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A Datura Ritual Complex in the Mississippian Southeast
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 August 2025
Abstract
In the American Southwest and northern Mexico, it has long been argued that ceramic vessels with exterior surfaces that are covered with small nodes are Datura seed pod effigies. Datura is a genus of flowering plants containing psychoactive alkaloids that, when consumed, can induce hallucinations. Scholars have argued that these noded vessels were part of a ritual complex originating in Mexico and spreading throughout the Southwest. In his 2012 article, Lankford hypothesized that this ritual complex made its way into the southeastern United States based on the presence of the ceramic type Fortune Noded in the Mississippi River Valley. In this article, we evaluate three hypotheses suggested by Lankford. Our absorbed residue study did not support his first hypothesis that Fortune Noded vessels were directly related to Datura consumption. However, existing archaeological data do support the idea that a ritual complex including noded vessels moved through the Caddoan region to the Central Mississippi Valley. Those data also confirm Lankford’s final hypothesis that Datura was used in Mississippian period contexts in the Central Mississippi Valley. We conclude that Lankford’s hypothesis has merit and suggest that noded vessels and other ritual equipment be considered inalienable objects that moved through a network of ritual practitioners.
Resumen
En el suroeste de Estados Unidos y el norte de México, durante mucho tiempo se ha argumentado que las vasijas de cerámica cuyas superficies exteriores están cubiertas con pequeños nudos son efigies de vainas de semillas de Datura. Datura es un género de plantas con flores que contienen alcaloides psicoactivos que, cuando se consumen, pueden inducir alucinaciones. Los estudiosos han argumentado que estas vasijas con nudos eran parte de un complejo ritual que se originó en México y se extendió por todo el suroeste. En su artículo de 2012, Lankford planteó la hipótesis de que este complejo ritual llegó al sureste de los EE. UU. En función de la presencia del tipo de cerámica Fortune Noded en el valle del río Mississippi. Evaluamos tres hipótesis sugeridas por Lankford. Nuestro estudio de residuos absorbidos no respaldó su primera hipótesis de que los recipientes con Nodos de la Fortuna estaban directamente relacionados con el consumo de Datura. Sin embargo, los datos arqueológicos existentes respaldan la idea de que un complejo ritual que incluía vasijas con nudos se movió a través de la región de Caddoan hasta el valle central del Mississippi. Esos datos también confirman la hipótesis final de Lankford de que la Datura se usó en contextos del período Misisipí en los contextos del Valle Central del Misisipi. Concluimos que la hipótesis de Lankford tiene mérito y sugerimos que las vasijas con nudos y otros equipos rituales se consideren objetos inalienables que se movieron a través de una red de practicantes rituales.
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