Weaving Meaning into Mississippian Ritual

Summary

Fabric is rarely recovered from Mississippian sites, although there have been a few spectacular finds. There are however other lines of evidence that speak to the use and meaning of fabric in the Mississippian world. We have recovered the charred remains, or at times structured ash of what were once bags, mats, baskets or other fabric items during excavations at a few Cahokia related sites in the American Bottom region of Illinois. The Emerald Shrine Center in particular has produced these "ghostings" of fabric, particularly in buildings that were once shrines. The repeated burning fabric as part of the decommissioning of the shrines is striking at Emerald, as are the great numbers of spindle whorls that have been found at villages located near the shrine center. Weaving together meaningful interpretations of these fabric remains and spinning tools is possible by considering Mississippian art, ethno-historic accounts and by contrasting what is known of other Mississippian fabrics. My interpretations will be plaited together with considerations of nonhuman actors and the enchained powers and forces that adhere to the material world and the raw materials of fabric construction.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Threads across Time and Space   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16398