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The Southeast of the continent of Mackinack is a largely lowland area, with the exception being the Appalachian Mountains, and can be found in the humid subtropical climate zone. Summers in this region are long and winters short and mild. As a result, there are six months available for crops to grow, and this has enabled sustained growth of large populations.

Agriculture and Cuisine
The predominant stable crops grown in this region are maize along with the two remaining being squash and beans. The climate is such that it actually enables multiple harvests a year, thus hastening population growth. Other plants used in agriculture are little barley, knotweed, goosefoot, maygrass, sumpweed and sunflowers. These plants had once been the primary staple foods before the introduction of maize; by the 14th century, they are grown only as a supplement to maize just to supplement the diet, perhaps planted as one fifth in comparison to maize.

Vegetables grown in southeastern Mackinack include tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, peppers, sassafras, while the cultivated fruits include raspberries, blackberries and muscadines. Wild grapes and plums were also common.

It appears that no native domestic animals existed in the region prior to introduction of sheep (which were raised primarily in the Appalachian Mountains) and cattle (soon experiencing a boom in the prairies ) via contact with the Great Lakes region. The hog or pig has also become very common, though there were serious problems with escaped pigs digging out and eating the planted crops.
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The swamp rabbit is domesticated in the lower Mississippi region
It appears that swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus), native to the lower Mississippi basin were independently domesticated by the lower Mississippian peoples some time in the 13th-14th century, thus becoming the only animal domesticated in Mackinack outside of Mesoamerica, although most likely the idea came from the contact with Ojibwe people having introduced European domestic animals. The only other domesticated animal was the dog

Trade, Contact and Arrival of Iron Age
The principal artery of the entire region was of course the Mississippi River, being the single largest river in the continent. In its lower course, however, the river was rather volative, and an alternative path, using the Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers was often preferred.

The very geography of the Mackinack Continent has encouraged most trade routes to connect the north and the south, rather than the east to the west, or to run diagonally parallel to the Atlantic Coast or the ridges of the Appalachain Mountains. The major exception to this rule were the trade routes located in the south of the Great Plains, connecting the lower Mississippi area to the Hopi, Navajo and Zuni peoples in the southwest of the continent.

Nevertheless, the general pattern allows for contact both with the Cánuáca River basin and ultimately Vinland in the northeast, and then through the *Gulf of Mexico* in the south to connect with Anahuac (1).

The introduction of iron tools to the region results in a sudden change of the previous development. The previous, highly hierarchical social order with matrilineal clans becomes questioned, and previously peripheral groups take over the prominent role, while previous centres of power, such as Cahokia or polities found on the Lower Mississippi are plundered and left to fall into decay.

The general shifting of power potential has thus profited more “rurally” based peoples or tribal groupings, while previously “centralized” polities are pulling the shorter end of the string

The bronze and obsidian ages have empowered the rich and wealthy, and it has been chiefly the priestly class and the merchants who were in power. Bronze being a combination of copper and tin is very expensive, as long-distance trade is needed to bring the two resources together.

With iron being much more common, warfare and thus power dynamics turn the table completely around. No longer is it the question of whom can afford to bring together copper and tin to and forge bronze weapons, resulting in highly hierarchical societies, but with the coming of iron, it gives advantage to the brave and courageous, especially if both physically fit and numerous enough.

Prior to the introduction of iron weapons, the rulers of Cahokia needed not to fear that much their neighbours, for they alone could afford to purchase and manufacture way more bronze weapons than their rural neighbours. However, as is the case within urban societies, the proportion of recruits is far smaller than among rural or tribal populations.

Societies, Urban and Rural
South-eastern Mackinack during the 14th century sees predominantly two types of organized societies. Firstly, there are the “Mississippian” societies of the Natchez, Cahokia, Caddo, or Apalachee. These peoples are known to live in larger fortified cities, with mounds and pyramids at their centre, emulating Anahuacan cities. Society among these peoples is stratified, and population and government is centralized, with often one clearly dominant capital city, where often over half of the population and the entire political power is concentrated.

To contrast these largely city-state are territorial chiefdoms of peoples such as the Cherokee, Choctaw, or Muscogee, who had outright rejected Anahuacan influences and the idea of such concentration of power and strict differentiation of society are frowned upon.

Rather, a more egalitarian organization of the society is preferred, with power being devoluted among numerous local chieftains, being heads of powerful clans. The realms are thus de-centralized, with powerful local chieftains holding the power of the paramount chiefs in check.



