A Study of Seven Southeastern Glyph Caves

Abstract

The ceremonial use of caves by prehistoric Indians in the Southeast was firmly established by the discovery and study of Mud Glyph Cave in Tennessee which contained hundreds of drawings including several Southern Cult motifs. This study of seven additional petroglyph and mud glyph caves in the Southeast has confirmed Mississippian religious activities in certain caves and suggests that, although at least one of these caves may have been the setting for ceremonial art as early as the Late Archaic period, caves during this earlier period appear to have been primarily explored and used for mineral extraction. While the meaning of the later Mississippian glyphs will continue to elude us until more decorated caverns are found, the discovery of Southern Cult motifs in caves dating as early as A.D. 1000–1300 in remote areas of the Southeast suggests an early dispersal of this art and association with underground ceremonialism.