The Cloverdale archaeological site ( 23BN2) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

located near present-day St. Joseph,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. It is situated at the mouth of a small valley that opens into the Missouri River. Excavations have shown that the site was first occupied by Kansas City Hopewell (c. 100 to 500 CE) peoples. Hundreds of years later, it was occupied by

Steed-Kisker The Steed-Kisker culture is a cultural phase (name that archaeologists give to a group of culturally similar peoples) that is part of the larger Central Plains Village tradition of the Plains Village period. This term applies to the prehistoric pe ...

peoples (c. 1200) in the area of present-day Kansas City, Missouri. They were originally thought to be of the

Plains Village period The Plains Village period or the Plains Village tradition is an archaeological period on the Great Plains from North Dakota down to Texas, spanning approximately 900/950 to 1780/1850 CE. On the west and east, Plains villagers were bounded by the ...

or tradition that was widespread in the central plains. But archeologists have found evidence of significant differences, including habitation in farmsteads rather than villages, and pottery and building design more similar to the Middle Mississippian found at

Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...

, east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

, than to what was typical of the Plains Village. For instance, a house excavated at Cloverdale was similar to some at Cahokia: small, rectangular and partially subterranean, with wall posts set in individual holes. In addition, Middle Mississippian shouldered jars with incised decoration were found at Cloverdale; these were typical of Cahokia style, as were water bottles, bean pots, and certain effigy forms found here. Other Mississippian items were many projectile points found at this site. They have concluded that from about 1000-1250 CE, the people were migrants from Cahokia and similar Mississippian centers. The people increasingly adapted to local culture, resources and materials, developing a tradition that combined Mississippian and Plains elements.O'Brien, Patricia J. "Steed-Kisker: The Western Periphery of the Mississippian Tradition.: ''Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology'' 18 (1): 281-283, 1993 Cahokia had developed a major urban center to the east of the

, featuring numerous platform mounds and other forms of major earthworks, and gathering a large, dense population. It was the largest and central urban center of the Mississippian culture, which extended throughout the Ohio and Mississippi valleys and into the Southeast.

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Kansas City Hopewell Middle Mississippian culture Buildings and structures in St. Joseph, Missouri Archaeological sites in Missouri 1st-century establishments 11th-century disestablishments in North America {{NorthAm-native-stub

See also

References

External links