The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site site in Georgia reveals fascinating Mississippian artistry and long-distance trade. Braden style copper and ceramics came from Cahokia, while the famous Rogan plates depict warriors dressed as Thunderbirds with maces and severed heads. Hundreds of shell gorgets and cups feature symbols of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, and rare stone statues from Mound C are thought to portray elite families.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site art and trade networks in the Mississippian world
USAGeneral
Key facts
- Braden style pounded copper and ceramic pieces identified as trade objects from Cahokia
- Copper sources include local Georgia deposits and the Great Lakes region
- The Rogan plates are copper plates depicting Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site warriors dressed as Thunderbirds, holding maces and severed heads
- Later period shell objects inspired by Craig style artwork from Spiro, Oklahoma
- Carved shell gorgets and cups found in the hundreds; themes include twins, spiders, swastikas, and sunbursts
- Symbols are part of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECCC)
- Ten stone statues about 2 feet tall were recovered from Mound C, depicting paired seated men and women in traditional Mississippian clothing, thought to be portraits of elite Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site families
- Finding stone statues at Mississippian sites is rare
Site mentioned
Sources
Copper Plate (Human Figure) | Smithsonian Institutionsi.edu
This heirloom copper repousse plate is of Cahokian origin but was recovered as part of the regalia of an Etowah chief. The image incorporates the Birdman theme
Etowah plates - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The Etowah plates, including the Rogan Plates, are a collection of Mississippian copper plates discovered in Mound C at the Etowah Indian Mounds near ...
Rogan Plate from Cosmology in the New Worldcore.tdar.org
This is an image of the Rogan Plate, from Etowah, GA. Dates to about AD 1300. Interpreted as the Birdman by King 2004 (Power and the Sacred: ...
Etowah Mounds, Georgia - Ahaleniaahalenia.blogspot.com
This is the home of the famous Rogan Plates, a pair copper repoussé plates of a dancing bird-human, wielding a mace and a severed head, and ...
File:Rogan plate 1 birdman HRoe 2012.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org
One of two "birdman" copper repousse plates found by John P. Rogan at the Etowah Indian Mounds site in Alabama in 1883. Author, Herb Roe.
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