Bound and (En)tangled: Bundling and “Other Plants” in the Mississippian American Bottom

Author : Jenna Deep

Abstract :Investigation into Mississippian foodways is a burgeoning discipline with strong focuses on domestication, human-environment relations, and the importance of environmental resources in all areas of life. However, there are still blind spots in this research that are worthy of investigation. Particularly, plants which are difficult to categorize into the archaeological subsets of ritual, subsistence, or medicine have been discounted by the literature thus far as they do not aid in answering former research questions. Known as “other plants,” datura, morning glory, black nightshade, yaupon holly, and tobacco are found in a variety of Mississippian contexts, but their purpose in these contexts has yet to be explored. This paper discusses prior approaches to parsing other plants using case studies and ontological theories before discussing ethnographic accounts of other plant use. Ontology, ethnography, and archaeological evidences are then combined to produce an analysis of other plants that may align more closely with Indigenous worldviews and more accurately reflect the way that Mississippian peoples view their consumption. This paper argues that other plants deserve academic attention as they can enable researchers to elucidate Mississippian perceptions of their own foodways when combined with ethnographic and historical commentary.

Keywords :Cahokia, Plural Use, Archaeobotany, Ethnography.

Conference Name :International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, History and Philosophy (ICISSAAHP-25)

Conference Place Virtual, Manchester,UK

Conference Date 10th Dec 2025