Cahokia - wikipedia Cahokia This article is about a Native American site at Cahokia Mounds. For the modern city about 10 miles ( 16 km ) to the southwest, see Cahokia, Illinois. For the former Native American tribe unrelated to the builders of the Cahokia Mounds, see Cahokia tribe. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site Monks Mound, the largest earthen structure at Cahokia ( for scale, an adult is standing on top ) Location St. Clair County, Illinois, U.S. Nearest city Collinsville, Illinois Coordinates 38 ° 39 ′ 14 '' N 90 ° 3 ′ 52 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 38.65389 ° N 90.06444 ° W ﻿ / 38.65389 ; - 90.06444 Coordinates : 38 ° 39 ′ 14 '' N 90 ° 3 ′ 52 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 38.65389 ° N 90.06444 ° W ﻿ / 38.65389 ; - 90.06444 Area 2,200 acres ( 8.9 km ) Governing body Illinois Historic Preservation Agency UNESCO World Heritage Site Official name Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site Type Cultural Criteria iii, iv Designated 1982 ( 6th session ) Reference no. 198 State Party United States Region Europe and North America U.S. National Register of Historic Places Official name Cahokia Mounds Designated October 15, 1966 Reference no. 66000899 U.S. National Historic Landmark Official name Cahokia Mounds Designated July 19, 1964 The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site / kəˈhoʊkiə / ( 11 MS 2 ) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city ( circa 1050 -- 1350 CE ) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in southern Illinois between East St. Louis and Collinsville. The park covers 2,200 acres ( 890 ha ), or about 3.5 square miles ( 9 km ), and contains about 80 mounds, but the ancient city was much larger. In its heyday, Cahokia covered about 6 square miles ( 16 km ) and included about 120 manmade earthen mounds in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and functions. Cahokia was the largest and most influential urban settlement of the Mississippian culture, which developed advanced societies across much of what is now the central and southeastern United States, beginning more than 1,000 years before European contact. Today, Cahokia Mounds is considered the largest and most complex archaeological site north of the great pre-Columbian cities in Mexico. Cahokia Mounds is a National Historic Landmark and a designated site for state protection. It is also one of only 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites within the United States. The largest prehistoric earthen construction in the Americas north of Mexico, the site is open to the public and administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Division and supported by the Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the Cahokia Mounds were selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places by the American Institute of Architects Illinois component ( AIA Illinois ) and was recognized by USA Today Travel magazine, as one of AIA Illinois ' selections for Illinois 25 Must See Places. Contents 1 History 1.1 Development 1.2 Rise and peak ( 13th century ) 1.3 Decline 2 Notable features 2.1 Monks Mound 2.2 Urban landscape 2.3 Mound 72 2.4 Copper workshop 2.5 Cahokia Woodhenge 3 Related mounds 4 Cahokia Museum and Interpretive Center 5 Designations 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 Further reading 11 External links History Development A map showing approximate areas of various Mississippian and related cultures. Cahokia is located near the center of this map in the upper part of the Middle Mississippi area. Although some evidence exists of occupation during the Late Archaic period ( around 1200 BCE ) in and around the site, Cahokia as it is now defined was settled around 600 CE during the Late Woodland period. Mound building at this location began with the emergent Mississippian cultural period, about the 9th century CE. The inhabitants left no written records beyond symbols on pottery, shell, copper, wood, and stone, but the elaborately planned community, woodhenge, mounds, and burials reveal a complex and sophisticated society. The city 's original name is unknown. The mounds were later named after the Cahokia tribe, a historic Illiniwek people living in the area when the first French explorers arrived in the 17th century. As this was centuries after Cahokia was abandoned by its original inhabitants, the Cahokia tribe was not necessarily descended from the earlier Mississippian - era people. Most likely, multiple indigenous ethnic groups settled in the Cahokia Mounds area during the time of the city 's apex. Historian Daniel Richter notes that the apex of the city occurred during the Medieval Warming Period. This period appears to have fostered an agricultural revolution in upper North America, as the three-fold crops of maize, beans ( legumes ), and gourds ( squash ) were developed and adapted or bred to the temperate climates of the north from their origins in Mesoamerica. Richter also notes that Cahokia 's advanced development coincided with the development in the Southwest of the Chaco Canyon society, which also produced large - scale works in an apparent socially stratified society. The decline of the city coincides with the Little Ice Age, although by then, the three-fold agriculture remained well - established throughout temperate North