Cahokia Mounds

Cahokia

United States · Illinois

Ancient cityUnknownUNESCO · 1982
Approximate period800 CE — 1,400 CEMississippian Period See on the map ↓

In brief

Cahokia is one of the largest pre-Columbian settlements north of Mexico. Its mounds, residential areas, and surrounding settlements indicate complex political and economic organization.

What was found?

  • 1Monks Mound

    A large earthen monument dominating the city center. Its phased construction and terraces show that large-scale building continued over a long period.

  • 2Earthen mounds of different shapes

    Platform, ridge-top, and conical mounds are present. The mounds served different functions, both as foundations for public buildings and as burial grounds.

  • 3Woodhenge post circle

    The archaeological traces of a circle of wooden posts. UNESCO describes it as an astronomical observation installation.

  • 4Sediment samples from the north plaza

    Stable carbon isotopes in core and soil samples provided evidence of wetland plants. These findings called into question the interpretation of the area as a dry gathering plaza.

What does it point to?

Cahokia's mounds and distinct functional areas indicate a complex society that lived by agriculture and could organize large construction projects. According to researchers, the north plaza was wet for much of the year; water is therefore a key element in understanding the city's layout.

What did it teach us?

  1. Documented the existence of a large, planned, monumental settlement in pre-Columbian North America.
  2. Showed that earthen mounds were used for different purposes, including public buildings and burials.
  3. According to researchers, changed the assumption that the north plaza was a permanently dry gathering area.
  4. Revealed that the city contained an installation of wooden posts for astronomical observation.

Images

Monks Mound - Summer 2024
Skubasteve834 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Latest news / selected archive

A sediment study published in 2022 showed that the area interpreted as the north plaza was a wetland for much of the year.

Record

Culture
Mississippian
Team / historical
Illinois State Archaeological Survey; Caitlin Rankin for the North Plaza research
Coordinates
38.6586°, -90.0614°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. nsf.gov

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12.000

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