tter the reason, the lack of knowledge about these societies has caused many myths to arise about pre-contact Indian societies. However, these societies were very complex, thought out, and constructed to accommodate thousands of Native Americans. An example of these societies would be the Hopewellian culture, which was followed by the Mississippian culture. These societies disprove the myths of pre-contact Indian societies by the towering architecture, interactions with neighboring societies, and the societal hierarchy and roles played by the Mississippians and Hopewellians.

Likely the most well-known factor of these societies are their impressive mound-based cities and structures. One of the most awe-inspiring structures is the Great Serpent Mound in current-day Adams County, Ohio (Calloway, p.35). This mound is more than one thousand feet of dirt placed to resemble a serpent. Around 700 CE, one of the largest Mississipian towns, Cahokia, was founded. At its peak, Cahokia was home to “between ten thousand and thirty thousand [people], or about the population of medieval London,” (Calloway, p.33). The city contained plazas, religious hubs, and astronomical observatories.

The Mississippians interactions with their neighbors were just as impressive as the structures they built. When the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, the mound structures of the Mississippians were still thriving. Many mound towns were still hubs for population, trade, and ceremonial life. Due partly to the Spanish arrival, however, many of these societies collapsed because of “escalating warfare, epidemics, and slave raiding,” (Calloway, p.38). Before the arrival, there were many trade routes across America between different Mississippian societies and non-Mississippian societies alike. They traded goods like corn, squash, and flint, among other things.

The Mississippians had a distinct and unique society, culture, and hierarchy t