America. Rise and peak ( 13th century ) A Mississippian - era priest, in the 13th century, Cahokia metropolis, holding a ceremonial flint mace and severed sacrificial head Cahokia became the most important center for the people known today as Mississippians. Their settlements ranged across what is now the Midwest, Eastern, and Southeastern United States. Cahokia was located in a strategic position near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers. It maintained trade links with communities as far away as the Great Lakes to the north and the Gulf Coast to the south, trading in such exotic items as copper, Mill Creek chert, and whelk shells. Mill Creek chert, most notably, was used in the production of hoes, a high demand tool for farmers around Cahokia and other Mississippian centers. Cahokia 's control of the manufacture and distribution of these hand tools was an important economic activity that allowed the city to thrive. Mississippian culture pottery and stone tools in the Cahokian style were found at the Silvernale site near Red Wing, Minnesota, and materials and trade goods from Pennsylvania, the Gulf Coast and Lake Superior have been excavated at Cahokia. Bartering, not money was used in trade. At the high point of its development, Cahokia was the largest urban center north of the great Mesoamerican cities in Mexico and Central America. Although it was home to only about 1,000 people before circa 1050, its population grew rapidly after that date. According to a 2007 study in Quaternary Science Reviews, `` Between AD 1050 and 1100, Cahokia 's population increased from between 1400 and 2800 people to between 10,200 and 15,300 people ''. an estimate that applies only to a 1.8 - square - kilometre ( 0.69 sq mi ) high density central occupation area. Archaeologists estimate the city 's population at between 6,000 and 40,000 at its peak, with more people living in outlying farming villages that supplied the main urban center. In the early 21st century, new residential areas were found to the west of Cahokia as a result of archeological excavations, increasing estimates of area population. If the highest population estimates are correct, Cahokia was larger than any subsequent city in the United States until the 1780s, when Philadelphia 's population grew beyond 40,000. Moreover, according to the same population estimates, the population of 13th - century Cahokia was equal to or larger than the population of 13th - century London. One of the major problems that large centers like Cahokia faced was keeping a steady supply of food. A related problem was waste disposal for the dense population, and Cahokia became unhealthy from polluted waterways. Because it was such an unhealthy place to live, Snow believes that the town had to rely on social and political attractions to bring in a steady supply of new immigrants ; otherwise, the town 's death rate would have caused it to be abandoned earlier. Decline Tamarois et Caouquias on a map of Illinois in 1718 south of the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers ( approximate modern state area highlighted ) from Carte de la Louisiane et du Cours du Mississipi by Guillaume de L'Isle The population of Cahokia began to decline during the 13th century, and the site was eventually abandoned around 1300. The area around it was not reoccupied by indigenous tribes to 1350. Scholars have proposed environmental factors, such as overhunting, deforestation, and flooding, as explanations for abandonment of the site. Another possible cause is invasion by outside peoples, though the only evidence of warfare found so far are the defensive wooden stockade and watchtowers that enclosed Cahokia 's main ceremonial precinct. Due to the lack of other evidence for warfare, the palisade may have been more for ritual or formal separation than for military purposes. Diseases transmitted among the large, dense urban population are another possible cause of decline. Many theories since the late 20th century propose conquest - induced political collapse as the primary reason for Cahokia 's abandonment. Together with these factors, researchers found evidence in 2015 of major floods at Cahokia, so severe as to flood dwelling places. Analysis of sediment from beneath Horseshoe Lake has revealed that two major floods occurred in the period of settlement at Cahokia, in roughly 1100 -- 1260 and 1340 -- 1460. Notable features Mississippian period showing the multiple layers of mound construction, mound structures such as temples or mortuaries, ramps with log stairs, and prior structures under later layers, multiple terraces, and intrusive burials The original site contained 120 earthen mounds over an area of 6 square miles ( 16 km ), of which 80 remain today. To achieve that, thousands of workers over decades moved more than an `` estimated 55 million cubic feet ( 1,600,000 m ) of earth in woven baskets to create this network of mounds and community plazas. Monks Mound, for example, covers 14 acres ( 5.7 ha ), rises 100 ft ( 30 m ), and was topped by a massive 5,000 sq ft ( 460 m ) building another 50 ft ( 15 m ) high. '' Monks Mound Main article : Monks Mound An 1887 illustration of Monks Mound showing it with fanciful proportions Incised sandstone tablet of a Birdman found in 1971 during excavations into the east side of Monks Mound Monks Mound is the largest