Southern Ceremonial Complex

What is unique about the southern culture? The southern culture is unlike any other, it possesses a very diverse group with many different, ethnic communities, and religions. While still binding them all together with one common thread, their heritage. Even with all the differences, southerners embrace each other, reaching across the lines of color, religion, or social standing. Going the extra mile to help someone in need, even if they aren’t family, or a close friend.

Cherokee Indians were found in the south and southeast commonly in these states North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia/Virginia, Alabama, and Tennessee. Old artifacts show that they lived in this region about 11,000 years ago to the present day and that they had very natural reliable resources that they used on a daily basis. The Cherokee Indians had a well-managed system in which they had villages of 60 or less for housing, the women did the cooking, cleaning, farming/harvesting and the men did the hunting and gathering. In the region where the Cherokee’s were known to live at they modified their own weapons, arts/crafts, and clothing also using trees and plants for medicinal uses. The Cherokee Indians were one of

Dating to 1000 B.C., the Kolomoki complex near present-day Blakely is one of the best-known sites of these ancient civilizations. During the Mississippian Period (A.D. 800-1600), at least sixteen significant settlements dotted the Chattahoochee's banks south of the fall line. As these civilizations died because of exposure to European diseases, native survivors from other areas moved into the river valley below present-day Atlanta. (Lynn Willoughby)

The Choctaw Indians were an important tribe, and the largest of the Muskogean tribes. The Choctaws have two stories about their origins in their traditional homeland in central Mississippi. One is that their ancestors came from west of the Mississippi River and settled in what is now the homeland. The other is that the tribe is descended from ancestors who were formed by a spirit from the damp earth of Nanih Waiyah, a large mound in northeastern Mississippi. Either way, the Choctaws resided in places, holding most of Southern Alabama and Mississippi with adjoining parts of Louisiana.

|1500 CE |Early Woodland Period. Use of pottery and building of earth tombs emerges especially in the Mississippi |

In the 1930’s there was a lot of racial tensions and expectations for southern culture. Things are different now than they were back then like the culture, but especially gender roles in the south.

From Trajan’s Column, completed in 113 AD, to the statue of Christopher Columbus in Easton, Pennsylvania, monuments and memorials have been a significant element of celebration and honor throughout history (Source B). Though monuments are typically meant as a symbol of honor, recent controversy over statues dedicated to Confederate leaders and generals has sparked the debate over how to choose subjects to memorialize, and the actual development of these memorials. When considering what or who to honor, one must also consider the subjects impact on history, ensuring that it is positive. In creating memorials and monuments, groups and agencies should examine the historical significance of the events or persons they wish to memorialize, and the

Scientists and historians use the evidence of artifacts to suggest the complex trade networks of Indians. Some of these artifacts include obsidian from the Rocky Mountains, copper from the Great Lakes, mica from the Appalachians, and shells from the Gulf coast, the bow and arrow, and the appearance of certain crops like maize. These are just a few examples.

The confederate era monuments in New Orleans have been a hot topic of debate. People on both sides feel passionately about whether these local historic landmarks should remain standing or be torn down because of the atrocities the men they honor committed well over one hundred years ago. Whether over racial or personal beliefs there are strong motives on either side. As of now the future of the cityscape lays in limbo. Will history prevail over emotion?

In the Southern colonies there are many religions and beliefs. A law in Virginia made it forced for Virginians to follow in the Anglican Church. The colonists were not okay with non-Christian religion. The colony of North Carolina was based off an Anglican religion by order of the royal charter. Because of the rugged terrain and the way it made

Most Cherokee villages were placed along rivers and streams, so they could farm the rich black soil. Their crops were made out of corn, bean, squash, pumpkin, sunflowers and tobacco. They also used what the land had to offer like edible roots, crab, apples, berries, cherries, grapes and different type of nuts.

The rise of political and social complexity can be seen in the mound building cultures of eastern North America. Ames and Maschner listed the aspects of socio-political and cultural complexity as: sedentism, built structures, social stratification, storage, embryonic property rights, dispute-resolution strategies, and elaborated ritual or symbolic life. Mound builders were found in eastern North America, with the greatest concentration of mounds found in the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. Mounds are a type of elaborate earthwork usually built of soil or shell with a variety of shapes, including flat topped, rounded, slight rises of the landscape, and geometric or animal shapes. Mounds were used for burials, territorial markers, some had temples

The Mississippians got their name because a bunch of their artifacts were found near the Mississippi river. They were the most advanced group, out of the other pre-contact groups. They were more advanced because they had better technology. Examples of their technology would be; advanced farming, a new way to fish, pottery, larger cities, and a new use for mounds.

The Mississippian Period divided into Middle and Upper Mississippian Traditions and was from AD 900-1600. The two Tradtions were delineated because of the climate and its affect on how people inhabited the land. The Middle Mississippian Traditions had communities that surrounded plaza areas or mounds. They ate maize, beans, and squash. They collected wild foliage, hunted small and large game, and fished. The Upper Mississippian Tradition had a more permanent lifestyle formed around lakes and ravines. They gardened, hunted and collected plants.

The Tyiwara Headcrest was found in a Bamana community in West Africa. This headcrest shows syncretism between Mande and Greek culture because of its correlation of mythical animals and deities. The Tyiwara is similar to the Greek hybrid, chimera, which is a combination of non-human animals. In particular, the Tyiwara is a hybrid of an aardvark, antelope, and pangolin. The aardvark’s snout can be seen by the cowry shell. The cowry shell also represents value in the importance of harvestry. This creature’s main purpose was to teach humans how to farm; thus, the headcrest was worn during agricultural ceremonies. The headcrest’s main role in the Mande culture is to emphasize the importance of agriculture and fertility in the community, so it was