Description
They were preceded in this area by what archaeologists call the indigenous Plaquemine culture, part of the larger, prehistoric Mississippian culture, which extended throughout the lower Mississippi Valley and its tributaries. Its largest center was at Cahokia in present-day Illinois near the confluence of the Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Its peoples are noted for their hierarchical communities, building complex earthworks and platform mound architecture, and intensively cultivating maize. Archaeological evidence indicates that people of the Plaquemine culture, an elaboration of the Coles Creek culture, had lived in the Natchez Bluffs region since at least as long ago as 700 CE.
Language
Their language was never recorded, but was possibly related to Natchez
Culture
Archaeologists believe that the Grigra adopted the Natchez culture. This includes Sun worshiping, stickball, mound building, and membership was tracked by the female line. The name Grigra was given to this tribe by the French, based on their frequent use of the term “grigra” in their speech. Like many other Indigenous groups in the southeast, their society was based on female kinship. Women controlled family farms, and men married into female lineages. The principal crops were corn, beans, squash, wild and semi-domesticated grains, tubers, fruits, and nuts. Armed with bows and arrows and guns acquired through trade with Europeans, hunters killed deer, bear, and smaller game. Fish were also abundant in the Mississippi River and the numerous lakes and streams throughout the region.