The imagery is deployed in at least three ways. First, especially on pottery vessels, Hemphill imagery depicts a suite of themes, such as the winged serpent and raptor, that appear to relate to the “Path of Souls,” to follow Lankford’s (2007b) argument. If these images do refer to the journey of souls in the afterlife, then they are surely an echo of Moundville’s remarkable transformation into a regional necropolis after about AD 1350.
