Mississippian Civilization (900-1750 A.D.)
Cahokia

Cahokia and the Great Bottom

	1. Map of Cahokia and those northern satellite regional settlements that also had mounds.
	2. Monks Mound, Cahokia. It is 100 feet tall and covers 14 acres. The Emergent Mississippian Period (ca. 800-1000 A.D.) saw a state-level society exploiting the rich agricultural resources of the Great Bottom (Missouri and Mississippi River confluence). Ultimately, the city's commercial and cultural impact was felt from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, and from Oklahoma to the Atlantic Coast. Cahokia's rulers governed from a temple atop this mound. Cahokia's population in 1050-1150 A.D. was likely to have been 10-20,000, much larger than Paris at the time, one of Europe's major cities. It declined in 1200-1400 A.D.
	3. Mississippian Civilization. Cohokia, sandstone tablet bearing the image of a Bird Man or Thunderbird, 1300 A.D. The Thunderbird was associated with the shaman, having the glance of lightning and the voice of thunder and is still represented as a Bird Man in Native American art.

Serpent Mount, Ohio

1. Serpent Mound, south-central Ohio. Originally attributed to the Adena culture (1000-100 B.C.), but recent charcoal dating of 1070 A.D. suggests instead it is associated with the Fort Ancient culture (900-1600 A.D.), a Mississippian group living in the central Ohio Valley. The mound is aligned with the summer solstice sunset. Two major astronomical events had recently occurred: the supernova that created the Crab Nebula (1054 A.D.) and Halley's Comet (1066 A.D.)

Unspecific provenance

	1. Mississippian incised shell gorget representing the four quarters, each guarded by a crested woodpecker - the symbol of war (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.) The four quarters encircle a central sun disk marked with a cross to symbolize the perpetual sacred fire.
	2. Mississippian shell gorget depicting a flying shaman with a severed head in one hand a ceremonial mace in the other. 10 cm. dia.
	3. Mississippian embossed face in copper.
	4. Mississippian pottery effigy of a figure with weeping eyes.
	5. Mississippian shell incised with image of a head with a weeping eye, perhaps associated with the Southern Cult. 6 cm.