Deck 7: The Mississippians

Question 1

The selection of marriages according to the Natchez rank system resulted in __________________.

A) the maintenance of egalitarianism within the society
B) slow upward social mobility of commoners over the course of generations
C) the delegation of particular economic roles to select subsets of the society
D) the permanent exclusion of lower classes from the upper ranks

Answer 1

B

Question 2

All of the following are true of the "vacant quarter" EXCEPT that __________________.

A) the area was rapidly depopulated by a flu epidemic
B) is was centered in the American Bottom portion of the Mississippi Valley
C) inhabitants were pressured by the arrival of more northerly tribal farmers
D) it resulted from the collapse and abandonment of Middle Mississippi chiefdoms

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Mississippian chiefdoms based in centers with large platform mounds arose __________________.

A) after buffalo became the primary source of dietary protein in the region
B) as a response to the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the area
C) after Mesoamerican maize was added to the regional diet
D) after the previous occupants of the area were displaced by an invasion

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The largest single earthen mound north of Mesoamerica is Monks Mound at the site of __________________.

A) Cahokia
B) Snakeville
C) Etowah
D) Moundville

Question 5

In the territory inhabited by the Mississippian culture, an important non-agricultural source of protein was provided by __________________.

A) maize
B) algae
C) wild beans
D) fish

Question 6

The loose set of ritually significant symbols and artifacts found at Mississippian sites is known as the __________________.

A) Ceremonial Eagle Complex
B) Cahokia Complex
C) Mississippian Style
D) Southeastern Ceremonial Complex

Question 7

How can we tell that Mississippian people were eating more maize than people that came before them?

A) there are murals showing men farming
B) archaeologists have found special tools that were used to remove corn kernels from the cob
C) human remains have elevated levels of 13C in their bones and exhibit poor dental health
D) the human remains show better dental health, a sign of a high carbohydrate diet

Question 8

Which of the following statements is not characteristic of chiefdoms?

A) they are very stable and often last for a very long time
B) they have two or more levels of integration
C) they have a subsistence base that is productive enough to support a class of elites
D) their population base is larger, denser, and more sedentary than tribes

Question 9

In the 1930s, an event occurred at the Spiro site that has hindered our ability to make reliable conclusions about the role of the town in relations between Mesoamerica and the Eastern Woodlands. What happened?

A) the site was improperly excavated and only poor documentation exists
B) the Pocola Mining Company looted the site and removed thousands of artifacts
C) the site was used for farming before it could be properly excavated destroying the context of most artifacts
D) a tornado interrupted excavations and destroyed most of the site documentation

Question 10

A charnel house can be best described as __________________.

A) a religious building used only by high priests on a specific festival day
B) a pottery vessel said to hold the soul of a particular ancestor
C) a mortuary structure designed to hold the remains of distinguished ancestors
D) a mud-brick structure at the center of the town where peace negotiations would be held

Question 11

The increase in small projectile points in the Mississippi region after 600 CE indicates __________________.

A) the arrival of maize from Mesoamerica
B) the arrival of the Arctic Small Tool Tradition
C) an increase in buffalo hunting
D) the arrival of bow and arrow technology

Question 12

Platform mounds present on the surface today represent the cumulative effort of many construction events over time that gradually changed the mounds' appearance and size.

Question 13

How many people likely occupied the largest Mississippian sites?

A) 500-1,000
B) 1,000-3,000
C) 3,000-8,000
D) 8,000-10,000

Question 14

Palisades were constructed at many Mississippian towns. The arrangement of the palisade at Cahokia suggests that __________________.

A) it was largely ornamental, not defensive
B) it was built later and not part of the original town
C) it delineated social stratification, separating elites from commoners
D) it was probably built by the Spanish

Question 15

Mississippian chiefs were usually also __________________.

A) popular athletes
B) ritual officiants
C) non-hereditary
D) literate

Question 16

Around 1300 CE, Moundville transitioned from being a populous settlement to a __________________ of elite burials.

A) necropolis
B) entrepôt
C) thriving city
D) pilgrimage city

Question 17

While long-distance expeditions were probably common, Pachuca obsidian and Pacific Olivella shells, among other trade goods, mostly arrived at Mississippian sites via __________________.

A) prestige-chain trading
B) gravity distribution trading
C) down-the-line exchange
D) horseback

Question 18

Historical accounts of southeastern sites attest that ritual purification was achieved through the use of __________________.

A) black drink
B) vomit spatulas
C) ayahuasca
D) marsh elder

Question 19

Chiefdoms were threatened with collapse by several calamities, including natural disasters. Likewise, they were also threatened by long periods of __________________, which led citizens to question the necessity of expensive sacrifices demanded by elite leadership.

A) warfare
B) drought
C) well-being and prosperity
D) famine

Question 20

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forcibly moved many native peoples to which state?

A) Nevada
B) Oklahoma
C) New Mexico
D) South Dakota

Question 21

Extensive archaeological research was undertaken in the 1930s and 40s through the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) program. These efforts included salvage excavations at the __________________ site.

A) Spiro
B) Yana RHS
C) Charnel House
D) Meadowcroft Rockshelter