A Moundville Indian skull that was not flattened.
This Moundville Indian skull shows the result of artificial head-flattening.
Their dress and ornamentation.
Leather and fabrics woven of vegetable fibres were fashioned into garments. In extremely cold weather robes made of feathers may have been worn over the rest of their clothing.
The Moundville Indians, both men and women, were fond of personal adornment. They wore ear plugs, bracelets and arm bands of copper, and beads and pendants of bone, stone, shell and copper. Many of their pendants, carved with intricate and delicate designs, would invoke the envy of women of today. Long hairpins were made of bone, and considerable time was devoted to hairdressing.
A STONE PENDANT ONCE WORN BY A MOUNDVILLE INDIAN.
Their houses.
From virgin forests the Moundville Indians gathered logs and poles to construct frameworks for their homes. Of reeds and canes gathered along the river they wove house walls, plastering them with thick coatings of moistened sand and clay. Thatched roofs were made of heavy swamp grass. A hole was left in the center to serve as a chimney. The floors were of hard-packed clay frequently covered with sand. These structures were neat, comfortable and weatherproof.