Bottle Mississippian, 1300-1500 The National Museum of the American Indian

Archaeologists working at the Ortona site in the late 1990s and early 2000s were astounded to find “landscaping” in the shape of the scepters carried by the Maya elite in the Yucatan Peninsula. Both a mound and a ceremonial pond were over 100 yards/meters long. The discovery has great significance for the understanding of how cultural ideas traveled around the Caribbean Basin and North America, prior to the arrival of European explorers.

Vessel Mississippian, 1400-1600 The National Museum of the American Indian

Bowl, Bird Head on Rim Date: 11th–14th century Geography: United States, Missouri Culture: Mississippian Medium: Ceramic Dimensions: Height 4-3/4 in.