Mound Construction, an indication of service, reverence, religious devotion, or obedience?
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Just how did the Mississippian elite attain this control over resources
and entice the population to provide labor and surplus food and other goods to
the chiefly clan? What did the chief do with the labor and food surplus? Was
the Mississippian chiefdom marked by stability and peaceful relations, or is
there evidence of conflict in the American Bottom? How far did the ruling
Cahokia elite's power extend? Did they have absolute control over the daily
lives of all American Bottom Mississippians? Or, did their power and wealth
merely create a following just outside of their kin group that they could rely
on for work and tribute? Did they exercise control over other Mississippian
people living outside of the American Bottom? Finally, how can these questions
and others about Mississippian politics be answered with archaeological data?
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