American Civilizations

The Adena culture built huge earthen mounds in which they buried the dead. They might have also been used for other uses. For example, the Great Serpent Mound, near Hillsboro, Ohio, may have played a part in Hopewell religious ceremonies.  The last Mound Builder culture was the Mississippian. Cahokia was the leading site of Mississippian culture. Cahokia as run by priest-rulers, who controlled farming activities. A flat-topped earthen pyramid was the center of the community, which was topped by a wooden temple. These factors proved that the Mississippian culture was advanced and the factors contributed to its success. The fact that the Mississippian people were able to build such incredible sites made them advanced. They also had the advanced technologies to build these sites.The Mississippian lands were located in the crossroads region between east and west, and provided transportation for people and traders on the Ohio and Mississippian rivers. This was proven from the items found in burial mounds that showed that the Mississippians had traded with people in the West and possibly in Mesoamerica. They also traded with peoples from the Northeast shown by other evidence.