structure and central focus of the city : a massive platform mound with four terraces, 10 stories tall, it is the largest man - made earthen mound north of Mexico. Facing south, it is 100 ft ( 30 m ) high, 951 ft ( 290 m ) long, 836 ft ( 255 m ) wide and covers 13.8 acres ( 5.6 ha ). It contains about 814,000 cu yd ( 622,000 m ) of earth. The mound was built higher and wider over the course of several centuries, through as many as 10 separate construction episodes, as the mound was built taller and the terraces and apron were added. Monks Mounds was named for the community of Trappist monks who resided there for a short time, after Euroamericans settled the area. Excavation on the top of Monks Mound has revealed evidence of a large building, likely a temple or the residence of the paramount chief, which would have been seen throughout the city. This building was about 105 ft ( 32 m ) long and 48 feet ( 15 m ) wide, and could have been as much as 50 ft ( 15 m ) high. It was about 5,000 sq ft ( 460 m ). The east and northwest sides of Monks Mound were twice excavated in August 2007 during an attempt to avoid erosion due to slumping. These areas were repaired to preserve the mound. Urban landscape Cahokia 's east - west baseline transects the Woodhenge, Monk 's Mound, and several other large mounds The Rattlesnake Causeway leading from Monks Mound to Mound 66 is the city 's ceremonial north - south axis. Early in its history, Cahokia underwent a massive construction boom. Along with the early phase of Monks Mound, an overarching urban layout was established at the site. It was built with a symbolic quadripartite worldview and oriented toward the four cardinal directions with the main east - west and north - south axes defined with Monks Mound near its center point. Four large plazas were established to the east, west, north, and south of Monks Mound. To the south of Monks Mound is the Grand Plaza, a large area that covered roughly 50 acres ( 20 ha ) and measured over 1,600 ft ( 490 m ) in length by over 900 ft ( 270 m ) in width. Researchers originally thought the flat, open terrain in this area reflected Cahokia 's location on the Mississippi 's alluvial flood plain, but instead soil studies have shown that the landscape was originally undulating ridge and swale topography. In one of the earliest large - scale construction projects, the site had been expertly and deliberately leveled and filled by the city 's inhabitants. It is part of the sophisticated engineering displayed throughout the site. It was used for large ceremonies and gatherings, as well as for ritual games, such as chunkey. The game was played by rolling a disc - shaped chunky stone across the field. The men would throw spears where they thought the chunky stone would land. The game required a great deal of judgment and aim. The major ceremonial north - south ' axis ' connects the main precinct with the large ridgetop mortuary mound to its south now known as the Rattlesnake Mound ( Mound 66 ). The feature, named the Rattlesnake Causeway by archaeologists, was an elevated embankment about 18 metres ( 59 ft ) wide, roughly 800 metres ( 2,600 ft ) in length and varies in height from 0.5 metres ( 1.6 ft ) to almost 1.3 metres ( 4.3 ft ) as it traverses a low swampy area to the south of the Grand Plaza. It is aligned 5 ° east of north, a direction thought to mimic the maximum southern moon rise of 5 ° west of north, albeit in reverse. This is thought to have had symbolic associations to the builders in connection with their lunar maize goddess of the underworld. This is further strengthened by its close proximity to the ridgetop mortuary Mound 72, the underworld connotations of the low water - filled area the causeway traversed, and its terminus at the mortuary complex at the Rattlesnake Mound. The causeway itself may have been seen as a symbolic `` Path of Souls ''. The high - status central district of Cahokia was surrounded by a 2 - mi - long palisade that was equipped with protective bastions. A later addition to the site, when the palisade was constructed, it cut through and separated some pre-existing neighborhoods. Archaeologists found evidence of the stockade during excavation of the area and indications that it was rebuilt several times. Its bastions showed that it was mainly built for defensive purposes. Beyond Monks Mound, as many as 120 more mounds stood at varying distances from the city center. To date, 109 mounds have been located, 68 of which are in the park area. The mounds are divided into three different types : platform, conical, and ridge - top. Each appeared to have had its own meaning and function. In general terms, the city center seems to have been laid out in a diamond - shaped pattern about 1 mi ( 1.6 km ) from end to end, while the entire city is 5 mi ( 8.0 km ) across from east to west. Mound 72 Main article : Mound 72 Mound 72 Reconstruction of the Birdman burial in the site 's interpretative center. Mass grave burial of fifty - three sacrificed Native American women Cahokians of the Mississippian culture painting in the Cahokia Mounds Historic Site Museum During excavation of Mound 72, a ridge - top burial mound south of main urban precinct, archaeologists found the remains of a man in his 40s who was probably an important Cahokian ruler. The man was buried on a bed of more than 20,000 marine - shell disc