Cahokia's influence in the Yazoo Basin: a ceramic analysis of Early Mississippian features at the Carson site

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ceramic assemblages from pithouses at the Carson site in Mississippi show distinctly nonlocal trends that indicate Cahokian influence in the region. This study evaluates pottery collections from multiple locations with a focus on vessel shapes, slips, and nonlocal types. A minimum number of vessels was established for two contexts at Carson, and those vessels were analyzed based on manufacturing processes and stylistic modifications. Through a comparison of Carson pottery with assemblages from Cahokian neighborhoods, there is clear overlap between the decorative and functional practices in both collections. Factors such as the use of slips, vessel assemblage compositions, and quantitative measures highlight the Cahokian origins of the assemblages at Carson. In investigating Cahokian use of the wider North American landscape, Trempealeau in Wisconsin provides a point of comparison to understand the settlement at Carson and its deviation from local norms. In placing Cahokia in a wider context of interregional interactions, it is clear that landscapes and regions outside of the American Bottom such as that at Carson played a role in Cahokia's rise early in its history.