Gender, Craft Production, and Emerging Power in Mississippian Hierarchical Societies

The control of craft specialization is used in hierarchical societies to both attain and maintain power. For example, in the Mississippian world shell bead production at Cahokia and Moundville was located near or on mounds, suggesting chiefly control of production. At the same time, most Mississippian chiefdoms did not resemble Cahokia or Moundville. That is, Mississippian chiefly power varied and so did the role of crafting in that power. While craft specialization is a hallmark of hierarchical societies, its beginnings lie in craft production that includes ceramics, shell working, and fiber. In the Southeast many of these activities were likely done by women. The important role of craft specialization in Mississippian hierarchies begs the question then, what role did women play in the transformation of craft production into craft specialization and therefore what role did they play in Mississippian hierarchical power? At Mississippian frontiers power was more autonomous and gender roles may have been less rigid. This chapter explores the evidence for women’s craft production at a Mississippian frontier and discuss how craft production there played a key role in emerging power. It will also compare regional data to identify the range of women’s roles during the Mississippian period of Southern Appalachia.