A Mississippian Example of Harvest Renewal Ceremonialism

In 1911 anthropologist John R. Swanton began documenting numerous ceremonial grounds (or “square grounds”) of the Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole Nations in Oklahoma, whose ancestors were forcibly removed from their homelands in the southeastern United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAncient Foodways p. 152
Main Authors Nelson, Erin Stevens, Melton, Mallory A, Peles, Ashley
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published University Press of Florida 30.12.2022
Edition1
Subjects
American Indian
ceremonial practices
maize harvest ceremonialism
Mississippian
Muscogee (Creek) Nation
paleoethnobotany
pottery
Prehistoric Archaeology
zooarchaeology
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Summary:In 1911 anthropologist John R. Swanton began documenting numerous ceremonial grounds (or “square grounds”) of the Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole Nations in Oklahoma, whose ancestors were forcibly removed from their homelands in the southeastern United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Swanton’s work, facilitated by Creek historian George Washington Grayson, documents several material features common at ceremonial grounds among the Creek towns of that time (Swanton 1928:174–296). Among these, the most prominent were sacred fires that burned perpetually in the center of open ceremonial spaces or “square grounds,” arbors or “beds” that provided seating for participants during
ISBN:0813069491
9780813069494
DOI:10.5744/florida/9780813069494.003.0008