Track Rock Gap

[Joe Brandon]

Any thoughts on the area and the possibility of Mayan ancestry in Georgia?

 

[NCHillbilly]

Slim to absolutely none, IMO. The Mississippian culture in the southeast was influenced by contact and trade with Meso-American cultures as far as art, pottery, corn cultivation, and the bow and arrow, but I don't think any Mayans ever lived here.

 

[KentuckyHeadhunter]

Slim to absolutely none, IMO. The Mississippian culture in the southeast was influenced by contact and trade with Meso-American cultures as far as art, pottery, corn cultivation, and the bow and arrow, but I don't think any Mayans ever lived here.

I agree. You can easily see in the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex the likeness of Mayan art. There was certainly trade and both cultures were "influenced". The SECC gorgets depicting decapitation and trophy heads are very Central American themes.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I agree. You can easily see in the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex the likeness of Mayan art. There was certainly trade and both cultures were "influenced". The SECC gorgets depicting decapitation and trophy heads are very Central American themes.

I'd say more Aztec than Mayan. The winged rattlesnake and birdman motif shell gorgets from the mounds here are very Aztec looking.