The Mississippian Period in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States, which lasted from about A.D. 800 to 1600, saw the development of some of the most complex societies that ever existed in North America. Mississippian people were horticulturalists. That means they grew much of their food in small gardens using simple tools like stone axes, digging sticks, and fire. Mississippian people also collected fish, shellfish, and turtles from rivers, streams, and ponds. Mississippian people liked to spend their outside rather than inside. The houses they lived in were mainly used for shelter from bad weather, sleeping in cold months, and storage. The houses they lived in were rectangular or circular pole structures; the poles were set in individual…show more content… The remains of a ceremonial earth lodge have been reconstructed and is a part of the Ocmulgee National Monument today. Mississippian people were organized as chiefdoms or ranked societies. Chiefdoms were a specific kind of human social organization with social ranking as a fundamental part of their structure. In ranked societies people belonged to one of two groupings, elites or commoners. Elites, who made up a relatively small percentage of chiefdom populations, had a higher social standing than commoners. This difference between elites and commoners is more on the ideological and religious beliefs than on wealth or military power. Because of these supernatural connections, elites received special treatment. They had larger houses and special clothing and food, and they were exempt from many of life's hard labors, like food production. The much more numerous commoners were the everyday producers of the society. They grew food, made crafts, and served as warriors and as laborers for public works…show more content… Although they do not fit the Western conception of art, these items establish a distinct artistic tradition. Using an essentially Stone Age technology, Mississippian people established gorgets which is a Native American art form of polished, carved shell pendants worn around the neck, cups, pendants, and beads made of marine shell. Many of the cups and gorgets carry complicated decorations. By flaking, carving, and grinding stone materials, Mississippian people created large blades, pipes, and figure celts. To create celts, they used copper working techniques. The working technique also help develop small ornaments, and large copper sheets bearing decorations like those on the gorgets and cups. After reading James Garber book, he states that “The Mississippian Period, he employed a different organization to approach the art of the era” (Garber 14). He got this from James Brown. In the Mississippian period, they did not use smelting. Smelting involves heating metal, but the Mississippians used a cold hammering instead. Cold hammering was used in the Mississippian period to make native copper nuggets and after that they would create the copper nuggets into thin sheets that were then shaped, cut, and embossed with