ONEOTA—MIDWESTERN MISSISSIPPIAN?
(MODULE 11)
Read: No particular readings (but look up Oneota in Fagan's index) or also,
E. Johnson (1978, The Prehistoric Peoples of Minnesota).
(Click here to go directly to the Lesson Overview for Module 11)
(Click here to go directly to the Syllabus Daily Topics Schedule for this lesson)
A. One group touched upon in our discussion of the Great Plains was the Oneota.
B. We will use this culture as an example of one upper midland culture.
C. This discussion—of Oneota as a discrete "culture"—illustrates why the breakdown of this course following the
traditional "culture-area approach" may be problematic—Why?
1. To discuss Oneota culture one should have a background in at least three other ancient North American
cultural systems:
a. Plains culture (as it relates to some of the ancient village cultures in places like western Iowa)
b. Woodland culture (as it relates to the Oneota in places like modern Red Wing, Minnesota)
c. Mississippian culture (as there are aspects of Oneota culture that may more relate to Mississippian
cultures further to the south)
2. Thus, discussion of Oneota culture provides an interesting insight into just how complex our
understanding of ancient North American cultural dynamic should be!
D. General characteristics of the archaeological Oneota:
1. Site size varies
a. 0.5 hectares (1.24 acres) on the small end to:
b. 14-16 hectares (35.6-40 acres) on the large size
2. Houses:
a. Oval or sub-rectangular in floor plan
b. 7.5-21.0 meters in length
c. Many probably were multifamily (i.e., analogueous to "longhouses")
d. Had deep underground storage pits
3. Villages:
a. Sometimes had 600-800 people
b. Sometimes stockaded
c. Located on flat river terraces above rich bottom lands
4. Artifacts:
a. Ceramics:
(1) Primarily shell tempered (sometimes crushed rock such as is found in Minnesota River sites)
(2) General decoration:
(a) Incised
(b) Cord impressed
b. Ground Stone:
(1) Ungrooved axes (celts)
(2) Round grinding stones
(3) Abraders
(4) Stone mauls
(5) Catlinite pipes (especially disk pipes)
c. Chipped stone:
(1) Arrow points (side-notched and not)
(2) Double-pointed knives
(3) Hide scrapers
(4) Drills
(5) Punches (suggesting hunting was still quite important).
E. Following the Woodland traditions, there was a shift toward cultural behavior patterned after those of the Mississippian
peoples of the Middle Mississippi area—especially those centered in areas such as:
1. Cahokia (we will be spending more time on these folks later)
2. Aztlan (between Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin)
F. Mississippian culture is most noted for:
1. Flat-topped temple mounds
2. Agricultural lifeway
3. Sizeable villages
4. Art and iconography—especially the:
a. "Southeastern Ceremonial Complex" otherwise known as the
b. "Southern Cult"
5. Characteristic ceramics
G. Mississippian then constitutes one of the most complex societies of ancient North America (maybe also in sociopoliticlal
terms—note Guy Gibbon's Ramey State hypothesis)
H. While perhaps not as architecturally productive, the Oneota of the Upper Mississippi Valley (i.e., the Bryan Site in the
Red Wing area) has characteristics that warrant its inclusion in the Mississippian cultural sphere.
I. Questions still exist about the origin and nature of the Oneota Culture:
1. Was it an intrusive form of Mississippian culture that came up from the south?
2. Was it an indigenous, local culture that adopted a Mississippian lifeway?—in other words:
a. Was it a local autochthonous Woodland Tradition at heart, with a Mississippian lifeway "topping"?
(1) A "foreign" elite "frosting" on a local Woodland "cake"?
(2) A local Woodland culture attempting to emulate those exotic Mississippian peoples?
3. What language, or languages, would have been spoken in Oneota villages?
4. Would people in such villages have considered themselves culturally the same as those found in other Oneota
villages? (i.e., was there a "common Oneota identity?")
J. So, just who might be the descendent communities of the ancient Oneota? (Discuss linguistic mosaic at the
time of white contact and make conjectures)
K. Terms related to discussion of ONEOTA—MIDWESTERN MISSISSIPPIAN?:
1. Mississippian culture in the Upper Midwest: meaning? where?
2. Cahokia: where? significance?
3. Aztlan: where? significance?
4. Mississippian: general characteristics?
5. "Southeastern Ceremonial Complex"—meaning?
6. "Southern Cult"—meaning and significance?
7. Oneota culture: controversies surrounding?
8. What is "Woodland" about Oneota?
9. What is "Mississippian" about Oneota? (i.e., Why is Oneota characterized as Mississippian in orientation?)
10. Characteristic Oneota villages—describe a typical example
11. Characteristic Oneota residential structure
12. Artifacts characteristic of the Oneota?
13. Artifact assemblage—as suggestive of what kinds of lifeways?
14. Cord-impressed ceramics
15. Side-notched arrow points
16. Disk pipes
17. Shell-tempered pottery—archaeological implications of this?
18. The origin and nature of the Oneota Culture—make some informed cases
19. Was it an intrusive form of Mississippian culture? If so, make the case
20. Was it an indigenous, local culture that adopted a Mississippian lifeway? If so, make the case
21. Was it a local autochthonous Woodland Tradition at heart, with a Mississippian lifeway "topping"? If so, make the case
about what you think
22. Was Oneota a "foreign" elite "frosting" on a local Woodland "cake"? If so, make the case
23. A local Woodland culture attempting to emulate Mississippian lifeways? If so, make the case
24. What language, or languages, would have been spoken in Oneota villages? Make an informed case
25. Was there a "common Oneota identity"? If so, make the case
26. Who might be the descendent communities of the ancient Oneota? Using what you have learned, make a case
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