The Upper Mississippian cultures were located in the Upper Mississippi basin and Great Lakes region of the American Midwest. They were in existence from approximately A.D. 1000 until the Protohistoric and early Historic periods (approximately A.D. 1700).
Archaeologists generally consider "Upper Mississippian" to be an attenuated version of "Middle Mississippian" cultures represented at Cahokia and other sites exhibiting more complex social and political structures, perhaps at a chiefdom level of development. The Middle Mississippians were capable of forming large cities and were thus heavily dependent on agriculture to support large populations. This civilization had its origins about A.D. 1000 or slightly earlier, and was at its peak in the 12th and 13th centuries A.D. when the population at Cahokia was estimated to be 40,000 and the city itself covered an area of 3,480 acres (in contrast, Upper Mississippian sites are usually well under 10 acres). Although the Middle Mississippian declined after its peak, there were still advanced chiefdom-level societies present at the time of the DeSoto expedition in the 1530s and 1540s.
The Upper Mississippians had their origins about the same time as the Middle Mississippians, around A.D. 1000. They attained larger populations and heavier emphasis on agriculture than the previous Late Woodland cultures but still relied to a large extent on hunting and gathering and lacked the chiefdom-level form of society and the large centralized cities. The Late Woodland peoples with their emphasis on small villages and hunting and gathering adaptation had previously occupied the Upper Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes Region prior to A.D. 1000. In some areas, the Late Woodland population persisted until European contact, and even occasionally coexisted in the same time and place with the Upper Mississippians.
Most of the Upper Mississippian entities are grouped together under the Oneota aspect. The Grand River, Lake Winnebago, Koshkonong, Green Bay (aka Mero Complex), Orr and Utz are Foci grouped under Oneota. Fisher and Huber are placed by James A. Brown in an "unnamed tradition" (or focus) within the Oneota aspect. The Langford tradition is seen as contemporaneous with Fisher and Huber and is considered Upper Mississippian due to its similarity to Fisher material culture (especially pottery). The Fort Ancient Aspect in the Ohio River Valley is sometimes considered an Upper Mississippian entity.
Characteristics
The major diagnostic trait of the Upper Mississippian cultures is their use of shell to temper their pottery, a practice which they shared in common with the Middle Mississippians. In contrast, the Late Woodland pottery was grit-tempered up until European contact. The Langford Tradition pottery is actually grit-tempered, but is still designated as Upper Mississippian because of the stylistic similarities with Fisher Ware.
Other than the pottery, the Upper Mississippian way of life was essentially similar to that of the Late Woodland cultures. They may have been slightly more dependent on maize agriculture, but hunting and gathering were still part of their subsistence base.
The triangular projectile points called “Madison Points” are a trait the Upper Mississippians share with the Late Woodland. These artifacts were used for warfare, hunting and fishing, and are almost always present in large numbers at any site after A.D. 1000, usually dominating the stone tool assemblages. It may be that this reflects increased levels of conflict during this period.
Other artifacts that are diagnostic of the Upper Mississippian cultures specifically are double-pointed biface knives, long thin ovate blades, uniface humpbacked end scrapers, expanding base drills, sandstone abraders (aka "arrow shaft straighteners"), elk or bison scapula hoes, deer metatarsal beamers, pot sherd discs that seem to have been used as spindle whorls, and antler or bone cylinders that appear to be game pieces. In 1945 WC McKern provided a list of diagnostic traits he felt represented the Upper Mississippian cultures in Wisconsin.
Origins
The origin of the Upper Mississippian cultures is a matter of debate among archaeologists. They may have been local Late Woodland populations who were influenced by the large-scale chiefdom entities; or they may have originated in one of these more advanced societies and set out to “colonize” the marginal areas to the north. Aztalan is a site that represents an incursion of Middle Mississippians into Wisconsin; however, it is apparent that the Aztalan material culture is quite distinct from Upper Mississippian, so it does not necessarily follow that one evolved out of the other. There is evidence that from A.D. 1200-1500 there was a climatic cooling trend which appears to have made the growing system much less reliable in the Upper Mississippi area. This may have been why the culture “reverted” back to a smaller scale society with lesser dependence on agriculture for subsistence, and more emphasis on hunting and gathering.
There is significant evidence that the Middle Mississippians and Upper Mississippians had frequent contact with each other. In particular, the Anker site near Chicago, Illinois, yielded grave goods with clear ties to the south including a mask gorget with a “weeping eye” motif which was also found on an artifact from the Nodena site in Arkansas, and is considered to be associated with the Southern Ceremonial Complex. It is unclear whether this represents trade or an actual movement of people from the Middle Mississippian heartland to the Great Lakes.
