Group

Sinad

STEM-5
Feliciano

Sosoban

Deguzman

The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American civilization archeologists

date from approximately 800 CE to 1600 CE, varying regional.
[1] It was composed of a series of urban settlements and satellite villages (suburbs) (the
largest city being Cahokia, which is believed to be a major religious center) and linked
together by a loose trading network.
[2] that flourished from the southern shores of the Great Lakes at Western New York and
Western Pennsylvania in what is now the Eastern Midwest, extending south-southwest into
the lower Mississippi Valley and wrapping easterly around the southern foot of the
Appalachians barrier range into what is now the Southeastern United States.
[1] The Mississippian way of life began to develop in the Mississippi River Valley (for which
it is named). Cultures in the tributary Tennessee River Valley may have also begun to
develop Mississippian characteristics at this point. Almost all dated Mississippian sites
predate 15391540 (when Hernando de Soto explored the area),[citation needed] with
notable exceptions being Natchez communities that maintained Mississippian cultural
practices into the 18th century
Relating to the state of Mississippi.
1. GEOLOGY of, relating to, or denoting the early part of the Carboniferous period in
North America from about 363 to 323 million years ago, following the Devonian and
preceding the Pennsylvanian. noun
2. a native or inhabitant of Mississippi. 2. GEOLOGY the Mississippian period or the
system of rocks deposited during it.
The Mississippian (also known as LowerCarboniferous or Early Carboniferous) is
a subperiod in the geologic timescale or a subsystem of the geologic record. It is the
earliest/lowermost of two subperiods of the Carboniferous period lasting from roughly
358.9 to 323.2 million years ago. As with most other geochronologic units, the rock
beds that define the Mississippian are well identified, but the exact start and end dates are
uncertain by a few million years. The Mississippian is so named because rocks with this age
are exposed in the Mississippi River valley.
The Mississippian was a period of marine ingression in the Northern Hemisphere: the
ocean stood so high that only the Fennoscandian Shield and the Laurentian Shield stood

above sea level. Thecratons were surrounded by extensive delta systems and lagoons, and
carbonate sedimentation on the surrounding continental platforms, covered by shallow
seas.[2]
In North America, where the interval consists primarily of marine limestones, it is treated
as a geologic period between the Devonian and the Pennsylvanian. During the
Mississippian an important phase oforogeny occurred in the Appalachian Mountains. It is
a major rock building period named for the exposures in the Mississippi Valley region. The
USGS geologic time scale shows its relation to other periods.

The term "Carboniferous" comes from England, in reference to the rich deposits of coal
that occur there. These deposits of coal occur throughout northern Europe, Asia, and
midwestern and eastern North America. The term "Carboniferous" is used throughout the
world to describe this period, although in the United States it has been separated into the
Mississippian (early Carboniferous) and the Pennsylvanian (late Carboniferous)
Subsystems. This division was established to distinguish the coal-bearing layers of the
Pennsylvanian from the mostly limestone Mississippian, and is a result of differing
stratigraphy on the different continents. The Mississippian and Pennsylvanian, in turn, are
subdivided into a number of internationally recognized stages based on evolutionary
successions of fossil groups . These stages are (from early to late) Tournaisian, Visean, and
Serpukhovian for the Mississippian and Bashkirian, Moscovian, Kasimovian, and
Gzhelian for the Pennsylvanian.
During the Mississippian, the North American and Eurasian continents were part of a
northern supercontinent called Laurasia. The similarity between Carboniferous rocks
of Europe and North America is thus not coincidental, as the two regions were connected at
the time. South America, Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica were assembled into the
southern supercontinent of Gondwana. Polar glaciation was minimal, and Laurasia was
located near the equator. Tropical rainforests and swamps rich with vegetation that would
later become coal beds grew on exposed land, and shallow, tropical seas covered large
regions of the present-day American Midwest and South. Mississippian marbles and
limestones, filled with fossils of flower-like invertebrates called crinoids, intricate corals,
and other Paleozoic carbonate organisms, are exposed throughout the American Midwest.

Rare Gems and Minerals in Mississippi

The state of Mississippi is known to have rich and diverse specimens of fossils and petrified
wood dating back millions of years. Although, gemstones and minerals are not as readily found
in Mississippi compared to many other states, there are a few of them such as agates and
fulgurites that have been spotted at a few locations and are prized by collectors.
During the Late Devonian geological period, the northeastern region of Mississippi was
submerged under sea and therefore some marine fossils such as crinoids, brachiopods and
trilobites are found in the state. The geological period known as the Cretaceous left behind
fossils of marine species such as mosasaurs, cephalopods and sharks. The trees from the coastal
plains resulted in petrified wood. Thereafter, the Cenozoic period and the Eocene era lead to the
fossilized remains of Basilosaurus, Zygorhiza Kochii as well as petrified wood that can still be
found today.
Agate
The best place to search for agates in Mississippi is along the Mississippi River. The agate found
here is in the form of rounded as well as flat pebbles with bands of various colours. Some of the
colors that can be seen in the Mississippi agates are whites, pinks, reds, oranges, grays, creamy
browns, black and sometimes greens. The agates found in Mississippi River are generally small
pebbles, ranging as large as two to three inches long.
Fulgurites
When lightning strikes the Earth and causes the sand at a confined area to melt, it forms a unique
variety of quartz known as fulgurite. These are also known as petrified lightning. While the outer
structure of fulgurites is porous and made up of jagged sand particles, the inner part has a very
smooth structure.
Depending upon the kind of sand where lightning had struck, the various colors of the fulgurites
are translucent white, tan, black and green.
Petrified Wood

Petrified Wood was declared as the official state mineral of Mississippi in 1976. Petrified wood
found in Mississippi mostly belongs to the geological period known as Oligocene as old as 30
million years. During this period, the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico extended towards the north
of the state and as a result the fossils of trees and plants are found in abundance in the northern
region of Mississippi. However, petrified wood can also be found in the rest of the state along
various creeks and streams.

The best specimens of petrified wood can be found in the Mississippi Forest Area which is
located in the town of Flora that lies in Masidon County, Mississippi. Initially, petrified wood
from the site was identified in 1960s and later in the year 1966 the forest was designated as a
National Natural Landmark.
The Mississippi Petrified Forest is open for all visitors with a certain amount of fee. Visitors can
take a tour of the trail and visit the museum. However, collecting samples of the fossils is
prohibited.
Basilosaurus and Zygorrhiza Fossils

These prehistoric whale fossils belonged to the Cenozoic and Eocene geological period as old as
50 million years. They were declared as the official state fossils in 1981. Out of the two, the
Basilosaurus is more popular of the fossils due to its huge size. The Basilosaurus was around 50
to 80 feet in length with a small head and had a slender body. This made it appear as a sea
serpent.
The Zygorrhiza, on the other hand was smaller in size and not more than 20 feet long (still pretty
big!). They have been found near the town of Tinsley located in Yazoo County.
Some other fossils from the Cretaceous Period such as mosasaurs, cephalopods, oyster exogyra,
some boney fishes and sharks can be found near the concretions of boulders that are spread
around the Twenty Mile Creek located near Frankstown in Mississippi.
Shark teeth can also be found in The Tombigbee River Valley of Mississippi. Teeth can also be
found along the beaches at the Gulf of Mexico.
REFERENCES:
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]