- Cofitachequi
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A map showing the de Soto expedition route through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. Based on the Charles M. Hudson map of 1997
Cofitachequi was a paramount chiefdom encountered by the Hernando de Soto Expedition in South Carolina. They encountered the Chiefdom of Cofitachequi in April of 1540, at the Mulberry Site, a large mound at the junction of Pine Tree Creek and the Wateree River, near present-day Camden. A woman the chroniclers call the Lady of Cofitachequi was carried from the town to the river's edge on a litter that was covered with a delicate white cloth. They considered her the "chieftainness" of the villages.[1] After spending several weeks in the village, the Spaniards took the "Lady" and headed to the next chiefdom to the northwest, Joara.
They reported the people of the chiefdom to speak a Muskogean language, although the Chiefdom of Cofitachequi is the easternmost extent of this language family. There were three levels of political power at Cofitachequi. The orata was a lesser noble, seemingly in charge a village or a few villages. The mico was a great noble who occupied one of the administrative centers of the chiefdom, presumably complete with a mound. Above these was the gran cacique, the great chief or paramount chief. Lesser officials were ynihas, or ynanaes, who were chiefs' assistants, perhaps comparable to magistrates. The yatikas were interpreters and spokesmen. The culture of Cofitachequi was a variant of Lamar culture that was broadly comparable to the people of Ocute. [2]
Contents
Notes
- ^ Hudson, Charles M. (1997). Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun. University of Georgia Press.
- ^ Hudson, Charles M. (1997). Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun. University of Georgia Press.
References
- Hudson, Charles M., Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando De Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms, University of Georgia Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8203-1888-4
- Patricia Galloway, editor, The Hernando de Soto Expedition, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. ISBN 0-80322157-6
Other sites and personages encountered by the De Soto Expedition
- List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition
- Mississippian culture
- Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
External links
Pre-Columbian North AmericaArchaeological cultures North American pre-Columbian chronology – Adena – Alachua – Ancient Pueblo (Anasazi) – Baytown – Belle Glade – Buttermilk Creek Complex – Caborn-Welborn – Calf Creek – Caloosahatchee – Clovis – Coles Creek – Deptford – Folsom – Fort Ancient – Fort Walton – Fremont – Glades – Glacial Kame – Hopewell (List of Hopewell sites) – Hohokam – Leon-Jefferson – Mississippian (List of Mississippian sites) – Mogollon – Monongahela – Old Cordilleran – Oneota – Paleo-Arctic – Paleo-Indians – Patayan – Plano – Plaquemine – Poverty Point – Prehistoric Southwest – Red Ocher – Santa Rosa-Swift Creek – St. Johns – Steed-Kisker – Tchefuncte – Tocobaga – Troyville
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Related: Genetic history · Indigenous Portal of North America · Pre-Columbian era Categories:- Indigenous peoples of North America stubs
- South Appalachian Mississippian culture
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