The Mississippians are a vanished culture.
Once, they lived along the banks of the Mississippi River. They built
huge ceremonial sites and trading centers that serviced the tens of
thousands of ordinary people - hunters, farmers, merchants - the
people who lived in the outlaying villages.
They were great traders. They traded with people
from the Gulf of Mexico to Great Lakes region. They traded a stone
that was native to their area. Natives in other parts of the country
used this this stone to make weapons. In exchange they received a
variety of goods including copper, food, clothing, pipes, headdresses,
and masks.
They also grew food. They raised corn, beans, and
other food.
They built their homes on mounds. These mounds
were huge, steep platforms made of hard packed dirt. Some were over
1,000 feet long and over 700 feet wide. Some scholars estimate it took
over 200 years to build one mound. They had to have had very strong
rulers to get their people working for 200 years on one project. So
historians are fairly certain these Indians were very powerful.
The leaders of these people lived in luxury, with
many servants. Scholars have also found pictographs of winged
warriors, feathered snakes, and spiders. It has never been proven, but
some scholars believe these ancient people visited the Aztecs in olden
times.