Atlantic Region
The Atlantic Region of southeastern Mackinack begins at the southern borders of Senakomka, the land of the Powhatan. One of the larger tribal groupings to their south were the Tuscarora, an Iroquian people living on the lower Roanoke. The dominant power between the Santee and the Nouse Rivers (2) were the Catawba people, strangely enough speaking a Siouan language.

The coastal regions of this area are sparsely populated as they are unhealthy marshy regions. Therefore, the Tuscarora and Catawban peoples, forming the largest population groups in this corner of the continent are not looking towards the ocean. On the contrary, most trade and traffic will have to travel over land. With the rivers flowing from the northwest to the southeast and mostly parallel to each other, they provide little, if any use to trade between communities. Rather, the need arises to construct roads running perpendicular to the rivers in the region,



Florida
The Floridan Peninsula is a tip of swampy land extending into the Atlantic to meet Cuba and the Bahamas. Culturally, it remains more connected to the Carribean Islands than to the rest of Mackinack mainland. The swampy terrain of the Everglades has actually prohibited denser and larger settlements from becoming established in the area.

The major tribe groupings are the Timucua located in the northwest of the peninsula and the Calusa to be found at the southwestern tip; Ais, Tequesta and Jelagua peoples could be found along the southeastern coast. The Apalachee peoples have set up numerous trading stations along the western coast of the peninsula to trade with the Timucua and Calusa peoples.

Muscogeen Peoples

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Languages of the southeast
During the 14th century, it has become clear that the Muscogeean peoples are to becoming the most important factor in the Southeast. There exist six major Muscogeean peoples: Muscogee proper, often sometimes referred to as the Creek (3), then Hitchit just north of the Florida Peninsula. These two together form the eastern branch. The central branch is composed of the Chatot, Mobile, Coasati, Alabama and Apalachee languages, while the western branch is made of the Choctaw and Chickasaw languages. More divergent languages can be found in the valley of the Mississippi River and further westwards – the Tunica, Natchez, Chitimacha and Atakapa languages.

While belonging to different ethnic groups, the Muscogeean peoples share many common customs in the organization of their society, as a result of close relation and common geographic environment. One of the major peculiarities in Muscogeean societies is its matrilineal nature. Indeed, you read well. In the south, it is the women, who hold important positions in regard to governing the society, being in charge of the civilian sphere, while the men remain in charge of the military sphere.

The Muscogeean or Creek peoples have thus established themselves to the north of the Floridan peninsula, in the basins of rivers such as the Alabama.

The coastal region between Florida and the Mississippi Delta is in strong contact and under heavy influence of Anahuac, and ball game pitches were found in major Apalachee cities. The Apalachee peoples look to the sea as an opportunity, and have cut down much of the forests surrounding their lands just to build ships and participate in trade. The trade network of the Apalachee connects the chiefdoms of the Tuscarora and Catawba peoples in the northeast, then running through Creek or Muscogee and Hitchit territory to their principal ports. To the northwest, they make use of larger rivers as arteries for trade, but their focus is to the south, trading with peoples living along the coast of the swampy Floridan Peninsula such as Timucua and Calusa, but more importantly, the Apalachee merchants visited the island of Cuba, where they would trade with the Taíno peoples, before visiting the marketplaces of the Maya at the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.
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A political map of Southeast Mackinack.
Rivalling to the Apalachee are the Pensacola peoples to their west. The Pensacolans specialized themselves more to trading with the Alabama people of the interior, and their trade routes followed the coast westwards, to the mangrove-covered marshes of the Mississippi delta and to the Karankawa peoples living on the coast of Texas

The Alabama people, located at the banks of the eponymous river, have taken advantage of the fact, that the trade routes have diverged into their lands. Controlling an area rich in iron, they are known as formidable mercenary warriors, ready to be hired by foreign kings and princes at places such as Cuba or the Yucatan Peninsula. In fact, the 14th century saw a great number of Alabama mercenaries be hired by Mayan kings.

Lower Mississippi Valley
The lower Mississippi floodplain is inhabited by the Tunica, Natchez (4) and Chitimacha peoples, related to the Muscogeean peoples. Living in marshy floodplains, and with the general reshuffling of power with the arrival of the iron age and the shifting of the trade routes, it appears that what happened to these previously flourishing communities may have been any combination of the following: their cities become targets of Choctaw and Chickasaw raiding and plunder, resulting in a population decline. When hit by heavy floods, the irrigation system falls into disrepair, as there is a lack of manpower to repair them. With that, crops fail and with people having difficulty to find food, they seek to find a new home.
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A reconstruction of cities on the lower Mississippi
From archaeological findings we can observe layers of ash and sediments in many of their cities and hillforts during this period. However, far from utterly collapsing, the Natchez are undergoing a prolonged period of decline and crisis, only to emerge once more.

