TIMOTHY R.

PAUKETAT
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
THOMAS E. EMERSON
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency

The Ideology of Authority and the

Power of the Pot

Ramey Incised pots appear to have been manufactured at and dispersed from centers of chief
authority during the 11th-12th centuries A.D. in a portion of the Mississippi Valley. Based
an analysis of motif design, meaning, and the archeological context of vessels, an elite ideolog
appears indicated in which chiefly lords were the mediators of the cosmos. This archeologi
perspective in political ideology begins to address the larger questions of the long-term dynam
ofpre-state polities.

To be vested with enormous authority is a fine thing; but to have the on-looking world co
to it is a finer.
-Mark Twain (1971[1889])

POTS AND POWER AT FIRST MAY SEEM quite unrelated. The "primary function" of
pots, one might assume, would be simply to contain consumables, a mundane task.
Yet, it is in this capacity that ceramic vessels also serve in the mediation of political
power. We focus here on the role of vessel symbolism in the context of a pre-state, elite
ideology. Specifically, we examine the symbolism of the Ramey Incised jar from the pre-
historic Mississippian polity centered at Cahokia. The complete prehistoric-cultural
meaning of this symbolism is probably beyond our grasp, as perhaps it was to many Mis-
sissippians. However, the particular combinations and permutations of design elements
result in a homogeneous style, enabling contextual analysis (Emerson 1989:47).
It has been argued in the past that certain Mississippian objects were easily recognized
"visual markers" of rank or status, serving to emphasize and communicate such distinc-
tions (e.g., Brown 1971:101, 1976b; Peebles 1971:69). Knight (1989) suggests that some
Mississippian symbolic representation actually may have aimed at obscurantism rather
than being a form of communication between social strata. He argues that control of es-
oteric knowledge was a basis for elite power; consequently, at least some elite-related
symbolism was designed to mystify rather than communicate (see Phillips and Brown
1984:xx).
Neither of these arguments adequately conveys the cultural significance of the Ramey
Incised pot. We instead stress the role of Ramey symbolism within the context of com-
munal, agricultural "rites of intensification" (Chapple and Coon 1942; see Knight
1981:55). Rites of intensification (as opposed to ordinary rites of passage) are calendri-
cally based, community-focused rites that play a critical role in the resolution of cosmo-
logical discontinuities in the annual ritual sequence. Such rites are based on community-

TIMOTHYR. PA UKETA T is Visiting Research Associate, Department ofAnthropology, University ofIllinois, Urbana, IL 61801.
THOMAS E. EMERSON is Chief Archaeologist, Division of Preservation Services at Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Old
State Capitol, Springfield, IL 62701.

919

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920 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93, 1991

wide participation, which requires a symbo

ble to the masses. This text, we contend, is
The symbolic meaning of Ramey Incised v
individual design motif and that of the wh
are interpreted as components of the symb
pears to have been an active element of
an elite-subsidized product made for use in
American Bottom commoners via the Ra
elite are the critical mediators between c
bility rests in the hands of the elite.

The Ideology of Authority

Ideology is neither "false consciousness"

