Cat monsters and head pots

About this book

Destined to become a classic in North American archaeology, Cat Monsters and Head Pots is a groundbreaking account of the late-period archaeology of one small but archaeologically important region of the central Mississippi River valley - an area bordering Pemiscot Bayou in modern Pemiscot County, Missouri. The sites from this period - the late Mississippian period, A.D. 1300-1540 - have been a lure for decades, primarily because of the exquisite pottery and Spanish artifacts that they produce. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the University of Missouri mostly through the efforts of the late Carl Chapman, undertook a series of excavations in Pemiscot County. This work preceded considerable site destruction through land leveling and road construction, so what was recovered is often all that remains of the vast quantities of materials once preserved in the sites. Cat Monsters and Head Pots, based on the notes and photographs from the excavations, as well as on public and private collections of artifacts excavated over the years, fills a tremendous void in the archaeological history of the central Mississippi Valley. Presented for the first time are site maps showing exactly what areas were excavated and what was recovered. Vessel photographs are included to give the reader an accurate picture of the range of pottery recovered from different sites. . Reconstructing the environment of southeast Missouri during the time in question, O'Brien argues that this knowledge is crucial to an understanding of how prehistoric peoples used the region and how they adapted to a cypress swamp that was almost impenetrable until the land was drained in the late nineteenth century. Because of the paucity of reported data from sites in this important locale, many archaeological myths have grown up about the way things were along Pemiscot Bayou 600 years ago. However, thanks to O'Brien's important work, those fictional tales can now be weighed against all the available evidence. Professional and amateur archaeologists alike will laud this exciting and extremely valuable new resource.