Copper box turtle shell-effigy-rattle, Mitchell site.

Non-wetland species seem to be poorly represented in Mississippian art from the American Bottom. As mentioned, the lack of deer is surprising. Rabbits and squirrels, which occur in other midwestern zooarchaeological assemblages, are not represented either. Bear effigy bowls and stylized images of raccoons are known from other parts of the Mississippian world, but not the American Bottom. Box turtle shells have a long history of use as a shaman's or priest's rattles and are known from Mississippian contexts in the American Bottom. Few other terrestrial animal are depicted in Mississippian art. Following the logic outlined above, it seems possible that non-wetland animals, with the exception of humans, were not nearly as important in the Mississippian world as wetland animals.

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