Pre-Mississippian Cultures
by Russ Johnson
Introduction
Long before Memphis was a neo-European city and before it housed Chickasaw villages such as Chucalissa, there were already people living here. What sort of people? What sort of culture? Well, we can answer some of that I suppose.
The people, in terms of "ethnicity" were akin to later native Americans. Culturally these early settlers of North America were limited by their current technological developments, the formation and mores of their local civilizations and the whims of nature. Civilization in pre-European North America did not follow a straight line. There is for instance no clear evidence why the Mississippian Culture disappeared from this area or why the Chickasaw nation migrated into it.
With that said, let us quickly outline the rough "archaeological" periods of the geographical area we now call the mid-south, which would later be populated by citizens of the world. There are various methods of indicating the archaeologically periods. I am using the periods as defined by the University of Memphis.
Paleoindian Period (9500 to 8000 BC)
The word “Paleoindian“, as defined by Merriam Webster's means “one of the early American hunting people of Asian origin extant in the late Pleistocene“, while at the same time, “Indian” means “a native or inhabitant of India or the East Indies”, and of course “paleo” means “preceding” in the archaeological sense. So we will be talking of relatively early inhabitants of North America as if they were early settlers of the Indus Valley. While we will try to avoid the word “indian“ it will sneak in occasionally. That said, let us proceed.
The powers that be in the archaeological world assure us that the earliest settlers of North America came here as the most recent ice age was waning [in many scientific circles we are said to still be at the end of the most recent ice age, which could give some perspective to “global warming” theories]. According to the current popular scientific opinions, natives of Eurasia settled into the “mid-south” some 1,500 years after crossing the Bering Strait in their late ice-age migration.
Archaic Period (8000 to 1000 BC)
This very long period of time is usually divided into three segments with the imaginative names of “early”, “middle” and “late”. The people of the early archaic period continued to live a nomadic life style with a series of “base camps” located in the fertile areas of flood plains and natural levees. By 6500 BC the dog had been domesticated and their buried remains have been found close to encampments. The changing weather climate was good for fruits and vegetables. A family of this early period might reasonably expect to eat hickory nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and chestnuts and from spring to fall dine on fruits such as wild blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, and plums. This diet was supplemented by wild game such as white-tailed deer, black bear, elk, fox, opossum, raccoon, squirrel, and rabbit as well as freshwater fish and mussels.
The middle archaic period was 4,000 years long and marked by dry warm climates. The Mississippi River near Memphis was basically a spring at this time. Elsewhere in North America the plains were forming. The people of this area tended to live in more permanent settlements. They maintained rudimentary cemeteries and sometimes clashed violently with other groups. This period saw great strides forward in the making of woodworking tools and the canoe made its first appearance during the middle archaic. The axe became a common tool and bone hooks were used to catch fish.
The late archaic period, which lasted from 3000 to 1000 BC was marked by further environmental shifts. Grasslands turned into forest which helped very much in the hunting of wild game. The human population of North America began to swell dramatically. There were still seasonal migrations meant to exploit food resources and enable adults and children alike to survive the winters. In this period it was more likely that a group would have two base camps rather than one. Although we do not know what knowledge of the stars these people had, a working knowledge of the constellations would be a great aid in timing migrations.
Trade networks began to appear with conch shell from Mexico being the most commonly traded currency. Bird hunting was enhanced by the use of a “bola” a device of “rope” and rocks that would be thrown at the bird, entangling him and bringing him to the ground. Fishing increased and the grooved axe became commonplace. Domestication of grains had begun by the end of the archaic and so had tribal society. A more permanently fixed farming community would need the tribe to safeguard land from competing groups.
There were no obvious signs of tribal status or aristocracy during this period. Status may well have been afforded the best hunters and the older / wiser members of the group, but the formal burial ceremonies appear to have been the same for all members of the group.
The Woodland Period (1000 BC to 900 AD)
The woodland period is normally divided into the same three categories as the archaic. The period as a whole is notable for its advances in pottery and the normalizing of the climate. The climate of the woodland area is essentially the same as the mid-south climate today. While potter had already been in use, better and stronger types emerged. This and the domestication of plants led to a much more sedentary life style.
Burial mounds emerged during this period forming the first of many mysterious mound practices. These improvements in pottery and more stable living situations are a great boon to archeology. Suddenly, not only does the culture begin to evolve more rapidly due to settled conditions, but also differences in the types of pottery begin to tell the story of the groups that created that pottery. This is the main way in which native North Americans are traced through the pre-historic periods.
Status objects and exotic objects of a ritualistic nature became common during this period as did the formation of small villages. People obtained objects simply to show their status and those items, including silver, conch shells, figurines and pearl beads were usually buried with their owner. Large earthworks and huge mounds are built during this period.