ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 explores how paleoethnobotany contributes to understanding relationships among people in ancient societies through the example of Cahokia, the mound site at the heart of the Mississippian chiefdom in North America. The case study focuses on macroremains, organic remains from pottery residues, stable isotope data, and faunal data relevant to the emergence of elites and relationships among elites and nonelites at the scales of the community (site), subcommunity, and household. Differences in the social settings in which maize and other foods were produced and consumed, and in what abundances and forms, are discussed.
