Understanding the Rise of Complexity at Cahokia

Evidence of Nonlocal Caddo Ceramic Specialists in the East St. Louis Precinct

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2096587
AutoresShawn P Lambert (0000-0001-9462-6255, Mississippi State University), Paige A Ford (0009-0009-4250-1835, Arkansas Department of Agriculture)
Ano2023
Volume88
Fascículo3
Páginas361-385
Data de publicação2023-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0002-7316 • E-ISSN: 2325-5064
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/aaq.2023.28
OpenAlexW4378231525
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas7
Referências citadas46

This article investigates the rise of social complexity of Cahokia's multiethnic city through a robust stylistic grammar analysis of early Caddo fine ware vessels at Cahokia's East St. Louis Precinct. We explore ceramic production and distribution to shed light on whether Caddo-like fine wares were produced by Caddo potters who lived and crafted at Cahokia, were produced by local Cahokia potters who copied Caddo motifs, or were imported to Cahokia from the southern Caddo area. This investigation helps us better understand the nature of Caddo connections at the beginning of Cahokia's development and provides a means of identifying and interpreting new levels of social interactions between the Caddo world and Cahokia. The stylistic grammar results show that the majority of the Caddo-like vessels at Cahokia have identical stylistic grammar as vessels from the Caddo world. This strongly suggests that Caddo craft specialists migrated to, lived, and crafted their homeland vessels at Cahokia and thus were key social actors in its development

Archaeology · Ethnology · Geography · Native american · Precinct · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Natural History · Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies · History