Archaeologica.org

While waiting for the arrival of very some important materials,

I am reading through a lot of crappy "analysis" of Mushkogean migration traditions, which do not agree with the archaeological records of the South East.

These analysis seem to be gaining foot hold
1)because they locate the origins of these peoples in Northern Mexico, which delights the Aztec fans to no end.
2) this is perceived by some Creek to "elevate" the Mushkogean peoples in some way

But what I want to talk about in this post is the use of hanta virus as a weapon by these peoples, as it clarifies some previously mysterious passages, leaving many more to go.

A Hanta outbreak was triggered by the extreme drought in the SW from 1270-1275 CE. Hanta is carried by rats, which come into contact with humans during drought.

Now to the mysterious passages:

"At that time, there was a bird of large size, blue in color, with a long tail, and swifter than an eagle, which came every day and killed and ate their people. They made an image in the shape of a woman, and placed it in the way of this bird. The bird carried it off, and kept it a long time, and then brought it back. They left it alone, hoping it would bring something forth.

"After a long time a red rat came forth from it, and they believed the bird was the father of the rat. They took council with the rat how to destroy its father. Now the bird had a bow and arrows; and the rat gnawed the bow-string, so the bird could not defend itself, and the people killed it. They called this bird the King of Birds."

This action takes place roughly at the time of the crossing of the Mississippi River.
The "bird" with the bow and arrows is most likely a Mississppian king.
I had previously understood the "rats" to be saboteurs.
I was wrong.

This separate passage makes it a little clearer what was going on:

“This being done, they commenced their settlements on Coo-sau and Tal-la-poo-sau, and crossing the falls of Tallapoosa above Tool-cau-bat-che, they visited the Cat-to-hoche, and found a race of people with flat heads, in possession of the mounds in the Cussetuh fields. These people used bows and arrows, with strings made of sinews.

"The great physic makers (Au-lic-chul-gee) sent some rats in the night time, which gnawed the strings, and in the morning, they attacked and defeated the flats (flat heads). They crossed the river at the island, near the mound, and took possession of the country."

From
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... no&ct=clnk

I am a little slow on this.

If they were moving into the SE due to drought and plague in the SW why would they purposely bring the disease with them to the new area?

And how? Rat cages?
If the idea was to release the rats to infect the current population, how do they get rid of them so they can move in?

kbs2244 wrote:I am a little slow on this.

If they were moving into the SE due to drought and plague in the SW why would they purposely bring the disease with them to the new area?

And how? Rat cages?
If the idea was to release the rats to infect the current population, how do they get rid of them so they can move in?

Yes, rat cages.
Or perhaps the Mushkogeans were just following the rats and the plague, but trapped rats and helped its spread across the rivers.

The important part of this would be they had immunity from prior exposure - and perhaps this immunity survives in the DNA and systems of Mushkogean descendants, and this might lead to the discovery of better drugs to deal with this class of pathogens.

As to how to remove the Hanta carrying rats from the environment, I don't know.
Perhaps they died of the disease after spreading it.
You have to remember its fleas that carry it.

What happened to the rats in Europe?

there was a bird of large size, blue in color, with a long tail

Fits the description of a Quetzel (national bird of Guatemala).

According to a Susquehannock shaman I was privileged to know, they were warned in advance that an evil was to befall the place where they lived, but that a place of refuge was prepared for them, in the South. A ridiculously inadequate approximation of his name of it is Huatamahala. (It's hard to believe that the deep gutterals of the Susquehannock language come from a human throat).

When whatever it was (I wish I remember -- assuming he told me) had passed, they returned to their homes and built the Great Serpent Mound as a thanksgiving memorial to their deliverance.

FWIW