systems of discursive knowledge, belief
mize the social status quo through an app
ferents (see Bloch 1989:129; Giddens 1979
1979:16). These systems of knowledge, belie
viduals within interest groups (a.k.a. sub
position, as these subgroups represent node
(see Gramsci 1971:324, 327). Ideologies ar
sciousness of individuals.
Ideologies are dynamic entities, expressing or projecting values and beliefs (in r
contexts) which themselves are open to various interpretations within a larger sphere
social negotiation (see Bloch 1977, 1986). To the extent that subgroups share the
of a dominant subgroup, we may speak of a "dominant ideology" relative to subal
ideologies. This is not to suggest that such a dominant ideology represents a perv
world view. Instead, attention is to be focused on the dynamic configuration of a cult
hegemony wherein individuals are alienated from their "traditional" values-to gr
or lesser extent through time-by the acceptance of the values and ideas of ano
subgroup (see Abercrombie, Hill, and Turner 1980; Gramsci 1971; Silverblatt 1988;
paport 1979:132-133).
An integral and dynamic component of political hierarchies are elite ideologies (Bloc
1977, 1986; Bourdieu 1979; Godelier 1978, 1983; Marx and Engels 1967:39; Sa
1981:13ff.). For instance, the chiefly elites of pre-state hierarchical formations view th
selves as vested with authoritative political and religious powers, and seek to perpetua
this ideology; this is accomplished through the appropriation of traditional kin-based
ics and cosmological precepts (Wright 1984:47-49; Wolf 1982:96-99). Centralized r
sponsored by these elite individuals-including rites of intensification-provides
context for the perpetuation or diffusion of this ideology (see Bloch 1986, 1989).
reproduces the established social relations of production, we may conclude that the eli
ideology is inseparable from the political economy (see Godelier 1978; Helms 1979; Mar
cus and Fischer 1986:85; Sahlins 1981, 1985).
Elite ideologies are expressed symbolically in a variety of material and nonmate
dimensions. A primary means by which archeologists gain an understanding of ideolog
is through formal analyses of iconography or contextual studies of symbolic mea
(e.g., Brown 1976a; Hodder 1982; Marcus 1989; Pollock 1983). Symbolic meaning is
terpretable because of the structured, nonarbitrary, contextual constraints that provi
symbolic expression with meaning (Hodder 1989). "This has to be the case, or the powe
of symbols in relation to the ordering of social life would be negated" (Shanks and Til
1982:132). Iconographies are "texts" and, if we seek to understand elite ideologies
active components of the political economy, then, logically, symbolic meanings must
"read" (Hodder 1989).

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Pauketat and Emerson] POWER OF THE POT 921

Cahokia, Redistribution, and Rame

An isolated expanse of the central Mississippi Ri

locally known as the "American Bottom," was the
Mississippian political formation during the 1
Lewis 1991; Milner 1990). Here, adjacent to moder
administrative center known as "Cahokia" are to b
of a series of smaller subsidiary centers and sc
Esarey and Pauketat 1991; Milner 1990; Milner

414

hht;

TCahokia

0 10

kilometers

Mississippian Center
Possible Center I
N mA=I

Figure 1
Map of the northern American Bottom showing Mississippian centers.

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922 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93, 1991

Cahokia itself covers about 14 square kil

mounds, many of which are truncated pyr
been situated. The largest of these, the cen
over the surrounding floodplain (Fowler
scale labor projects involving land leveling
areas, open plazas, palisade walls, and elit
eminger et al. 1990; Milner 1984, 1990). It i
the paramount center of Cahokia at its a
in the surrounding hinterland (cf. Milner 1
The chiefly ideology associated with the M
ican Bottom is suspected to have legitimi
propriation by elite individuals through a p
A vital component of such a cultural hegem
the periodic redistribution of comestibles.
mobilized consumables probably included gr
essential for the centripetal movement of
tributions by the elite.
Emerson (1989:63-67) has cogently argu
"quasi-sacred" ware produced by a limited n
in elite-sponsored ritual events during the
is based on archeological evidence from the
toric accounts of the elite-mandated produ
of vessels in Green Corn ceremonialism am
North America (Witthoft 1949:63; see al
cheological evidence for this argument co
made and have standardized paste and mo
itarian vessels; (2) have broad, simple des
lack stylistic antecedents; and (4) are relativ
primary-producer settlements within the (
Ramey Incised jars-semi-globular vesse
rims, and constricted mouths-are tempered
exterior surfaces featuring polished slips; t
terized by broad incised or "trailed" lines (s
ically, these jars seem to have involved sub
to have been constructed in two parts. The
its interior was typically scraped to thin t
on later. The surface finish of the containe
terior surfaces were not only slipped but
similar treatments may have been given so
ing or food-preparation containers typicall
son 1984; Holley 1989; Pauketat 1987; Por
Porter (1964:18-19; Palmer 1967 cited in
diversity of Ramey Incised jars compar
Cordmarked). Based on an analysis of th
pots were manufactured over a "relativel
opmental sequence" and "a few family po
niques, could have produced all of the R
analysis of shell-tempered jar sherd thin
ketat (1990b) illustrates the same pattern
of the percent of shell temper/percent of n
that Ramey Incised jars (mean = 10.25,
diversity than other shell-tempered jar
paste diversity may not mean that all Ra
family potters" at Cahokia, but it does supp

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Pauketat and Emerson] POWER OF THE POT 923

