Ceramic pots used as storage, Cahokia Mounds Museum.

Like the jars, pans, plates, and bowls found in our modern kitchens, Mississippian vessels undoubtedly served many functions, but were probably manufactured with a primary use in mind. Jars probably served two main functions. Seeds, nuts, dried fruits, and other foods could be stored in them, and they could also serve as cooking pots. Sometimes they may have also been used as a soaking container - to soak a hide that was in the process of being tanned - to leach an unpleasant taste from a nut or seed or to soften strips of wood and bark used in manufacture of basketry.

Much like those in our own cupboards, the primary function of Powell Plain plates and bowls was to hold part of an individual's meal or help in meal preparation. The context in which plates, bowls, and jars are found, in or near residential facilities, supports this interpretation. In contrast, Ramey-Incised plates and bowls, and effigy bowls are typically found in or near religious or civic structures indicating a specialized use in ritual consumption or ceremonial preparation of foods for civic or religious feasting. The remains of a hallucinogenic plant and an abundance of Ramey-Incised sherds associated with a temple structure at the BBB Motor site and, suggest that some Ramey-Incised vessels were used for plant preparation, presumably for ritualistic or religious consumption.

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