Mississippian Modes of Exchange: Documenting Shifting Networks and Distribution at Ancient Cahokia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This study investigates changes in distribution at the ancient Mississippian site of Cahokia using social network analysis. Over the course of its history, Cahokia transformed from a small village to a large macroregional center. This transformation was accompanied by a marked increase in institutional complexity, specialization, rank/class differences, and monumental construction. The application of social network analysis reveals that Cahokia’s network structure radically changed as it expanded, indicating that the overall mechanism of distribution was altered alongside a developing social, political, and economic system. These findings further contribute to our understanding of Cahokia and the mechanisms that underpinned its development.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37193.0