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Southeastern Ceremonial Complex: Chronology, Content, Contest
A timely, comprehensive reevaluation of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.
One of the most venerable concepts in Southeastern archaeology is that of the Southern Cult. The idea has its roots in the intensely productive decade (archaeologically) of the 1930s and is fundamentally tied to yet another venerable concept—Mississippian culture. The last comprehensive study of the melding of these two concepts into the term Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC) is more than two decades old, yet our understanding of the objects, themes, and artistic styles associated with the SECC have changed a great deal. New primary data have come to light that bear directly on the complex, requiring a thorough reanalysis of both concepts and dating. Recent publications have ignited many debates about the dating and the nature of the SECC. This work presents new data and new ideas on the temporal and social contexts, artistic styles, and symbolic themes included in the complex. It also demonstrates that engraved shell gorgets, along with other SECC materials, were
produced before A.D. 1400.
One of the most venerable concepts in Southeastern archaeology is that of the Southern Cult. The idea has its roots in the intensely productive decade (archaeologically) of the 1930s and is fundamentally tied to yet another venerable concept—Mississippian culture. The last comprehensive study of the melding of these two concepts into the term Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC) is more than two decades old, yet our understanding of the objects, themes, and artistic styles associated with the SECC have changed a great deal. New primary data have come to light that bear directly on the complex, requiring a thorough reanalysis of both concepts and dating. Recent publications have ignited many debates about the dating and the nature of the SECC. This work presents new data and new ideas on the temporal and social contexts, artistic styles, and symbolic themes included in the complex. It also demonstrates that engraved shell gorgets, along with other SECC materials, were
produced before A.D. 1400.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published August 26, 2007
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March 30, 2017
this is essentially a collection of papers refuting the thesis of Brain and Phillips' 1996 book on the SECC. if that sentence is meaningless to you, you will not enjoy this book. that sentence is meaningful to me, and i *barely* enjoyed this book. everything is very convincingly argued, i'm sure – there are some impressive graphs and charts and maps of spatial distribution and data blahblah (archeologists, second only to bioanthropologists, cling to the venerable idea that anthropology is A Science, thankyouverymuch) – but it's quite boring, even by the standards of rigorous academic archeology. the only article that garnered it that third star is Alt and Pauketat's "Sex and the Southern Cult," which is incredible, perhaps enough so i'll end up buying this.
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