Previously omnipotent Sun Lords, the powerful god-kings of the Lower Mississippi are deposed from absolute power, as military chieftains take up the political power in the area, establishing a military-based royalty.

Cahokia, Shawnee and Cherokee
Cahokia has been the largest city in the Mackinack continent, with an estimated population of 40 000 people at its height. The people of Cahokia appear to have been of Illiwinek ancestry, meaning that the Cahokians also spoke an Algonquin language. Cahokia is one of the major sites that have severely declined due to the introduction of Iron Age, and the city itself was plundered by invaders. The population of Cahokia is subsequently reduced only to a few thousand, while still maintaining a symbolic significance similar to that of the legacy of Rome in the Mediterranean.

As we have no written records as of what has happened to the Cahokians, we may only guess. However a group of historians attributes the fall of Cahokia to the introduction of the horse to the Plains, where these groups have now become very mobile and the hordes an unstoppable force. In Eurasia, it has taken centuries to develop an effective counter for mounted archers –now considering that the introduction of this animal to Mackinack is relatively new, and that Cahokians had previously relied almost exclusively on the fact that they had a better supply of weapons, which are now considered outdated, it makes perfect sense that the attack from the Great Plains came unexpected and once surrounded by horse archers, who just kept riding around them in circles before riding away and returning again, the warriors of Cahokia no idea how to defeat them.

The Shawnee people inhabiting the lower Tennessee Valley and middle Ohio are of the Algonquian stock, and were dwelling in large fortified towns with earthen mounds at their midst. Like many of their neighbours, the Shawnee had a matrilineal society, although the kingship (Sachema) was hereditary by the matrilineal line. This was so as to prevent questioning of legitimacy of claimants to the throne, as monogamy appears not to be a real thing among all the peoples of Mackinack. So technically, you would have the children of the king´s sister or king´s brother (by the same mother) inherit the throne, but not the king´s sons for that matter.
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An artist´s depiction of a Cherokee village
The Cherokee people, living in the southern extension of the Appalachian Mountains are distantly related to the Iroquois. Occupying the higher altitudes, the Cherokee peoples were one of the peoples who have adapted rather quickly to the introduction of new domesticated animals and iron-working.

Caddo
The Caddo peoples can be found living to the west of the Lower Mississippi River, in the area of the transition zone from the monsoon region to the Great Plains. As such, the area is far more arid than other parts of the Southeast. The Caddoan people are making great use of cattle.

However, the Caddoans are also remarkable for one major innovation in the Mackinack continent: they are the earliest to make effective use of the horse in warfare. The Caddoans have obtained a small number of horses via the Mississippi trade network, and once realizing the full potential of these animals, they sought to breed them as fast as possible, and at first horses were reserved to messengers, chieftains and their bodyguards, but as the number of horses multiplied, more and more warriors were able to fight on horseback.

The Great Plains
The Great Plains, a stretch of land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, provides a natural grassland corridor, from north to south, between Saskatchewan River in the north to the shores of the Gulf in the south.

This natural grassland zone was inhabited by numerous tribes, chiefly the Lakota (Teton), Nakota (Assinoboine) and Dakota (Santee) in the north, belonging to the Siouan language family, in the north, and the Wichita, Shoshone and Comanche in the south.
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The bison is the essential supply of food for the tribes of the Great Plains
While most of the tribes had previously sustained on hunting the bison and growing maize. The previously sedentary cultures of Plains , living in villages of grass houses, pithouses and earth lodges.

All has changed with the introduction of animals such as sheep and cattle. These animals are heavy grazers, and are particularly well adapted to living in large herds in endless steppes. The previous village culture of the Plains Indians, as well as their growing of crops is thus largely abandoned, as vast herds of sheep and cattle now dominate the landscape.

But the sheep or the cattle are not the animal these peoples prized most. It was the horse that was prized and valued most by the Lakota. The horse, allowing much faster transport across open landscape was soon the most prized animal among the peoples of the Plains. The number of these animals was small, as they were not used as much in the eastern woodlands.

However the demand for the horses was high and the Ojibwe, who were controlling much of the western shores of the Great Lakes, armed with iron weapons, carefully protecting their trade were lacking the sufficient numbers for these valuable animals, selling perhaps a few of dozen every year.

At first, the first horse has the shepherds or cowboys on the saddle, takin care of the vast herds of cattle and sheep. Gradually, however as the horses become more and more available among tribesmen, they shift once more back to hunting the bison. Equipped with bows and arrows, and now highly mobile, the Plains tribes choose the much more nutritious bison over the petty sheep and cattle.​