Pinson Mounds appears to have served as a pilgrimage site where people traveled great distances to participate in ceremonies. Archaeologists have recovered portions of ceramic vessels there that were made and decorated in styles not local to West Tennessee, suggesting influences from far away. Some of these ceramics are in a style typical of Marksville. During the Middle Woodland period at Pinson Mounds, people used round house styles, while the later Mississippian Tradition shifted to rectangular house plans, and small conical mounds were built.