Incised jars may have been centralized-contro

conducted by numerous potters using a diversity
Bottom region.
In their original context at Mississippian cen
used as containers for ritual medicines and food
bution of these vessels at administrative cente
and quality of the pots received by individual
social prominence among other things. They wer
sets at Cahokia, where they have been found pre
sessions in two burned domiciles (Holley 1989
the Ramey pots, particularly the biggest ones, a
visible locations has been used to suggest that the
(Pauketat 1987:7).
Ramey Incised jars have a considerable size ra
8 to 50 cm and vessel depths range from arou
Ramey Incised jars vary from around one or
Green Corn or "Busk" ceremonies often were th
feasting, and consumption of medicines (Howa
Big ceremonies require big pots. It seems obvi
transport the largest vessels when full. If the p
manufactured and subsequently employed to t
trative centers, then the size distribution of the
should appear clinal. Bigger pots would not h
while smaller ones would have been easier to
appear to support (Figure 2). A weak negative
5, p > .10) exists between the relative frequency
ceramic assemblages and distance from Cahok
rer 1982; Pauketat 1986, 1989:table 3; Pauketa
relationship undoubtedly was affected by, am

Sites 0
16
Cahokia
Olszewski
14 McCain
Turner-DeMange

o o 12
o

10 Mitch

8 Range
0 10 20

h, Dis

Figure 2
Plot of decreasing mean Ramey Incised jar size with distance.

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924 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93, 1991

rates of small versus large Ramey Incised p

tlement (Pauketat 1989) and the temporal
or 12th century A.D.'
While Ramey Incised jars make up a minor
stead sites dating to the 1l th-12th cent
among the broken vessels from almost all s
1989:295-299). It may be suggested that o
ministrative center(s)-passed on to the n
ings decreased as they entered the mund
other hand, we cannot eliminate the possib
ceremonialism. Comprehensive analyses of v
based on assemblages of sherds in rural ref
Outside the American Bottom proper, the
imitated exchange item, rare and wid
1980:map 19, 1991:table 4.5). The dispers
their imitations) or simply the spread of t
Mississippian political centralization and th
sippian elite.

Motifs and Meaning

Griffith (1981) has provided the only at
design structure. She focused on design sym
ment and the entire design field (Griffith
to begin an analysis of vessel symbolism
breviated adaptation of Griffith's. The sym
interpreted by considering (1) some cosmol
cultural traditions in central and eastern N
ological evidence.
An essential bulwark of our interpretive a
using the ethnohistoric and ethnographic d
central and southeastern North America as
ography. Such an approach has proved us
itive links between historically recorded
Mississippian ritual features and icons on
say that we may speak of a pan-southeast
defined the world in the same way for a
acceptance of a rigid dominant ideology the
Knight 1981:127). On the other hand, rec
tween the widespread iconographic evide
cosmological themes documented in the
North America (e.g., Brown 1976a, 1985
1989, 1991; Knight 1981, 1986; Phillips an
was significant synchronic and diachronic v
cosmological themes. However, it is impo
North American midcontinent and south
similar because of the long-distance inter-e
riod (see Brown 1976a, 1989; Emerson an
The first step in our analysis of Ramey Inc
primary design elements. These we will lab
ment" (cf. Griffith 1981:16; Emerson 1989:7
ing Emerson's (1989:68-70) categories I-V
Center elements are those that radiate, r
symmetrical or asymmetrical (Figures 3 an

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Pauketat and Emerson] POWER OF THE POT 925

ADJUNCT CENTER ADJUNCT

ELEMENT ELEMENT ELEMENT

Figure 3
Ramey motif elements: A-C, Motifs with center and stratified adjunct elements; D, Ad-
junct elements showing simple stratification; E, Adjunct elements showing complex strat-
ification.