beads arranged in the shape of a falcon, with the bird 's head appearing beneath and beside the man 's head, and its wings and tail beneath his arms and legs. The falcon warrior or `` birdman '' is a common motif in Mississippian culture. This burial clearly had powerful iconographic significance. In addition, a cache of sophisticated, finely worked arrowheads in a variety of different styles and materials was found near the grave of this important man. Separated into four types, each from a different geographical region, the arrowheads demonstrated Cahokia 's extensive trade links in North America. Archeologists recovered more than 250 other skeletons from Mound 72. Scholars believe almost 62 % of these were sacrificial victims, based on signs of ritual execution, method of burial, and other factors. The skeletons include : Four young males, missing their hands and skulls A mass grave of more than 50 women around 21 years old, with the bodies arranged in two layers separated by matting A mass burial containing 40 men and women who appear to have been violently killed, some of these may have been buried alive : `` From the vertical position of some of the fingers, which appear to have been digging in the sand, it is apparent that not all of the victims were dead when they were interred -- that some had been trying to pull themselves out of the mass of bodies. '' The relationship of these burials to the central burial is unclear. They were unlikely to have all deposited at the same time. Wood in several parts of the mound has been radiocarbon - dated to between 950 and 1000 CE. Excavations have indicated that Mound 72 was not constructed as a single mound, but rather as a series of smaller mounds. These mounds were reshaped and covered over to give Mound 72 its final ridge - top shape. Map showing geographical extent of Mississippian stone statues showing Cahokia The `` Chunkey Player '' statuette made of Missouri flint clay depicts the ancient Native American game of chunkey. The statuette is believed to have been originally crafted at or near Cahokia Mounds was excavated at a Mississippian site in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. Clay statuette excavated at Cahokia site Copper workshop Main article : Mound 34 Mississippian culture repoussé copper plates Excavations near Mound 34 from 2002 to 2010 revealed a copper workshop. This unique find was originally discovered in the 1950s by archaeologist Gregory Perino, but its exact location was lost for 60 years. It is the only known copper workshop to be found at a Mississippian culture site. The area contains the remains of three tree stumps thought to have been used to hold anvil stones. Analysis of copper found during excavations showed that it had been annealed, a technique involving repeatedly heating and cooling the metal as it is worked, as blacksmiths do with iron. Artisans produced religious items, such as long - nosed god maskettes, ceremonial earrings with a symbolic shape, thought to have been used in fictive kinship rituals. Many of the stylistically related Mississippian copper plates, such as the Wulfing cache from southeastern Missouri, some of the Etowah plates from Georgia, and many of the Spiro plates from Oklahoma, are associated with the Greater Braden style and are thought to have been made in Cahokia in the 13th century. Cahokia Woodhenge Main article : Cahokia Woodhenge Artist 's conception of Woodhenge III at sunrise looking east towards Monks Mound Artist 's conception of midwinter sunrise over Mound 60 The Cahokia Woodhenge was a series of large timber circles located roughly 850 m ( 2,790 ft ) to the west of Monks Mound. They are thought to have been constructed between 900 and 1100 CE, with each one being larger and having 12 more posts than its predecessor. The site was discovered during salvage archaeology undertaken by Dr. Warren Wittry in the early 1960s interstate highway construction boom. Although the majority of the site contained village house features, a number of unusually shaped, large post holes were also discovered. When the holes were plotted out, they formed several arcs of equally spaced holes. Detailed analytical work supported the hypothesis that the placement of these posts was by design, and Wittry hypothesized that the arcs could be whole circles. He began referring to the circles as `` woodhenges '', comparing the structures to England 's well - known circles at Woodhenge and Stonehenge. Additional excavations in the 1960s, ' 70s, and ' 80s used predictions based on verified posthole locations and spacing to locate other postholes and confirm the existence of five separate timber circles in the general vicinity. The circles are now designated Woodhenges I through V in Roman numerals. In 1985, a reconstruction of Woodhenge III was built with the posts being placed into the original excavated post positions. The circle, which has 48 posts in the circle and a 49th central post, has been used to investigate archaeoastronomy at Cahokia. The Illinois Historic Preservation Division that oversees the Cahokia site hosts public sunrise observations at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes and the winter and summer solstices. Out of respect for Native American beliefs, these events do not feature ceremonies or rituals of any kind. Related Mounds St. Louis as seen from