Mississippian cosmology split the universe into three tiers: sky above, earth's surface, and an underworld below. The sun journeyed through the sky by day and the underworld by night. Thunderbirds guarded humans from hostile underworld creatures called pasawas — winged snakes that transform into underwater panthers, a motif richly preserved in Mississippian art. 🦅🐍
Three-tiered Mississippian cosmos with Thunderbirds and underwater panthers
Key facts
- Mississippian cosmology divided the universe into three tiers: the sky above, the surface of the earth, and an underworld
- The sun was believed to pass through the sky by day and through the underworld by night
- The spirits of the dead reside in the underworld and must traverse the sky to reach it
- Thunderbirds, warrior birds in the sky realm, protect humans from malicious underworld creatures
- Underworld creatures called pasawas (winged snakes) transform into underwater panthers in watery realms; both forms appear extensively in ancient Mississippian art
Sources
[PDF] Rim-effigy bowl iconography in the Central Mississippi Valleyrla.unc.edu
Among rim-effigy bowls, the three layers of the Mississippian cosmos are present both in the bowl itself as well as the larger space it occupies.
Mississippian Period—358.9 to 323.2 MYA - National Park Servicenps.gov
This period is sometimes called the “Age of Crinoids” because the fossils of these invertebrates are major components of much Mississippian-age ...
Cahokia: Mirror of the Cosmos, Sally A. Kitt Chappell, an excerptpress.uchicago.edu
This four-part horizontal division of the world (into north, east, south, and west) plus a three-part vertical division (into lower world, this world, and upper ...
Ancient objects and sacred realms: Interpretations of mississippian ...researchgate.net
Mississippian and Woodland art and iconography is often interpreted as representing supernatural subject matter within a three-tiered cosmos.
Transforming the Landscape: Rock Art and the Mississippian Cosmos - jstorjstor.org
This beautifully illustrated volume examines American Indian rock art across an expansive region of eastern North America during the Mississippian Period ...
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