Editing Alabama (section)

=== Pre-European settlement ===
[[File:Moundville Archaeological Site Alabama.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Moundville Archaeological Site]] in Hale County. It was occupied by Native Americans of the [[Mississippian culture]] from 1000 to 1450 CE.]]

[[Indigenous peoples]] of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years before the advent of European colonization. Trade with the northeastern tribes by the [[Ohio River]] began during the Burial Mound Period (1000{{spaces}}BC{{snd}}700{{spaces}}AD) and continued until [[European colonization of the Americas|European contact]].<ref name="NewYorkTimesAlmanac">{{cite news |url=http://travel2.nytimes.com/2004/07/15/travel/NYT_ALMANAC_US_ALABAMA.html |title=Alabama |date=August 11, 2006 |work=The New York Times Almanac 2004 |access-date=September 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016195242/http://travel2.nytimes.com/2004/07/15/travel/NYT_ALMANAC_US_ALABAMA.html |archive-date=October 16, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The agrarian [[Mississippian culture]] covered most of the state from 1000 to 1600 AD, with one of its major centers built at what is now the [[Moundville Archaeological Site]] in [[Moundville, Alabama]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= Welch |first= Paul D. |title= Moundville's Economy |publisher= University of Alabama Press |year= 1991 |isbn= 978-0-8173-0512-3 |oclc= 21330955}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= Walthall |first= John A. |title= Prehistoric Indians of the Southeast-Archaeology of Alabama and the Middle South |publisher= University of Alabama Press |year= 1990 |isbn= 978-0-8173-0552-9 |oclc= 26656858}}</ref> This is the second-largest complex of the classic Middle Mississippian era, after [[Cahokia]] in present-day [[Illinois]], which was the center of the culture. Analysis of [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] from [[archaeological]] excavations at Moundville were the basis of scholars' formulating the characteristics of the [[Southeastern Ceremonial Complex]] (SECC).<ref>{{Cite book |last= Townsend |first= Richard F. |title= Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand |publisher= Yale University Press |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-0-300-10601-5 |oclc= 56633574 |title-link= Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand}}</ref> Contrary to popular belief, the SECC appears to have no direct links to [[Mesoamerica]]n culture but developed independently. The Ceremonial Complex represents a major component of the religion of the Mississippian peoples; it is one of the primary means by which their religion is understood.<ref>{{Cite book|editor= F. Kent Reilly |editor2= James Garber |title= Ancient Objects and Sacred Realms |publisher= University of Texas Press |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-0-292-71347-5 |others=Foreword by Vincas P. Steponaitis |oclc= 70335213 |title-link= Ancient Objects and Sacred Realms}}</ref>

Among the historical tribes of Native American people living in present-day Alabama at the time of European contact were the [[Cherokee]], an [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian language]] people; and the [[Muscogee language|Muskogean-speaking]] Alabama (''Alibamu''), [[Chickasaw]], [[Choctaw]], Creek, and [[Coushatta|Koasati]].<ref name=":4">{{cite web |url=http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/alabama/ |title=Alabama Indian Tribes |access-date=September 23, 2006 |year=2006 |website=Indian Tribal Records |publisher=AccessGenealogy.com |archive-url=https://archive.today/20061012073735/http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/alabama/ |archive-date=October 12, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> While part of the same large language family, the [[Muscogee|Muskogee tribes]] developed distinct cultures and languages.