Contrast Between Diets of the Elite and the Commoners in Muskogean Towns It is quite significant that the largest indigenous town known in the Lower South, was its first true town - Ocmulgee (Oka-mole-ke). The sale trading conurbation of Ocmulgee was laid out like the recently abandoned Maya salt-trading center of Waka in northern Guatemala. In fact, Ocmulgee and Waka were built on identical physiographic settings and at exactly the same distance from the ocean. However, Waka was in the tropics, whereas Ocmulgee was next to extensive wetlands, but in a warm, temperate location that did not have near the food producing capacity as Waka. Successively larger generations of residents at Ocmulgee probably eradicated most of the animal protein sources within close walking distance. Muskogean towns became digressively smaller as time went on. My Native ancestors, the Okonee, did not live in towns or even large villages. Farmsteads were dispersed throughout the province at a low population density, so that commoners would have more success at obtaining protein. Regional, fortified governmental-religious centers provided safe locations for the dispersed population to both socialize and avoid enemy attacks. The Commoners Studies of the refuse in Muskogean houses prior to the availability of firearms suggest that for most people, anything that walked or crawled or swam was eligible for the cooking pot. However, the commoners in larger towns were primarily vegetarians. Because they had never really developed animal husbandry to the level of horticulture, the commoners had a chronic nutritional deficiency of iron, magnesium, protein, and sometimes fats. One finds bones of all sorts of critters around commoners houses - small birds, eggs, fish, turtles, frogs, snails, lizards, rabbits, groundhogs, possums, squirrels, you name it. It is quite likely that whatever happened to be caught was thrown into something akin to brunswick stew. However, most meals consisted of corn in some form, beans in some form, and members of the squash family in some form. These staples were supplemented by ancient cultivated crops such as indigenous fruits & nuts, sunflowers, Jerusalem artichoke, Muskogee sweet potatoes and amaranth. Many Creek dishes involved deep frying (source of Southern fried cooking) with hickory nut oil, because their diet was so deficient in animal fats. Rendered ground hog and possum fat was considered a nutritional supplement and medicine. The Elite There is substantial architectural evidence that the Muskogean elite ate communally and that their food was prepared in communal kitchens. This was certainly the case with their contemporaries among the Anasazi of the Southwest and in Mexico. The communal kitchens and dining halls looked like bungalows. There are several drawings of these special structures in my books. Another big difference is that one finds many more bones of large, meaty animals in elite sections of towns ... in particular deer, bear and turkey bones. In some cultures, the commoners were even forbidden to eat some fish. Sturgeon steaks were considered to be the food of the highest elite only. As a direct result of their much higher level of protein consumption, the elite were taller and healthier. After Firearms Arrived Once the Creeks had access to firearms and a ready market for deer and beer skins, their diets changed radically. Deer meat became much more common features on the menu for everyone. The old mound-building elite ceased to exist. Some folks had higher status than others, but there was no longer a significant difference in the diets of the people. However, once the deer and bears had been wiped out, the Creeks were forced to learn European-type animal husbandry in order to survive. Richard T. **************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? Read reviews on AOL Autos. (http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 )