The Ethnohistoric Narratives Confronted to the Archaeological Reality: A Case Study from the Mississippian Sites of Cahokia, Moundville and Spiro

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

During the French colonization, Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley in general, were the background of a quantity of testimonies about Native American societies that were met at the time by the French explorers. A few of these Frenchmen had lived among Native American societies for a various amount of time, the most noticeable example being probably Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz, who lived among the Natchez society. While he was close to the Sun elite, he wrote "Histoire de la Louisiane française" [History of French Louisiana] and he was particularly interested in describing the funerary ceremonies he witnessed. In particular, his description of the funerals of the Natchez elite gives us an interpretive perspective of archaeological vestiges, especially concerning the Mississippian cultures. Through the study of three examples from Cahokia, Moundville and Spiro sites, we will try an analysis of the archaeological materials related to the ethnohistoric documents. In which instances do the colonial and ethnographic documents assist us to apprehend archaeological remains? What are the limitations of such an interpretation? This methodology has given relevant results in interpreting Mesoamerican and Andean vestiges in the past decades.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38242.0