history, and various climatic shifts have heralded the rise and fall of major civilizations for as long as they have existed. The Mississippi culture was no different. Droughts, flooding, and lower crop yields caused by the climatic shift magnified and accelerated already growing issues. As the largest city-state, Cahokia was the first to be majorly affected, beginning a decline which culminated with its abandonment by 1350 CE. The smaller city-states, most with only a few thousand people, were less affected at first, but would not remain immune for long. By 1400 CE, most were in a state of decline, with warfare between city-states and mass migration by people looking for food not uncommon. As a result of this, trade networks broke down and regional cultures, religions, and artistic traditions began to form. The hardest hit areas were the lower Mississippi Basin and the Midwest, where all of the former city-states were abandoned by 1500 CE, replaced by small tribal societies and clans better able to sustain themselves and move on to greener pastures as needed.
In comparison, the Mississippi culture remained much more intact amongst the Chaddo peoples west of the Mississippi and Muskogeean peoples in the southeast, where city-states were not as large. However, this did not mean they were unaffected, with the city-states of both groups beginning to show significant signs of decline by 1500 CE. With conflict amongst the various Chaddo and Muskogeean groups, as well as outside tribes, becoming much more pronounced and tribalism increasingly beginning to take hold. This left the remains of the Mississippi culture little able to contend with the momentous changes coming in the sixteenth century.