Environment
The Upper Mississippian sites are mostly located on what is known as the Prairie Peninsula region of the American Midwest; including the states of Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan. This was prime habitat for the bison, which comprised a major food source as well as raw material for bone tools. Archaeologists believe that the range of the bison did not extend across the Mississippi into Illinois until about A.D. 1600.
Sites in the Prairie Peninsula are generally located in major river valleys like the Illinois or Mississippi. These areas were ideally suited for the inhabitants to access resources in several different ecosystems; the prairie (bison, elk); river bottoms (nuts, berries, wild turkey), oak savannas (deer, elk, bear, wild berries) and the river itself with associated marshes and wetlands (fish, water lily tubers, mussels, turtles, waterfowl).
Other sites characterized as Upper Mississippian or Oneota are found farther north, in present day Minnesota and Wisconsin. These include the Tremaine Site Complex in Wisconsin and the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry and sites in the Blue Earth River Region in Minnesota. Settlement patterns and diets varied significantly across these sites.
Architecture
Several types of houses have been noted at Upper Mississippian sites. At the Huber sites of Oak Forest and Anker, large oval structures measuring from 25–55 feet long and 10–15 feet wide were excavated. At the Fisher and Zimmerman sites, square to rectangular semi-subterranean wall-trench houses were found, similar to houses at the Middle Mississippian site of Aztalan.
Forms of structures may have also changed over time. It was thought that the square houses found at the Zimmerman site may date to an earlier time period when growing seasons were more reliable and a settled agricultural life way led to construction of more substantial structures. Later structures at the site were much more ephemeral, and may represent temporary wigwams at a time period when growing seasons were less reliable and the hunting of bison contributed more to subsistence. The temporary structures facilitated movement as the bison herds were followed as part of a seasonal round.
Pit features
Most Upper Mississippian sites have large numbers of pit features which functioned as storage pits, refuse pits, roasting pits and hearths. The storage pits were thought to be constructed to help preserve food for extended periods of time; possibly through the winter, if the site is a permanent village. As the contents of these pits soured, they were converted to refuse pits. These pits often contain abundant information for archaeological analysis; pot sherds, lithic flakes and tools, animal bone, plant remains and occasionally even human remains.
Mortuary customs
While the people associated with the Upper Mississippian sphere were not prolific mound builders (in contrast with Middle Mississippian cultures), they would often bury their dead under existing mounds built by other cultures or natural mound-like formations. Examples include the Fisher Mound Group and Gentleman Farm site. Another notable exception was Aztalan which had three platform mounds. However, a resurgence of mound building occurred towards the end of the 17th century, for example at the Oneota site of Blood Run. These mounds are linked to a cultural revitalization movement in response to European contact.
Some Upper Mississippian sites consist of a village area in conjunction with a cemetery. Both extended burials and bundle burials are present. Other burials are found directly under houses. Grave goods are present with some burials. It is common to see the deceased buried alongside material remains such as pottery, weapons, tools, or other utilitarian objects, as well as organic materials such as clams and mussels.Rich, Jennifer. "Comparative study of human mortuary practices and cultural change in the upper Midwest." PhD diss., 2009. The most common artifacts included with burials are shell spoons and pottery vessels; at the Fisher Mound Group, the spoons and vessel interiors had a greasy feel, and small amounts of bone were present; implying that the pots contained food when they were buried.
A large number of burials were excavated at the Anker Site which included exceptionally rich grave goods, implying they were wealthy or of higher status.
Another site that has been well documented by archaeologists is the cemetery associated with Morton Village, called Norris Farms 36. A total of 264 people are buried there, and many of the bodies exhibit evidence of violent deaths. Injuries include decapitation, scalping, projectile wounds, and blunt force trauma. Indications of traumatic injuries are roughly distributed equally among men and women, suggesting that gender did not determine who would participate in warfare. Some children buried at Norris Farms 36 also suffered from violent injuries. Many of the graves are associated with ceramic artifacts, most of which are Upper Mississippian in style. However, some ceramics, particularly those interred with children, are distinctly Middle Mississippian. One interpretation of this evidence is that children played an important role in bridging the gap between cultures at Morton Village. Further evidence of this role include the fact that human hands were found interred with an infant. Additionally, many of the children buried at Norris Farms 36 were interred with carefully arranged avian remains. Both hands and birds are important symbols associated with Middle Mississippian culture.
At the Aztalan and adjacent, Lake Koshkonong sites, there is also evidence of interpersonal violence. In an excavation of human remains from both formal and informal burials at the site, 1402 disarticulated bones were uncovered, which would amount to anywhere from 84 and 92 people buried there. A significant number of the individuals buried at informal burials showed evidence of perimortem trauma such as cut marks, chop marks, fractures, and scalping. Some scholars speculate that these injuries are due to internal conflict or mortuary practices. Aztalan was also a heavily-fortified site, which is also considered evidence of violent conflict.