About Trade
The Mississippi River and its tributaries has served as a major highway for more than 10,000 years. By traveling or trading with others, people living in the Mississippi Valley could obtain resources from as far away as the northern Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico or the Appalachian Mountains.
From the Great Lakes came raw copper which was hammered into tools , decorations 
and religious objects . From the Gulf of Mexico came large marine shells called whelks or conches. The shells were worked into necklaces and large circular disks decorated in many designs.
In addition to the many traders who traveled up and down the river many travelers visited these communities. We have no written records of most of these travelers and what they saw as they visited these villages and towns.
There is one exception, however, and that is the record left by the Spanish travelers who came through the Mississippi Valley in 1542-1543. These travelers were members of the army of Hernando DeSoto. DeSoto landed somewhere in the vicinity of Tampa Bay Florida and then, over two years, traveled throughout what is now the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tenessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas and Lousiana. The reports left be Desoto's army are some of the only eyewitness accounts we have of these communities.In the Mississippi Valley DeSoto's army visited a number of large communities. We have the following maps of DeSoto's travels available :
Communities and valleys visited by DeSoto
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