space between, and thereby alternate with, center elements, or those in which nodal
points are absent or implicit. "Implicit" here refers to the suggestion of a center that lies
beyond the bounds of the motif itself (Figure 3, D-E). Most of the adjunct elements ex-
hibit vertical bilateral symmetry (Griffith 1981:8-11). The majority of center elements
co-occur with adjunct elements, but the reverse is not always the case (Figure 4). In fact,
over half of the vessels analyzed by Griffith (1981:8) are decorated only with adjunct
elements.
Center elementsfocus design around a specific locus, sometimes evoking a sense of cen-
tripetal motion using a swirling curvilinear volute. Adjunct elements are located in the
spaces between foci, even if those foci are not explicit components of the motif. In the
absence of explicit center elements, adjunct elements may constitute the de facto foci of
design. Significantly, almost all (about 88%) of the motifs that display adjunct compo-
nents (36 of Emerson's [1989:chart I] 41 category subdivisions excluding categories VII-
IX) exhibit some degree of layering or "stratification" of the curvilinear or linear com-
ponents of the element. These strata may be either simple or complex relative to the pri-
mary motif axes (Figures 3 and 4).
There are at least four motifs that deviate somewhat from the above design structure:
the forked or "weeping" eye, the diamond-and-dot (or nested diamonds), the diagonal
lines, and the elongate, bi-pointed oval or "blade" (Figure 5; see also Phillips and Brown
1978:207). The former two may be viewed as center elements, but do not involve adjunct

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926 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93, 1991

MOTIFS WITH CENTER ELEMENTS

MOTIFS WITH ADJUNCT ELEMENTS ONLY

Figure 4
Selected Ramey motifs.

elements in their design. The diagonal lines, diamond-and-dot, and blade motifs rarely
appear on Ramey Incised vessels (see Dick 1955:fig. 14; Holley 1989:fig. 40k). Other
anomalous motifs appear on single Ramey Incised jars from Cahokia (Figure 5).
Among the themes that run through Native American cosmologies in the North Amer-
ican Plains, Prairie, Great Lakes, and Southeast is the notion that the cosmos included
upper and lower "worlds" inhabited by distinctive beings (e.g., Blair 1912:49; Bowers
1965:297ff.; Feest 1986:6ff.; Fletcher and La Flesche 1911:134-141; Hudson 1984:1 1ff.;
Jones 1939:22; Prentice 1986:250-255, 261; Radin 1990[1923]:120, 302ff.; Rajnovich
1989:181). Hudson (1976:123, 125-126) summarizes southeastern North America as fol-
lows:

The Upper World epitomized order and expectableness, while the Under World epitomized dis-
order and change, and This World stood somewhere between perfect order and complete chaos.
In the Upper World things existed in a grander and purer form than they did in This
World. ... The Sun and the Moon ... were of the Upper World. ... The Sun, the source of all
warmth, light, and life, was one of the principal gods. ... The earthly representative and ally of
the Sun was sacred fire, the principal symbol of purity.
The sun (and fire) was, as Hudson notes, of central significance in southeastern Native
American cosmologies (Howard 1968:19-26; Swanton 1928c), as it was among certain
Plains groups (Hall 1985). Center elements in Ramey Incised design, whether isolated
circles or volutes, may have symbolized sun or fire. One central element from a single
Ramey Incised jar rim from Cahokia and another from the River Bend East site may be
readily interpreted as sun symbols (Figure 6; Hunt 1974:plate 8).
However, most "sun" symbols in the iconographies of late-prehistoric southeastern or
midcontinental Native Americans are actually "cross-in-circle" or "quartered-circle"

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Pauketat and Emerson] POWER OF THE POT 927

C
E F'

D G

Figure 5
Other motifs on Cahokia Ramey Incised jars: A-B, Weeping eye; C, Bi-pointed oval and
diagonal lines; D, Bi-pointed oval; E, Diamond-and-dot; F, Fish; G, Arrow. (A-C, F-G:
Gilcrease Institute, Oklahoma; D-E: Ceramic Repository, University of Michigan Museum
of Anthropology.)

symbols. The cross-in-circle or quartered-circle symbols of southeastern, northeastern,

and central North American groups symbolized the order of the cosmos, involving a "cen-
ter"-either denoting fire (hence the sun symbolism) or perhaps the point of articulation
between earth and sun or sky-and the cardinal directions or the four winds, each of
which was associated with different deities, powers, or values (see Bowers 1965:467; Feest
1986:7-9; Hall 1979:263, 1985; Hudson 1976:122, 127-132, 1984:11-12; Mooney and
Olbrechts 1932:21-26; Swanton 1928b:35). The diamond-and-dot, if interpreted as an
eye, is virtually interchangeable with the cross-in-circle in some contexts in southeastern
late prehistory (Waring 1968:35; see Hudson 1976:126), perhaps explaining its use as a
center element in Ramey design. Elsewhere in the Mississippi Valley, the cross-in-circle
grades into a spiraling swastika and ultimately a volute (Willoughby 1897:19). However,
this continuum of motifs linking the cross-in-circle with the volute does not characterize
Ramey symbolism, making tenuous the identification of the Ramey volute as a stylized
cross-in-circle.

