Cahokia Bounds

The Enlightened Archaeologist – an article authored by Jeffrey Hantman and Gary Dunham chronicles Thomas Jefferson’s investigation of the Indian burial mound located on the South Fork of the Rivanna River in the 18th century. The site excavated by Jefferson, however, is no longer visible, most likely due to dissipation by inevitable natural occurrences (I.E. excessive rainfall, flooding rivers, etc.) or human activity such as farming. The “Father of American Archaeology” correctly predicts the latter in his book, Notes on the State of Virginia, in which he states, mounds “…put under cultivation are much reduced in their height, and spread in width, by the plough, and will probably disappear in time” (1787). Fortunately for Archaeologists of the late 20th century (1988) an Indian burial mound identical to that of the one Jefferson described in his book was uncovered just 14 miles from the South Fork of the Rivanna River.

Located in present day Collinsville, Illinois is Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, which was once home to the largest city north of Mexico from 700 to 1400 A.D. Settled by the Mississippian people, today their decline remains a mystery. First visited in 1811 by traveler Henry Brackenridge and considered the “discoverer of Cahokia” only in the sense that he wrote several papers and articles about the findings to the public’s attention. After walking around the mounds, Brackenridge described that the locations of the last inhabitants were clearly visible to him, as were fragments of their tools and utensils. Many extensive archeological excavations and several case study theories have come about through the years as to why this magnificent ancient metropolis faced such demise.

The first time I heard about the Mound Builders, which was in this class, these people seemed like a very primitive group. What was so exciting about having the skill of piling up a bunch of dirt. Then I was able to see some of these mounds and the scale was nothing I had imagined. These mounds were huge and also contained distinct structural shapes. Tombs, houses, and religious structures were constructed in or on top of the mounds. What made the edifices even more amazing was the time period they were built. Constructed all the way back to 3000 B.C., the mounds rivaled the most advanced engineering techniques in the world.

The so-called mound builders built big ceremonial and burial mounds that were located in the Ohio Valley. Cahokia, near East St. Louis today, had a population of about 40,000 people.

a. Cahokia was a Mississippian settlement located in modern-day Illinois, which was home to around 25,000 people at its peak

|1500 CE |Early Woodland Period. Use of pottery and building of earth tombs emerges especially in the Mississippi |

During the 19th and 20th century, archeologists were still trying to find more information about Cahokia and its people before it was all demolished for the growing city of St. Louis. During this time, many had flawed and misinformed ideas about the area. A very prominent archeologist, James Griffin, believed that few inhabitants actually live in this area and they only stayed for short periods of times. Gh6This

Starting in AD 800 and hitting its peak from 1050- 1200 AD, Cahokia covered six square miles with a population between 10,000 and 20,000 people (Jarus 1). During their 500 years, the Cahokians developed America’s first city and arguably the greatest civilization of its time, and then seemingly disappeared without a trace. But, despite Cahokia’s disappearance, a significant amount of history was left behind through earthen mounds, evolved social structures, advanced cultural practices, and Cahokia’s unexplained demise.

In the 1930s, Hohokam archaeology was in its infancy. The research organization known as Gila Pueblo chose the prehistoric village of Snaketown as the site for excavation. It would represent Hohokam culture history because the site Snaketown lies in the approximate center of the Hohokam area and had not been altered by pseudo-archaeologists or vandals. (Gladwin, 6) However, Snaketown also boasted massive mounds, an easily distinct canal, and an immense ball court, characteristics that fit the early researchers' understanding of a "type site" that would define the Hohokam concept. (Motsinger, 89) The data from these earliest investigations, Emil Haury's efforts in 1976, and Wilcox's following reevaluation in 1981

Caddoan Mississippian peoples, irregardlesss of differences, were still linked to the larger Mississippian world to the east and other cultures to the southwest by trade networks which traversed the North American continent. Artifacts found in Craig Mound at the Spiro site in the Arkansas River Valley encompassed such items as: basketry, copper, woven fabric, lace, feathers, fur, and carved stone statues. Some artifacts originated as far away as Cahokia in Illinois, Etowah and Ocmulgee in Georgia, and Moundville in Alabama. Many items displayed the ornate symbolism of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, a multiregional and pan-linguistic trade and religious network. Exotic material discovered at Caddoan Mississippian sites included colored

Other historic and archeological facts can be disturbed by this as well so it is a major issue. An example of those who would be blamed for the buildings of the mounds in the eighteenth century would be the Vikings, people from the Lost City of Atlantis, Hindus, or the Lost Tribes of Israel when it actually turned out to be the Adena Native Americans who did this (O’Riley 315).Due to none of the other Native Americans in the area doing this type of work, it was always thought that an outside group had done this. However, in the nineteenth century, it became clear that the Native Americans had done this. An example of a piece that was hard for architects to determine who the piece was made by was the human effigy pipe (O’Riley 315-316). This pipe was dug up out of the mounds before they had realized that the Native Americans had built the mounds and it led architects to believing that one of the other groups had made the piece. They were eventually able to figure out that the Native Americans had made the piece

The Cahokia Indians were settled near modern-day St. Louis, Missouri close to the Mississippi River. Some archaeologist believe that the Cahokia once had 20,000 Natives and over 100 mounds in their village. The reason they believe in these outstanding growth in people was the land around them. Situated with land with great

Cahokia: Ancient America’s Great City on the Mississippi, by Timothy R. Pauketat, is on the history, society, and religious customs of the Cahokian people. Consisting of twelve chapters, each chapter deals with a different aspect of Cahokian society. Chapter one opens up by telling the reader how the stars in the sky played an important role in the Native American belief system. The Planet Venus was the key figure in all of this, in fact the ancient Maya believed Venus to be a god. According to the Cahokians , Venus had a dual nature, in the daytime Venus was viewed a masculine, and in the evening it was seen as feminine. In the same chapter, Pauketat lets us know about the discovery of, two hundred packed-earth mounds constructed in a

Evidence of almost 100 of the stones has revealed without the need to excavate the site, due to remote sensing, ground-penetrating radar and geographical imaging technologies. These advancements in science and technology allow researchers to discover the historical monuments full extent. Fragments of bones, stones and the foundation pits in which they were situated have all been uncovered during excavations and technological mapping indicating the true size and importance the site was to the Neolithic

“This demolition is devastating,” Archambault said. “These grounds are the resting places of our ancestors. The ancient cairns and stone prayer rings there cannot be replaced. In one day, our sacred land has been turned into hollow ground.”