Tradition in Transition: New Data and New Insights on Mississippianization from the Audrey-North Site

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Mississippianization of the Midwest unfolded during the late 11th and early 12th centuries as interactions with Cahokia influenced aspects of local community organization, ceremonialism, material culture, and access to exotic raw materials. For local peoples in the northern hinterland regions, these encounters and affiliations also facilitated interactions between Mississippian groups beyond Cahokia. New data from the early Mississippian (AD 1100–1150) Audrey-North site (11GE20) in the Lower Illinois River Valley illustrate the localization of Cahokian practices in a village uniquely positioned within a vast network of long-distance exchange and sociopolitical interaction. An interregional comparative analysis using published ceramic and lithic datasets from the Apple River and Central Illinois River valleys adds to the growing narrative of local innovation and interregional interaction in the Mississippian Midwest. This paper further seeks to demonstrate the complexity of cross-cultural encounters in the forging of new traditions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25250