Archaeology and Ancient Religion in the American Midcontinent

Brad H. Koldehoff (Edited by), Timothy R. Pauketat (Edited by), Susan M. Alt (Contributions by), Melissa Baltus (Contributions by), Kenneth B. Farnsworth (Contributions by), Eve A. Hargrave (Contributions by), Kristin M. Hedman (Contributions by), Brad H. Koldehoff (Contributions by), Go Matsumoto (Contributions by), Kathryn E. Parker (Contributions by), Timothy R. Pauketat (Contributions by), Jonathan Remo (Contributions by), John D. Richards (Contributions by), William F. Romain (Contributions by), Kayeleigh Sharp (Contributions by), Mary L. Simon (Contributions by), Mark J. Wagner (Contributions by), Thomas J. Zych (Contributions by)

9780817319960, The University of Alabama Press

Hardback, published 6 November 2018

344 pages, 53 black & white figures, 12 maps, 9 tables
23.4 x 15.8 x 2.6 cm, 0.715 kg

Archaeology and Ancient Religion in the American Midcontinent makes original and significant contributions to the fields of both Cahokia studies and religious studies, and is filled with sound research and scholarship."" - Cheryl Claassen, author of Beliefs and Rituals in Archaic Eastern North America: An Interpretive Guide and Feasting with Shellfish in the Southern Ohio Valley: Archaic Sacred Sites and Rituals

Analyses of big datasets signal important directions for the archaeology of religion in the Archaic to Mississippian Native North America.

Across North America, huge data accumulations derived from decades of cultural resource management studies, combined with old museum collections, provide archaeologists with unparalleled opportunities to explore new questions about the lives of ancient native peoples. For many years the topics of technology, economy, and political organization have received the most research attention, while ritual, religion, and symbolic expression have largely been ignored. This was often the case because researchers considered such topics beyond reach of their methods and data.

In Archaeology and Ancient Religion in the American Midcontinent, editors Brad H. Koldehoff and Timothy R. Pauketat and their contributors demonstrate that this notion is outdated through their analyses of a series of large datasets from the midcontinent, ranging from tiny charred seeds to the cosmic alignments of mounds, to explore new questions about the religious practices and lives of native peoples. At the core of this volume are case studies that explore religious practices from the Cahokia area and surrounding Illinois uplands. Additional chapters explore these topics using data collected from sites and landscapes scattered along the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys.

This innovative work facilitates a greater appreciation for, and understanding of, ancient native religious practices, especially their seamless connections to everyday life and livelihood. The contributors do not advocate for a reduced emphasis on technology, economy, and political organization; rather, they recommend expanding the scope of such studies to include considerations of how religious practices shaped the locations of sites, the character of artifacts, and the content and arrangement of sites and features. They also highlight analytical approaches that are applicable to archaeological datasets from across the Americas and beyond.

• List of Illustrations
• Preface by Brad H. Koldehoff and Timothy R. Pauketat
• Introduction: An Archaeology of Ancient Religious Practices by Brad H. Koldehoff and Timothy R. Pauketat
• Chapter 1. From Tubes to Platforms: Transformations in Early Smoking Pipes and Ancient Rituals by Brad H. Koldehoff and Kenneth B. Farnsworth
• Chapter 2. From Caches to Gatherings: The Relationality of Intentionally Deposited Objects in Mississippian Buildings by Melissa Baltus
• Chapter 3. Magic Plants and Mississippian Ritual by Kathryn E. Parker and Mary L. Simon
• Chapter 4. The People of Mound 72: Ritual and Death, Integration and Community Building at Early Cahokia by Kristin M. Hedman and Eve A. Hargrave
• Chapter 5. Putting Religion Ahead of Politics: Cahokian Origins as Viewed through Emerald’
  s Shrines by Susan M. Alt
• Chapter 6. A Landscape of Mounds: Community Ethnogenesis at Aztalan by John D. Richards and Thomas J. Zych
• Chapter 7. The Power of Place: Ancient Ritual Landscapes in Southwestern Illinois by Mark J. Wagner, Jonathan Remo, Kayeleigh Sharp, and Go Matsumoto
• Chapter 8. Ancient Skywatchers of the Eastern Woodlands by William F. Romain
• Contributors
• Index