Rogan Plate Challenges Gender Assumptions in Mississippian Society

A 2017 study has re-examined the Rogan Plate and proposed that its figure may represent a woman or a two-spirit individual. This challenges earlier assumptions that the icon depicted a male warrior, a view solidified by a 2004 study from archaeologist Adam King describing it as an emblem of office for a chieftain. The new interpretation suggests gender-variant roles were accepted in Mississippian society.

Archaeologists had long assumed the figure was male. The 2017 work by researchers Billie Follensbee and Katie Buford notes the figure's slender body and prominent right breasts, suggesting it could represent a woman. The study further posits the figure may depict a 'manly-hearted woman' or two-spirit individual, a gender-variant role recognized in Indigenous North American cultures. The burial associated with the plate was for a high-status individual, and the sex of the skeleton remains unclear, supporting the possibility of a female or gender-variant person being honored.

Physical description and iconography

The 'Birdman' copper plate is an 11-inch (28 cm) tall artifact with hammered decoration from the 13th century. The figure on the plate wears a bird costume and a pleated skirt or loincloth. It carries a severed head and holds a club or mace. This iconography is commonly identified with Birdman or Morning Star, a Mississippian hero linked to themes of agriculture and rebirth. The artifact is approximately 700 years old, with its creation likely occurring decades before its burial in the mid-14th century.

Provenance and trade connections

The copper plate, known as Rogan Plate 1, was found in a burial at the Etowah Indian Mounds in Georgia in the late 19th century. It is now held by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The plate was likely crafted at Cahokia Mounds in Illinois and traded south to Etowah. This movement reflects the long-distance trade and elite cultural exchange within the Mississippian world. Etowah was a major settlement, occupied by thousands from 1000 to 1550, and was part of the widespread Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, a shared artistic and ceremonial tradition.

The plate was one of two hammered copper plates unearthed by Smithsonian archaeologist John P. Rogan in the 1880s. It was buried with a high-status individual who died in the mid-14th century. Its journey from Cahokia to Georgia indicates deep connections between these powerful Mississippian communities.

Gender interpretation and social context

The term 'two-spirit' refers to gender-variant individuals in Indigenous North American cultures. It is a modern concept, coined in 1990, which researchers Follensbee and Buford suggest may be represented on the plate. Their study found high-status graves of both men and women at Etowah, supporting the plausibility of a female figure being depicted on such a prestigious object. The artifact reflects the cultural acceptance of gender-variant roles and highlights the elite status that 'manly-hearted women' could hold in Indigenous societies.

This re-evaluation shows the need to reconsider long-standing gender assumptions in the interpretation of Mississippian elite burials. The Rogan Plate, once seen as a simple symbol of male chiefly power, now opens a window into a more complex social world where diverse gender identities were recognized and honored.