Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands

Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands,Southeastern cultures, orSoutheast Indiansare anethnographicclassification forNative Americanswho have traditionally inhabited the area now part of theSoutheastern United Statesand the northeastern border ofMexico, that share commonculturaltraits. This classification is a part of theEastern Woodlands. The concept of a southeastern cultural region was developed by anthropologists, beginning withOtis MasonandFranz Boasin 1887. The boundaries of the region are defined more by shared cultural traits than by geographic distinctions.Because the cultures gradually instead of abruptly shift into Plains, Prairie, or Northeastern Woodlands cultures, scholars do not always agree on the exact limits of the Southeastern Woodland culture region.Shawnee,Powhatan,Waco,Tawakoni,Tonkawa,Karankawa,Quapaw, andMosopeleaare usually seen as marginally southeastern and their traditional lands represent the borders of the cultural region.
The area waslinguistically diverse, major language groups wereCaddoanandMuskogean, besides a number oflanguage isolates.
The following section deals primarily with the history of the peoples in the lengthy period before European contact. Evidence of the preceding cultures have been found primarily in archeological artifacts, but also in major earthworks and the evidence of linguistics. In the Late Prehistoric time period in the Southeastern Woodlands, cultures increased agricultural production, developed ranked societies, increased their populations, trade networks, and intertribal warfare.Most Southeastern peoples (excepting some of the coastal peoples) were highlyagricultural,growing crops likemaize, squash, and beans for food. They supplemented their diet with hunting, fishing,and gathering wild plants and fungi.
Belonging in the Lithic stage, the oldest known art in the Americas is theVero Beachbone found in present-day Florida. It is possibly a mammoth bone, etched with a profile of walking mammoth; it dates to 11,000 BCE.
ThePoverty Point cultureinhabited portions of the state ofLouisianafrom 2000–1000 BCE during theArchaic period.Many objects excavated at Poverty Point sites were made of materials that originated in distant places, indicating that the people were part of an extensive trading culture. Such items include chipped stone projectile points and tools; ground stone plummets, gorgets and vessels; and shell and stone beads. Stone tools found at Poverty Point were made from raw materials that can be traced to the relatively nearby Ouachita and Ozark mountains, as well as others from the more distantOhioandTennessee Rivervalleys. Vessels were made fromsoapstonewhich came from theAppalachian foothillsofAlabamaandGeorgia.Hand-modeled lowly fired clay objects occur in a variety of shapes including anthropomorphic figurines and cooking balls.
Mississippian culturesflourished in what is now theMidwestern,Eastern, andSoutheastern United Statesfrom approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally.After adoptingmaizeagriculture the Mississippian culture became fully agrarian, as opposed to the precedingWoodland culturesthat supplemented hunting and gathering with limited horticulture. Mississippian peoples often builtplatform mounds. They refined their ceramic techniques and often used groundmusselshell as atempering agent. Many were involved with theSoutheastern Ceremonial Complex, a multi-regional and multi-linguistic religious and trade network that marked the southeastern part of theMississippian Ideological Interaction Sphere. Information about Southeastern Ceremonial Complex primary comes from archaeology and the study of the elaborate artworks left behind by its participants, including elaboratepottery, conchshell gorgetsand cups,stone statuary, andLong-nosed god maskettes. TheCalusapeoples, of southern Florida, carved and painted wood in exquisite depictions of animals.
By the time of European contact the Mississippian societies were already experiencing severe social stress. Some major centers had already been abandoned. With social upsets and diseases unknowingly introduced by Europeans many of the societies collapsed and ceased to practice a Mississippian lifestyle, with an exception being theNatchez peopleof Mississippi and Louisiana. Other tribes descended from Mississippian cultures include theAlabama,Biloxi,Caddo,Choctaw,Muscogee Creek,Tunica, and many other southeastern peoples.
During theIndian Removalera of the 1830s, most southeastern tribes were forcibly relocated toIndian Territorywest of the Mississippi River by the US federal government, as European-American settlers pushed the government to acquire their lands.Some members of the tribes chose to stay in their homelands and accept state and US citizenship; others simply hid in the mountains or swamps and sought to maintain some cultural continuity. Since the late 20th century, descendants of these people have organized as tribes; in a limited number of cases, some have achievedfederal recognitionbut more have gained state recognition through legislation at the state level.
Frank Speckidentified several key cultural traits of Southeastern Woodlands peoples. Social traits included having amatrilinealkinshipsystem,exogamousmarriage between clans, and organizing into settled villages and towns.Southeastern Woodlands societies were usually divided intoclans; the most common from pre-contactHopewelliantimes into the present include Bear, Beaver, Bird other than a raptor, Canine (e.g. Wolf), Elk, Feline (e.g. Panther), Fox, Raccoon, and Raptor.They observe strict incest taboos, including taboos against marriage within a clan. In the past, they frequently allowedpolygamyto chiefs and other men who could support multiple wives. They held puberty rites for both boys and girls.
Southeastern peoples also traditionally shared similar religious beliefs, based onanimism. They used fish poison, and practiced purification ceremonies among their religious rituals, as well as theGreen Corn Ceremony.Medicine peopleare important spiritual healers.
Many southeastern peoples engaged inmound buildingto create sacred or acknowledged ritual sites. Many of the religious beliefs of theSoutheastern Ceremonial Complexor the Southern Cult, were also shared by the Northeastern Woodlands tribes, probably spread through the dominance of theMississippian culturein the 10th century.
The main agricultural crops of the region were theThree Sisters:winter squash,maize(corn), and climbingbeans(usuallytepary beansorcommon beans). Originating inMesoamerica, these three crops were carried northward over centuries to many parts of North America. The three crops were normally planted together using a technique known ascompanion plantingon flat-topped mounds of soil.The three crops were planted in this way as each benefits from the proximity of the others.The tall maize plants provide a structure for the beans to climb, while the beans providenitrogento thesoilthat benefits the other plants. Meanwhile, the squash spreads along the ground, blocking thesunlightto preventweedsfrom growing and retainingmoisture in the soil.