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928 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93, 1991

0 3

centimeters

Figure 6
Ramey Incised jar shoulder sherd from Cahokia (Ceramic Repository, University of Mich-
igan Museum of Anthropology).

Emerson (1989:72ff.) has associated the center elements, especially the volute, and as-
sociated adjunct elements (i.e., the Ramey scroll) with serpentine and marine shell forms,
symbolizing Under World themes. Emerson, however, notes the association of these ele-
ments with others that appear to express Upper World themes. Spiral motion in the
dance or procession of certain southeastern groups also appears to have been associated
with maintaining Upper World order and negating Under World disorder (Emerson
1989:72-73). Consequently, the center elements of Ramey Incised motifs may have rep-
resented both Upper and Under World themes. The significance of sun, fire, and center
in the cosmologies of central and eastern North American native groups and the rota-
tional symmetry often characterizing cross-in-circle motifs may find stylized expression
in the Ramey volute. Yet at the same time, Ramey center elements may express the ser-
pentine symbolism of an Under World.
Adjunct elements constitute a complex permutation of another, perhaps symbolically
related, theme. The arc is a common component in many adjunct elements. The sugges-
tion that the nested arc motif represents the rainbow (Hall 1973) may be supported by
motif morphology (Figure 4, lower outer circle). Among the Creek, a rainbow was
thought to be a great serpent "cutter-off-of-the-rain" (Swanton 1928a:480). The Teton
Dakota considered rainbows as "sun snares" in much the same way that the dew on a
spider's web snares the sun's rays; arches also shared the meanings of circles (Hall
1979:263).
The "rays" associated with some Ramey arcs (Figure 4) might have connoted sun or
fire (Griffith 1981:17; Kelly 1984; cf. Phillips and Brown 1978:155). These "rays" are in
some instances located between two concentric arcs, the so-called "ladder" motif (Grif-
fith 1981:17), or even below the arc (Figure 4). With the exception of the transverse lines
or rays within the "ladder" motif, these same variations are paralleled by rectilinear mo-
tifs, that is, chevrons (Figure 4). The morphological unity of these motifs suggests some
level of symbolic unity as well, here interpreted as linked symbolically to the notion of a
sky vault, or arch. "The Southeastern Indians conceived of This World as ... suspended
from the vault of the sky.... [A]n Upper World existed above the sky vault, and an
Under World existed beneath the earth and the waters" (Hudson 1976:122). This notion
of a sky arch or dome is virtually synonymous with the notion of an Upper or Sky World
mentioned earlier and is recorded for Plains groups and eastern groups alike (e.g.,
Fletcher and Murie 1904:233; Parker 1989:432-441; Swanton 1928a:478; Weltfish
1977:97-98). The multiple layers or strata of the Ramey adjunct elements, nested arcs

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Pauketat and Emerson] POWER OF THE POT 929

