The Raven Mocker's Legacy

World Trade in Antiquity?

In order to hide from his evil brother, White Feather joins a trade caravan that travels and trades with cultures throughout North and Central America. But is there reason to believe all of these cultures actually did trade with one another? I have written a number of articles on the prolific trading done by ancient cultures in the Americas for the online magazine Native American Antiquity. Quoting from an article titled “Ancient Trade: 9th Century”, I wrote, “For instance, at Casa Bonita in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, they found chocolate and parrot feathers from Central America and copper ornaments possibly fashioned at Cahokia, near St. Louis, Missouri and shells from the coast. They had to have been trading with those cultures. And archaeological evidence shows us that trade and communication throughout the ancient Americas was extensive and prolific.” And why did I choose “Kokopelli” as the caravan leader? Here is an excerpt from another article titled “Who Was Kokopelli Really?” “So who was this curious little man really? Because of his widespread appearance — from Mexico to west of the Mississippi — I think Kokopelli represented the travelling merchant or trader. He most likely dealt with Pochteca that were traveling merchants in the Aztec Empire. His humped back originally looked a lot like a tump basket.