Mississippi civilization

The early Native American civilizations of the Mississippi were quite developed. The one that interests me the most was Aztalan, which was a famous Mississippian site in Wisconsin.

Aztalan was huge for its time- 15 acres. It was enclosed by walls and had watchtowers which show that this civilization was trying to keep others out and/or keep its people in. This is very significant because it shows that there were various groups in the same general vicinity that would be competing with each other. Also, there may have been ethnic or religious tensions.

In Aztalan, there was a large enough population for food storage and agriculture to be necessary. Many people living in the same place required a system to be created to manage the food production and distribution. These people were not just hunters and gathers but possibly farmers and traders to get the food they need to survive. Also, the evidence from the site shows that religion was very important to the people of Aztalan. Burials have been found in the area, with one especially important one called the " princess" burial- a young woman buried with belts of beads wrapped around her. This is significant because " In historic times, the Mississippians of the southeastern US traced family descent through the female line, and women appear to have had much social power" (159) which is very different from the European, (and many other cultures), idea of male dominant societies.

Overall, the society of Aztalan was very complex especially for its time, much more than I believe people originally thought(especially since the idea of Native Americans being " savages" was such common thought).

In the end, the tragedy is that Aztalan "evaporated" (162). If it had survived longer, would we have more information today or even a continuation of what the people of Aztalan started?