and chevrons, even if containing elements of sun

symbolized such a sky arch and perhaps a layered
arcs may be related to the passing of the sun ben
nomenon of a rainbow may have reinforced the
resentation of a sky vault of sorts.
Arcs or chevrons with vertical lines projected
elements of certain "Ramey scrolls" have been co
(Emerson 1989:71) and so a synecdoche of falco
Upper World (Hall 1977:501, 1991:29; e.g., B
Fletcher and La Flesche 1911:218; Jones 1939:
reflect both the theme of a multileveled cosmolo
discussed above. Even the quasi-trapezoidal ad
outer circle) may be stylized motifs representing
cosmos.2
Certainly, the weeping eye motif is a synecdoch
ers (Hall 1977:501; see also Brown 1976a:126-1
motif (Figures 4 [upper outer circle] and 7 [ce
iconographic representations of falconoid tail fea
(Hall 1991:29-30; see Phillips and Brown 19
1988:fig. 9; Strong 1989). When these fans are tu
center elements (e.g., Figure 3, C; see Holley 1
pears much like the common Ramey scroll (Fig
an eye as well, another possible synecdoche of
Bird (Phillips and Brown 1978:150-152). Conve
haps symbolic of vaginal or anal orifices or th
"crest" in the middle of an Under World serpe
Brown 1978:153-154).' In either case these cou
beings associated with the earth and the Under W
Symbols have multi-referential, metonym
1967:29ff.). For instance, aspects of Under World
exist within the bounds of a single motif (Eme
exception of the weeping eye and other rare mot
cised motifs contain the morphological qualities o
gether (Figure 4). While center and adjunct ele
their own, motifs are probably subordinate to and
of meaning.
The motifs on Ramey Incised vessel rims are actu
the entire exterior surface of the vessel's inslant
vessel design fields depict a unified decorative the
division ofspace, each quadrant containing a center and
The quadripartite design field may be characteriz
or by two opposing sets (cf. Hudson 1976:317-318
motif co-occurrence, using the sample of vess
presented in Figure 8.
Each opposing motif generally represents a tran
9). On pots without bilaterally symmetrical moti
rotational symmetry at the level of design field i
ented within the field, elicit a feeling of continu
Shepard 1980:302-304). This design field unit
themes) was being conveyed by Ramey design in
dundant manner.
This theme of the quadripartition of space and the symbolic significance of a cen
point in American Bottom prehistory actually precedes Ramey iconography. Most
portant, Kelly (1990:92) has documented the existence of"central fourfold pit complexe

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930 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93, 1991

Figure 7
Ramey Incised design fields showing quadripartition, rotational symmetry.

often accompanied by a central post" in the open courtyards of the Emergent Mississip-
pian (A.D. 750-1000) community remains from the Range site. This pattern he interprets
as the incorporation of the quadripartite division of the cosmos in the community orga-
nization (Kelly 1990:92). Kelly further relates the presence of elite structures, fire, and
above- and below-ground facilities to the historically known "fire-sun-deity" and the
"upperworld-underworld" dichotomy. Other instances of the idea of quadripartition that
precede the earliest Ramey Incised pottery probably include the punctate decorations of
some Emergent-Mississippian and early Mississippian "seed jars" (local tecomate
forms), early Mississippian four-sided earthen platform mounds and rectangular plazas

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Pauketat and Emerson] POWER OF THE POT 931

#~
4 83

1 2.1

1 2.1

1 2.1

2 4.2

4 8.3

1 2.1

1 2.1

3 6.3

3 6.3

2 4.2

11
2291

3 6.2

1 2.1

10 20.8

Figure 8
Co-occurrence of design elements and motifs on Ramey Incised jars (from Emerson 1981).

(which appear by the Lohmann phase, A.D. 1000-1050), and perhaps the group of four
beheaded and behanded males entombed adjacent to a pit containing some fifty females
in Mound 72, an early Mississippian elite mortuary facility (Fowler and Anderson
1975:27).

Pots as Cosmos

The cross-in-circle, it will be remembered, may have served as a symbol of t

cosmos. Cardinal directions were, as earlier mentioned, associated with differe
the four winds, and so on; this may explain the presence of certain possible U
motifs in quadrants of a Ramey Incised jar rim. Indeed, one might expect to se
sentations of the cross-in-circle symbol in combination with additional empha
dinal points. This is precisely what is symbolized, for instance, by a variety of

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932 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93, 1991

shell, and copper objects from southeaster

Brown 1976b; Dickens 1976:168; Moore 19
facts exhibit a cross-in-circle motif surround
the design field parallels between these ite
It would appear that the rotational symmet
design field, with its centers and multilayere
theme, variously labeled the "looped-squar
(Muller, cited in Dickens 1976:168; Phillips
fice of the Ramey Incised jar in plan view, th
cross-in-circle motif. It also is important t
lished the inner lip surface of Ramey Incised
ders sometimes were decorated with appliq
ketat 1984, 1986, 1990a). All of these decor
sun/fire symbolism of the circular element
essentially in two dimensions (Figure 10, F
The pot, however, is a three-dimensional
object, the inslanted rim/design field, wou
potent symbolic reminder of the order of the
in the context of the square-cross. However,
user would have had to reach through and
and design field of the pot), that is, cosmolo

Oblique View

Plan View

Figure 9
Plan and oblique views of Ramey Incised jars.

