History Discussion

Peer 1:

Samantha

Davis

The ancient Americas were full of immensely advanced civilizations whose trade spanned thousands of

miles. There were agricultural innovations used to support thriving expanding commun

ities. They had

elaborate religious ceremonies and rituals that communicated with the divine spirits of their world.

While there are core similarities between civilizations of the same timeline and geography, each one

separates itself from the next with th

eir own unique advances and identities. I am going to compare and

contrast the Mississippian and Puebloan culture of the Americas. The Mississippian culture is indigenous

to the Midwestern region of what is the United States today. The Puebloan people of a

ncient times

spanned the four corners region of the same country. They both share similar beliefs and culture with

neighboring civilization throughout much of North America.

Religion

The world was an enchanted place to the Puebloan culture, some places se

rved as sites for rituals to

connect to the spirit

-

charged world. The kiva was one of these sites for the Puebloans. Typically they

included a hole in the floor called a sipapu, symbolizing the spot from which the original humans

emerged to find the ideal

home according to their creation story (Tolson). The city of Cahokia, located in

southern Illinois, is believed to be the major religious hub of the Mississippian people. They believed in

cosmic power, the constant cycle of life and death, and spiritual ha

rmony with nature around them

(Koldehoff and Pauketat).

Agriculture

Both of these civilizations were mostly foragers subsisting on plants like hickory nuts, persimmons, and

wild cherries. They might have used food sources such as purslane, pinyon nut, jun

iper berries,

globemallow and even cactus (Berkebile). The coastal marshes of the Mississippi River, from which the

Mississippian people get their name, support a variety of life to feed the people that occupied the land.

Freshwater fish, white

-

tailed deer

were the main sources of protein (Lambert).

Technology

The Mississippian people were miners of copper found in the river. They traded the element over long

distances. They used copper in a range of ceremonial pottery and decorated grave mounds of the hig

h

status members

(Ehrhardt). The Puebloan society was best known for their pueblo dwellings built into

cliff canyon walls. These villages were only accessible through rock climbing and rope (Bousman and

Bradley).

If I went exploring this world and expected the land to be undeveloped and wild, those same

expectations would be there for any people who lived on the land. If I were a European encountering

these societies for the first time, I would be incredibly impres

sed with their civilizations.

References

Tolson, Jay. “A History of Belief.” U.S. News & World Report, vol. 143, no. 19, Nov. 2007, pp. 38

–

40.

Peer 1: Samantha Davis

The ancient Americas were full of immensely advanced civilizations whose trade spanned thousands of

miles. There were agricultural innovations used to support thriving expanding communities. They had

elaborate religious ceremonies and rituals that communicated with the divine spirits of their world.

While there are core similarities between civilizations of the same timeline and geography, each one

separates itself from the next with their own unique advances and identities. I am going to compare and

contrast the Mississippian and Puebloan culture of the Americas. The Mississippian culture is indigenous

to the Midwestern region of what is the United States today. The Puebloan people of ancient times

spanned the four corners region of the same country. They both share similar beliefs and culture with

neighboring civilization throughout much of North America.

Religion

The world was an enchanted place to the Puebloan culture, some places served as sites for rituals to

connect to the spirit-charged world. The kiva was one of these sites for the Puebloans. Typically they

included a hole in the floor called a sipapu, symbolizing the spot from which the original humans

emerged to find the ideal home according to their creation story (Tolson). The city of Cahokia, located in

southern Illinois, is believed to be the major religious hub of the Mississippian people. They believed in

cosmic power, the constant cycle of life and death, and spiritual harmony with nature around them

(Koldehoff and Pauketat).

Agriculture

Both of these civilizations were mostly foragers subsisting on plants like hickory nuts, persimmons, and

wild cherries. They might have used food sources such as purslane, pinyon nut, juniper berries,

globemallow and even cactus (Berkebile). The coastal marshes of the Mississippi River, from which the

Mississippian people get their name, support a variety of life to feed the people that occupied the land.

Freshwater fish, white-tailed deer were the main sources of protein (Lambert).

Technology

The Mississippian people were miners of copper found in the river. They traded the element over long

distances. They used copper in a range of ceremonial pottery and decorated grave mounds of the high

status members (Ehrhardt). The Puebloan society was best known for their pueblo dwellings built into

cliff canyon walls. These villages were only accessible through rock climbing and rope (Bousman and

Bradley).

If I went exploring this world and expected the land to be undeveloped and wild, those same

expectations would be there for any people who lived on the land. If I were a European encountering

these societies for the first time, I would be incredibly impressed with their civilizations.

References

Tolson, Jay. “A History of Belief.” U.S. News & World Report, vol. 143, no. 19, Nov. 2007, pp. 38–40.