Chapter 8 - Eastern US

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Questions and Answers

Which period is associated with the Hopewell Site?

Late Mississippian

Early Mississippian

Middle Woodland (correct)

Late Archaic

Where is Monk's Mound located?

Alabama

Ohio

Cahokia, Illinois (correct)

Kentucky

What types of gender-related objects were found in some burials at Indian Knoll?

Mica and shell beads with females

Axes and fishhooks with females

Copper and marine shells with males

Nutting stones and bone beads with males (correct)

Which site had evidence for elaborate burial rituals for elite male individuals?

Mound 72 Signup and view all the answers

How many earthen mounds are present at Moundville?

29 Signup and view all the answers

During which period did most residents of Moundville move away?

AD 1250 Signup and view all the answers

What was the primary method used to construct the mounds at Poverty Point in Louisiana?

Using digging sticks and baskets Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the spatial arrangement of houses at Poverty Point?

It suggests social ranking Signup and view all the answers

How far away did people who shared the same material culture as Poverty Point live?

Up to 25 miles away Signup and view all the answers

What kind of structures did the Late Archaic peoples along the coasts of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina build?

Shell Ring Complexes Signup and view all the answers

What has been suggested as a possible purpose for the Shell Ring Complexes in recent analyses?

Feasting and intentional monument building Signup and view all the answers

Which area had a Shell Ring Complex with three shell rings according to the text?

Georgia Signup and view all the answers

During which period did pottery become widespread and people invest more energy in cultivating local sunflower, goosefoot, and marsh elder?

Woodland Signup and view all the answers

What is the main material that composed Ring I, the largest ring, of a site suggesting feasting?

Oyster shells Signup and view all the answers

What imported material from Yellowstone National Park entered the Eastern archaeological record during the Early Woodland period?

Obsidian Signup and view all the answers

Which theory helps us understand how people's actions led to changes in settlement, subsistence, and social traditions at the beginning of the Woodland period?

Agency theory Signup and view all the answers

Which habitation site in the lower Mississippi Valley was abandoned due to increased flooding caused by global climate changes in the Late Archaic period?

Poverty Point Signup and view all the answers

Which tradition emerged in the central part of the Ohio Valley during the Early Woodland period and is known for burial mound complexes?

Adena Tradition Signup and view all the answers

By what year did Cahokia begin its rise toward being an influential ritual and political center?

AD 1050 Signup and view all the answers

How many truncated pyramids were there in the East St. Louis Site according to archaeological evidence?

50 Signup and view all the answers

Which structure at Cahokia was used to observe the solstices, equinoxes, and other days related to the agricultural cycle?

Woodhenge Signup and view all the answers

What was the purpose of the wooden palisade at Cahokia?

Defense fortification Signup and view all the answers

During which period did the Adena archaeological mound building tradition first appear in Eastern North America?

Early Woodland period Signup and view all the answers

Compared to the Giza Pyramid, how tall was Monk's Mound at Cahokia?

$50$ feet shorter Signup and view all the answers

What were the conical mounds of the Adena tradition primarily used for?

Burials Signup and view all the answers

What linked together the social, political, and ceremonial lives of many people in Greater Cahokia?

Greater Cahokia itself Signup and view all the answers

Which site was one of the most important political and ritual centers of the Mississippian period?

Cahokia site Signup and view all the answers

When did the Hopewell tradition of mound building and burial complexes first appear?

200 cal BC Signup and view all the answers

What is the Hopewell Interaction Sphere?

A phenomenon of shared rituals and ceremonies among Hopewell-affiliated groups Signup and view all the answers

Which site was associated with Cahokia and was part of the Hopewell Interaction Sphere?

East St. Louis Site Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Adena and Early Woodland Period

Adena: an archaeological mound building tradition that emerged during the Early Woodland period in Eastern North America, around 1000 cal BC
Conical mounds contained burials that accumulated over many years, with the size of the mounds growing as basket-carried earth was added to cover new burials
Early Woodland period saw the widespread adoption of pottery and increased investment in cultivating local sunflower, goosefoot, and marsh elder
Exchange of exotic materials was more extensive than in the Late Archaic period, with obsidian imported from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming entering the Eastern archaeological record

Cahokia and the Early Mississippian Period

Cahokia: an Early Mississippian period site in Illinois, one of the most important political and ritual centers of the Mississippian period
"Downtown" area contained Monk's Mound, the Great Plaza, a Woodhenge, sub-Mound 51, and a wooden palisade, as well as several other earthen mounds and plazas
Monk's Mound: an Early Mississippian period earthen truncated pyramid, the largest pre-Columbian man-made construction north of Mexico
Mound 72: an Early Mississippian period burial mound, contains evidence for elaborate burial rituals for elite male individuals and probable sacrifice burials

Hopewell Tradition

Hopewell: an Eastern North America tradition of mound building, burial complexes, and long-distance exchange networks that appeared during the Middle Woodland period, starting around 200 cal BC
Hopewell Interaction Sphere: a Middle Woodland "phenomenon" in which certain aspects of ritual and ceremony were shared across a wide region in Eastern North America among Hopewell-affiliated groups
Hopewell Site: a Middle Woodland period site in Ohio, contains earthen works, including burial mounds with tens of thousands of exotic materials as grave goods and ceremonial deposits

Other Sites

Indian Knoll: a Late Archaic period site in Kentucky, dating between 3000 and 2500 cal BC, has a shell midden and a cemetery with over 1100 individual burials
Moundville: a Late Mississippian period site in Alabama, with 29 earthen mounds, a plaza, and a palisade, became a significant center around AD 1200
Poverty Point Culture: built some of the largest prehistoric constructions north of Mexico, starting around 1750 cal BC, with a complex social hierarchy
Shell Ring Complexes: built by Late Archaic peoples along the coasts of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, possibly as intentional monument building or feasting grounds

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