Beaker from Tract 15A, Cahokia site. |
The circle in a cross design motif apparently has several meanings. Again, it
may symbolize the importance of the four cardinal directions. It may also be a
shorthand representation of the sacred fire, itself a representation of the
sun. Finally, when dissected, the motif may symbolize the Mississippian world
where the circle represents the physical world, the ends of the cross signify
the teathering of the upper, lower, and physical worlds to the horizon, and the
cross represents the sun.
It may be that even the process of building a mound symbolizes the physical structure of the Mississippian ideological world. Dirt from the lower world is brought to the world of the living and piled up to better reach the upper world thereby improving the elite's ability to communicate with both worlds. Thus, the mounds represent conduits through which power and information flow between the three structural components of the Mississippian world. |