Timing and Consequences of the Introduction of Maize Agriculture in the Lower Mississippi Valley

Archaeologists in the Lower Mississippi Valley have generally assumed that corn, beans, and squash provided the subsistence stability and the surpluses necessary for the development of complex, stratified polities which existed during the Coles Creek period. Recent research indicates that maize was probably not an important part of the diet until after this time. Therefore, the introduction of maize-based agriculture had little impact on the formation of chiefdoms in Coles Creek culture. In this regard Coles Creek is different from early Mississippian; it is a distinct adaptation to the highly productive environment of the Lower Mississippi Valley.