In the shadow of Moundville: A bioarchaeological view of the transition to agriculture in the central Tombigbee valley of Alabama and Mississippi

► We explore health with emergent agriculture in the central Tombigbee valley. ► Improved health came at a cost to farmsteads, especially women and children. ► Health trends are consistent with possible provisioning from farmsteads. ► Embodiment of activity and trauma was observed at mound centers. ► Gender-based health disparities suggest declining power for farmstead women.