Animal effigy jar   Save
Archaeology Collections, Ledger #1
Description: This ceramic, hooded water bottle has an animal effigy, possibly a raccoon head, at the top of the vessel. The opening of the bottle is in the back of the figure's head. The animal's eyes and stylized ears project out slightly from the head and the mouth is an incised line. The nose of the effigy has been broken off and repaired. The body of the vessel is rounded and the base is flat. The jar is pale brown and gray in color and there is a small chip missing from the opening. This piece is from Mississippian Culture. Between about A.D. 700 and 1600, people living in the central Mississippi River valley developed a lifestyle that archaeologists refer to as Mississippian. Mississippian farmers raised the same crops as their Woodland ancestors. However, they relied more and more on corn, squash, and beans. It is believed that the Mississippian people had to move to new sites, perhaps every ten years, as their soil became less fertile. Most Mississippian groups lived on single farms or in small villages, but, because their food supply could support more people, their villages grew in size and density. Some archaeologists believe the Mississippian cultures developed chiefdoms in which certain persons held a great deal of power. In many of the larger towns and regional centers, the Mississippian people built flat-topped pyramid-shaped mounds of earth that served as bases for buildings. Archaeologists believe that these buildings may have been the homes of leaders or places for public rituals. What happened to the Mississippian cultures is not clear, but there was a decline or disruption of their lifestyle beginning in some places as early as A.D. 1350. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: A4345_001901
Subjects: Mississippian Culture (A.D. 900–1500); Mound-builders; Pottery, Prehistoric; Effigies
Places: Archaeology Collections, Ledger #1