Learning About and From Mississippian Women

The chapters in this volume demonstrate that Mississippian women were influential in most, if not all, aspects of their communities. Recognition of the significance of women’s roles in Mississippian societies has been slower than in other regions, largely because of the domination of the male-oriented chiefdom as the standard model of Mississippian political organization. New directions set by research in this volume open the way to more comparative studies of gender roles among Mississippian groups, including ideas about women’s roles in cultural coalescences and transfer of technology and ideology, as healers, and information about less positive aspects of the lives of these ancient women, including warfare, religious sacrifice, and slavery. For research, learning, and teaching about Mississippian women to continue, collaborations among today’s Indigenous peoples and archaeologists will need to identify and preserve sources of information that are essential for this important endeavour.