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Pauketat and Emerson] POWER OF THE POT 933

A
B C
0 5
centimeters

D E

F G

Figure 10
Square-cross motifs: A-C, Shell gorgets (redrawn from Phillips and Brown 1978:183); D,
Shell gorget (redrawn from Holmes 1883:plate LVIII); E, Copper earspool (redrawn from
Brown and Hamilton 1965); F-G, Ramey Incised jar design fields (implicit cross high-
lighted, not to scale).

the pot perhaps was interpreted as derived from the earth and, in turn, linked cosmolog-
ically to an Under World (Emerson 1989; Prentice 1986). These contents also might have
been associated with feminine life forces-earth, fertility, Under World-or female ac-
tivities (e.g., agriculture, food preparation); the masculine realm may have included the
sky, the Upper World, warfare, and politics, as witnessed in ethnohistoric accounts and
ethnographic studies of central or southeastern North American groups (e.g., Bell
1990:332-336; Fletcher and La Flesche 1911:141; see Prentice 1986). Moreover, the pot

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934 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93, 1991

itself-as "culturally modified earth" (Kn

bol with the orifice representing a "navel"
ticulation between earth and sky or Under
the Ramey Incised pot would have recapitul
ciple in the Mississippian world of the Ame
within the social fabric since the Emergent
Conceivably, the very action of removing
the duration of the pot's use life-could hav
earth, fertility, the disorder of an Under W
diated by cosmological order (and, perhap
cessing the contents of the Ramey Incised
the cosmos, so this action would have been
subsidized the production of Ramey Incised
comestibles and medicines, as appears am
iconography and the pot itself may be co
ultimately toward the commoners-linkin
bolized by the pot (and thereby smoothing
If the Ramey Incised jar initially was invo
like the Green Corn ceremony, the meanin
more well defined even if incorporated late
hold. The subsequent use of the pot in the
holds, well documented in the archeolog
1984), may have served to remind these c
and sky, Under and Upper Worlds, fema
lords of American Bottom late prehistory,
decades, may have been situating themselve
aries, limits, periodicity, order, [and] stabi
of an Upper World (see Hudson 1976:127-12
rites of intensification. Such redundancy o

Upper World

Under World

Figure 11
The Ramey Incised pot and the Mississippian cosmos.

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Pauketat and Emerson] POWER OF THE POT 935

sary condition for the reproduction of political au

tance between Cahokia elite and American Bottom commoner.
Of course, the chiefly ideology most assuredly was neither static nor unidimensional
(Hodder 1986:64ff.). It is possible, for instance, that decorated bowls (Wells Broad
Trailed or "Ramey" plates) replaced Ramey Incised jars in centralized ritual by the la
12th and early 13th centuries A.D. These bowls do not usually exhibit motifs in quad
rants, but instead are dominated by unambiguous sun symbolism (Kelly 1984). Bot
vessel morphology and the sun symbolism may represent a shift in the form or content of
centralized ritual and/or the chiefly ideology. Also, it is probable that the reproduction
of an elite social stratum, distant and distinct from commoners, involved structured inter-
elite dialogue. While the chiefly ideology as it involved the Mississippian commoner may
have been expressed during the 1 1th-12th centuries A.D. in the idiom ofa Ramey Incised
pot, the Ramey Incised pot is not believed to have been a significant component of inter-
elite alliance and exchange networks within the American Bottom region.
The simple and redundant symbolization of cosmological order in the form of Ramey
iconography would not have defined the bounds of inter-elite discourse. This would have
been the realm in which other status-related craft goods circulated, some perhaps r
served for conspicuous display. Nonutilitarian axe heads or clubs and other nonceram
artifacts probably were reserved to an extent for elite display and exchange and, in fact,
may indicate another aspect of an elite ideology not shared with the non-elite-a "war
rior cult" (see Brown 1976a:126; Knight 1986:677ff.). As another instance, it is possib
that ornate serving and eating fineware containers, decorated with elaborate incised and
excised stylized design, reflect the complex symbolic dialogue characterizing the inter-
elite political landscape of the Mississippian world in the American Bottom. These de
signs often appear very different from Ramey design, some appearing to be imitations o
exotic vessels from the lower Mississippi Valley (Brown 1989:197; see Holley 1989).

