Eveland: An Early Mississippian Ceremonial Center

Eveland: An Early Mississippian Ceremonial Center. . Nine centuries ago, small settlements of the Cahokia Mississippian culture from the south appeared along the Illinois river valley here. These people transformed the local Woodland culture, as evidenced by the appearance of shell-tempered pottery, rectangular houses, and ceremonialism that included extended burials, platform mounds, and several types of ceremonial buildings. Within a few generations, the influence of this cultural phase, which we refer to as "Eveland" after the site on which you are standing, resulted in the development of a large, stable population with a complex society now called "Spoon River Mississippian." , Although many of the Eveland phase sites consist of single homesteads or small groups of houses, the Eveland Site itself apparently served as a ceremonial center for a number of these habitation sites. , Associated with this center, but on the bluff above, was a rectangular, flat-topped mound around which were placed several low burial mounds. The flat-topped mound was probably used for mortuary ceremonies. , (captions:), ·Most of the structures excavated at the Eveland Site, such as a large rectangular building, a round building, and a cross-shaped building, appear to have served for ceremonies rather than as dwellings. , ·The Eveland Site was excavated from 1958 to 1960 by the Illinois State Museum, under the direction of Dr. Joseph R. Caldwell., The field crew that excavated the Eveland Site in 1960.