Pinson Mounds : Middle Woodland Ceremonialism in the Midsouth

Pinson Mounds: Middle Woodland Ceremonialism in the Midsouth is a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of the largest Middle Woodland mound complex in the Southeast. Located in west Tennessee about ten miles south of Jackson, the Pinson Mounds complex includes at least thirteen mounds, a geometric earthen embankment, and contemporary short-term occupation areas within an area of about four hundred acres. A unique feature of Pinson Mounds is the presence of five large, rectangular platform mounds from eight to seventy-two feet in height. Around A.D. 100, Pinson Mounds was a pilgrimage center that drew visitors from well beyond the local population and accommodated many distinct cultural groups and people of varied social stations. Stylistically nonlocal ceramics have been found in virtually every excavated locality, all together representing a large portion of the Southeast. Along with an overview of this important and unique mound complex, Pinson Mounds also provides a reassessment of roughly contemporary centers in the greater Midsouth and Lower Mississippi Valley and challenges past interpretations of the Hopewell phenomenon in the region. Pinson Mounds: Middle Woodland Ceremonialism In The Midsouth Is A Comprehensive Overview And Reinterpretation Of The Largest Middle Woodland Mound Complex In The Southeast. Located In West Tennessee About Ten Miles South Of Jackson, The Pinson Mounds Complex Includes At Least Thirteen Mounds, A Geometric Earthen Embankment, And Contemporary Short-term Occupation Areas Within An Area Of About Four Hundred Acres. Pinson Mounds And Its Setting / Robert C. Mainfort -- Antiquarians' Perspective On Pinson Mounds 2.0 / Mary L. Kwas -- Mapping Never-never Land: An Examination Of Pinson Mounds Cartography / Robert C. Mainfort, Mary L. Kwas, And Andrew M. Mickelson -- Western Ritual Precinct / Robert C. Mainfort -- Central Ritual Precinct / Robert C. Mainfort -- Eastern Ritual Precinct (the Eastern Citadel) / Robert C. Mainfort, Andrew M. Mickelson, And Robert Thunen -- Calibrated Radiocarbon Chronology For Pinson Mounds And Related Sites / Robert C. Mainfort And Charles H. Mcnutt -- Pinson Mounds And The Middle Woodland Period In The Midsouth And Lower Mississippi Valley / Robert C. Mainfort -- Appendix 1. Ceramics From Pinson Mounds -- Appendix 2. Politics And Prehistory: The Making Of Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Area / Mary L. Kwas. Robert C. Mainfort Jr. ; With Contributions By Mary L. Kwas, Charles H. Mcnutt, Andrew M. Mickelson, And Robert Thunen. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 251-268) And Index. "Pinson Mounds: Middle Woodland Ceremonialism in the Midsouth is a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of the largest Middle Woodland mound complex in the Southeast. Located in west Tennessee about ten miles south of Jackson, the Pinson Mounds complex includes at least thirteen mounds, a geometric earthen embankment, and contemporary short-term occupation areas within an area of about four hundred acres. A unique feaure of Pinson Mounds is the presence of five large, rectangular platform mounds from eight to seventy-two feet in height. Around A.D. 100, Pinson Mounds was a pilgrimage center that drew visitors from well beyond the local population and accommodated many distinct cultural groups and people of varied social stations. Stylistically nonlocal ceramics have been found in virtually every excavated locality, all together representing a large portion of the Southeast. Along with an overview of this important and unique mound complex, Pinson Mounds also provides a reassessment of roughly contemporary centers in the greater Midsouth and Lower Mississippi Valley and challenges past interpretations of the Hopewell phenomenon in the region."--Publisher's description Located in West Tennessee about ten miles south of Jackson, the Pinson Mounds complex includes at least thirteen mounds, a geometric earthen embankment, and contemporary short-term occupation areas within an area of about four hundred acres. A unique feature of Pinson Mounds is the presence of five large, rectangular platform mounds from eight to seventy-two feet in height. Around AD 100, Pinson Mounds was a pilgrimage center that drew visitors from well beyond the local population and accommodated many distinct cultural groups and people of varied social stations. Stylistically nonlocal ceramics have been found in virtually every excavated locality, all together representing a large portion of the Southeast. Along with an overview of this important and unique mound complex, this book also provides a reassessment of roughly contemporary centers in the greater Midsouth and Lower Mississippi Valley and challenges past interpretations of the Hopewell phenomenon in the region Provides a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of the largest Middle Woodland mound complex in the American Southeast. The Pinson Mounds complex includes at least thirteen mounds, a geometric earthen embankment, and contemporary short-term occupation areas within an area of about four hundred acres. Robert C. Mainfort Jr. is an archaeologist with the Arkansas Archeological Survey and professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas. He is coeditor of Mississippian Mortuary Practices: Beyond Hierarchy and the Representationist Perspective and author of Sam Dellinger: Raiders of the Lost Arkansas