Conclusion

The legitimation of chiefly authority was an active process that is project

involved the communication of the elite interpretation of the cosmos to
subgroups. Ramey Incised pots may be seen as the material expression of on
such elite-commoner discourse. The pots were imbued with the symbolism of o
erarchy, and religiosity and were thus an active medium for this discourse. In
of rites of intensification, like the Green Corn ceremony, the Ramey Incised ja
have been a vehicle not only for the "redistribution" of comestibles, but also fo
fusion of elite ideas. Even the rudimentary actions of commoners using Ram
pots (after they had been ceremonially distributed from the administrativ
may have provided a living metaphor of the role of elites-the source of th
mediators of cosmic forces.
This perspective into Mississippian symbolism identifies a significant locus of change
as political-ideological. That the size and regional influence of the Cahokia polity was
great, at least in terms of chiefdoms, may owe a considerable debt to the success of this
political ideology. Yet, the Mississippian political formation in the American Bottom un-
doubtedly was not a well-integrated monolith possessing a kind of organic solidarity. Pre-
sumably, the elite acted to maintain their authority; this action assumed different forms
in different social contexts. The history of such action and the concomitant actions of non-
elites might well be sufficient to account for the emergence and collapse of Cahokia, and
other Mississippian polities. Sherds of Ramey Incised pots provide a means of interpret-
ing the cultural milieu in which the long-term developmental trajectory of Cahokia must
be viewed.

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 936 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93, 1991

Notes

Acknowledgments. We thank Charles J. Bareis, Ned Hanenberger, and Mark Mehrer for sh
published data, and Gregory Perino for making available slides of sherds curated by the Gil
Institute. Gratitude is extended to Alex Barker, John Kelly, Randall McGuire, and Joyce Ma
for helpful comments on various drafts of the manuscript, and toJames A. Brown, Robert L
and James B. Griffin for insights provided in past discussions of Mississippian symbolism.
'Each plotted point in Figure 2 represents the transformed mean orifice diameter of Rame
cised jars using a polynomial regression equation (y = 28.269 - 3.541x + 0.123x2) based
sample of eight Mississippian jars from Cahokia. Some sites close to Cahokia, like BBB Motor
Lab Woofie contain only small Ramey Incised pots (Emerson and Jackson 1984; Mark Me
personal communication, 1986). This may be due to site function, the brevity of occupati
other sampling biases. The correlation of the number of Ramey pots and distance from Cah
based on the samples from the cited reports (both early and late Stirling ICT-II jars, Mitche
features 2-3, 7-8, 13-15, 27-29, 36, 42A, 53, 63, and Fill site features 10-11, 29, 32-33, 3
62).
20ther Cahokia vessels express the symbolism of vertical hierarchy. A number of "pedestalled"
bowls have been recovered at and in the immediate vicinity of Cahokia. For example, one has a
"terraced" contour and upper wall along with rim castellations and probable Upper World deco-
rative motifs (Pauketat 1987:fig. 9c).
3It was believed by the Cherokees that a warrior who could manage to take possession of this
UlNisui'ti would find it of great use in "hunting, love, rainmaking [and] ... life prophecy" (Moo-
ney 1900:298). Not a bad thing to possess, if one survived the attempt to obtain it.
4The quadripartition of the cosmos is, of course, a theme common to New World cultures. The
Ramey Incised design field is infrequently subdivided in some other manner (Griffith 1981:13, 15).
5These sorts of artifacts, featuring quadripartite division of space and rotational symmetry, have
been associated with Woodland remains dating from hundreds of years earlier (e.g., Greber and
Ruhl 1989:114-119; Hall 1979).
6Vessel color might have been significant as well. Most Ramey Incised jars had black slipped
surfaces, a color associated with death and dissolution in southeastern cosmologies (Hudson
1984:12) and perhaps a link to an Under World or to the renewal of cosmological balance during
a ritual event like the Green Corn ceremony. Other non-Ramey vessels were also plain surfaced
and red slipped. The lips of many Ramey Incised jars often were not reduced to a black color, but
were oxidized to a reddish color, perhaps symbolizing the sun-circle element of the implicit cross-
in-circle and the whole design field.

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