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Mississippian culture

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An artist's view of the ancient Cahokia Mounds site, showing the main Monks Mound and surrounding plazas.

The Mississippian Culture

The Mississippian culture was a group of Native American societies that lived a long time ago, from around 800 to 1600 CE. They lived in places that are now called the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States.

These people built big, earthen platform mounds for important reasons. They lived in large towns and smaller satellite villages linked by trade. The biggest town was Cahokia, thought to be a very important place, in what is now southern Illinois.

The Mississippian way of life began near the Mississippi River. They grew a lot of corn, which helped them have bigger communities. They also made pottery using crushed shells to make it stronger.

The Mississippian culture had many special features. They built large, flat-topped mounds made of earth. They used these mounds for homes or important buildings. They traded goods over very long distances, from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.

Many towns and villages were part of the Mississippian culture. Some important places include Cahokia, Angel Mounds, and Moundville. These places show how clever and creative these people were.

Images

A map showing the locations and cultures of indigenous peoples in North America during the Mississippian period, including important archaeological sites.
An artist's view of Emerald Site, an ancient city built by indigenous peoples in Mississippi between 1200 and 1700 CE.
Historical copper plates featuring bird designs from ancient Mississippian culture sites.
A museum exhibit showing a replica of an ancient Native American house discovered in Wisconsin.
A detailed diagram showing the construction of ancient ceremonial mounds used by Native American cultures, including layers, ramps, and temple structures.
An artist's rendering of the Kincaid Mounds Site around the year 1300 CE, showing how the ancient community might have looked during the Middle Mississippian period.
A map showing the areas where the Caddoan Mississippian culture lived in prehistoric southeastern North America, including important historical sites.
A map showing the areas and important sites of the Plaquemine culture, an ancient indigenous people of North America.
An artistic recreation of the 'Bird Man,' a symbolic figure from an ancient Native American burial site, made from thousands of shell beads.
A ceramic sculpture of the Underwater Panther from the Mississippian culture, showcasing ancient American Indigenous art.
An artist’s illustration of the ancient Spiro Mounds site in Oklahoma, showing large earth mounds and structures used by the Caddoan Mississippian culture between 800 to 1450 CE.

Related articles

Cahokia
Mississippian
Native Americans in the United States
Midwestern United States
Eastern United States
Southeastern United States

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Mississippian culture, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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