In A History of Platform Mound Ceremonialism: Finding Meaning in Elevated Ground, Megan Kassabaum continues with the long tradition of mound research in the US Southeast, and she offers insights into the meaning of platform mound construction often overlooked by earlier generations of archaeologists. The volume will be of interest to archaeologists who work in and around the Southeast and have an interest in interpretations of the built environment. Kassabaum has assembled a remarkable amount of information from lesser-known sources covering a vast swath of the past.
Traditionally, archaeologists have cited the appearance of platform mounds (earthen architecture that supported activities on flat summits) as a proxy measure for the development of systemic inequality and unequal access to power in Native American societies in the past. The use and renewal of platforms signals to researchers that some people were able to co-opt communal activities and places, thereby obtaining and reinforcing elevated statuses. This perspective was prevalent around the turn of the millennium, when archaeologists were interested in tracing the development of complex societies, and when the US Southeast was deemed an excellent laboratory for interrogating the chiefdom form of society. By tracing the deeper history of these constructions and applying a novel amalgam of theoretical approaches, Kassabaum believes previous interpretations neglected important meaning-laden aspects of mound construction that subverted incipient elitism until late in the thirteenth or fourteenth century AD. She asserts that the transformation of platform mounds into elite spaces may be an aberration in a very long history of community-oriented action.
The book begins with a historical review of monumental construction in eastern North America. Kassabaum uses the discussion as a foil to engage a theoretical perspective that combines elements of time perspectivism with strands of historical-processualism to create “a more accurate and responsible understanding of the function and meaning of platform mounds” (p. 46). The narrative then transitions to a review of monumental construction and platform mounds, with chapters dedicated to in-depth reviews of Archaic and Woodland period constructions. She arranges the topics temporally and geographically and uses them to demonstrate that the construction and use of platform mounds has a deep time depth extending back 7,500 years. Researchers typically believe that during these times, groups were not led by genealogically determined leaders. This presents a conundrum because platform mounds are generally seen as a hallmark of Mississippian chiefdoms, but as Kassabaum shows, many examples of this mound form date much earlier.
The subsequent chapter shifts to an examination of the Lower Mississippi River Valley, where Kassabaum has undertaken multiple excavation campaigns at two platform mound sites. Platform mound construction by Late Woodland Coles Creek people is regularly seen as an inspiration for subsequent Mississippian platform mounds and may represent one of the best instances to study how elites came to power. Kassabaum sees continuity with earlier times where regular renewals were designed to increase community solidarity despite challenges by elites. Ultimately, she concludes that the construction of Coles Creek platforms mounds should not be taken as an a priori indicator of chiefly societies.
The volume is wide ranging and expansive. It touches on multiple themes, including history, multiscalar analyses, and multivocalic interpretation, which have percolated throughout the Southeast for over two decades. The volume should be considered a valuable contribution because it concentrates a great deal of information on mound construction in one place. It is a useful reference with an extensive bibliography.
Occasionally, attempts to connect findings from locations widely distant across space and time can be distracting. The ancient Southeast was a place with tremendous cultural variation, giving one pause to consider whether broad-scale generalizations are applicable at multiple temporal and geographic scales. Earlier generations of workers presumed the presence of sociopolitical hierarchies during Mississippian times, but since the 1990s, a variety of alternative modes of organization have been proposed. Consequently, Kassabaum's stark contrast between hierarchical Mississippian societies and pre-Mississippian peoples organized by other modes can sometimes feel contrived or overstated.
The apparent dearth of hierarchy in earlier times should be tempered with the realization that the material correlates of hierarchy may be masked, especially in locations where resources are abundant, or nonmaterial things—such as esoteric knowledge—were highly valued. In these cases, identifying whether the advantages of birth and inheritance were passed on or if meritocracy subverted familial ties may require researching the nature of hierarchy rather than asking about its existence. It is possible that existing hierarchies were simply unmasked during Mississippian times as technologies changed and the landscape became more densely populated.
Planned landscapes such as Poverty Point surely required some form of centralized leadership and knowledge to execute—certainly more than the less grandiose platforms. On the one hand, their basic theme may be similar, but on the other, actualization through time and across different scales may have been radically different. As Kassabaum demonstrates, there is much to learn about platform mounds and their contexts, especially when we continually question previous assumptions and typologies. Researchers should continue in the spirit of this volume by taking more nuanced, multiscalar approaches and with the recognition of the tremendous variation that is subsumed in existing categorizations.
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by the book review author do not necessarily reflect the official position of the US National Park Service, the Midwest Regional Office, or the Midwest Archeological Center.