Monks Mound. Until the 19th century, a series of similar mounds existed in what is now the city of St. Louis, some 20 km ( 12 mi ) to the southwest of the Cahokia site. Most of these mounds were leveled throughout the construction of St. Louis, as their material was reused in construction projects. The lone survivor of these mounds is Sugarloaf Mound, which is located on the west bank of the Mississippi. It marked the initial border between St. Louis and the once autonomous city of Carondelet. Cahokia Museum and Interpretive center The Museum and Interpretive Center The Cahokia Museum and Interpretive Center, which receives up to a million visitors a year, was designed by AAIC Inc. The building, which opened in 1989, received the Thomas H. Madigan Award, the St. Louis Construction News & Reviews Readers Choice Award, the Merit Award from the Metal Construction Association, and the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Brick Manufacturer Association. Designations Cahokia Mounds was first protected by the state of Illinois in 1923 when its legislature authorized purchase of a state park. Later designation as a state historic site offered additional protection, but the site came under significant threat from the federal highway building program in the 1950s. The highway program reduced the site 's integrity ; however, it increased funding for emergency archeological investigations. These investigations became intensive, and today continue, and have led to the present understanding of the significance of the site. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark on July 19, 1964, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. In 1982, UNESCO ( the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ) designated the site a World Heritage Site. This is the only such site in Illinois and among only 12 World Heritage Sites in the United States. United States Representative Evelyn M. Bowles wrote about the Cahokia Mounds site : Through the years my friends and I made occasional Sunday afternoon trips to the Mounds. When I became the State Senator, it afforded me the opportunity to secure funds for the acquisition of additional acreage in which there are smaller Mounds. Many of these have contained additional artifacts. '' The designation has helped protect the property and attract funds to conduct research on this significant civilization. See also American Bottom List of Mississippian sites Mississippian Ideological Interaction Sphere Mississippian stone statuary List of archaeoastronomical sites by country Notes ^ a : See Engraved beaker from Cahokia site, donated by Moorehead, ISM collection. for image of the object in question. References ^ Jump up to : `` Cahokia Mounds ''. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2008. Jump up ^ Pursell 205 Jump up ^ Munoz, Samuel E., Sissel Schroeder, David A. Fike, and John W. Williams 2014 A record of sustained prehistoric and historic land use from the Cahokia region, Illinois, USA. Geology 42 ( 6 ) : 499 -- 502 Jump up ^ Cahokia Mounds Homepage ; Map of the Site ^ Jump up to : `` Nomination -- Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois '', US World Heritage Sites, National Park Service, accessed 2012 - 05 - 03 Jump up ^ WashingtonPost.com : Ancient Cahokia, Washington Post Jump up ^ Waldinger, Mike ( January 30, 2018 ). `` The proud history of architecture in Illinois ''. Springfield Business Journal. Retrieved 30 January 2018. Jump up ^ `` 25 Must See Buildings in Illinois ''. USA Today. August 9, 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2018. Jump up ^ James M. Collins, The archaeology of the Cahokia Mounds ICT - II, Springfield IL, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency ( 1990 ) ISBN 0 - 942579 - 10 - 0 Jump up ^ Emerson and Barry, Cahokia and the Hinterlands, 33 & 46 Jump up ^ Townsend, Sharp, and Bailey Jump up ^ `` Native American city on the Mississippi was America 's first ' melting pot ' News Bureau University of Illinois ''. News.illinois.edu. 2014 - 03 - 03. Retrieved 2014 - 03 - 29. Jump up ^ `` 12th - Century Cahokia Was a `` Melting Pot '' ``. Archaeology Magazine. Archaeology.org. 2014 - 03 - 06. Retrieved 2014 - 03 - 29. Jump up ^ Richter, Daniel K. ( 2011 ). Before the Revolution : America 's Ancient Pasts. Cambridge, MA : Belknap - Harvard University Press. pp. 20 -- 21. ISBN 9780674055803. Jump up ^ `` Illinois Agriculture - Technology - Hand tools - Native American Tools ''. Retrieved 2010 - 07 - 12. ^ Jump up to : Snow, Dean ( 2010 ). Archaeology of Native North Americas. Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall. pp. 201 -- 203. Jump up ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march/12/cahokia.htm Jump up ^ Benson LV, Berry MS, Jolie EA, Spangler JD, Stahle DW, Hattori EM. `` Possible impacts of early - 11th -, middle - 12th -, and late - 13th - century droughts on western Native Americans and the Mississippian Cahokians. '' Quaternary Science Reviews 2007, 26 : 336 -- 350, Jump up ^ Benson, L.V., Pauketat, T.R. and Cook, E.R. ( 2009 ) `` Cahokia 's Boom and Bust in the Context of Climate Change '', American Antiquity, 74 ( 3 ), pp. 467 -- 483. doi : 10.1017 / S000273160004871X. Jump up ^ Glenn Hodges, `` America 's Forgotten City, '' National Geographic, January 2011, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2011/01/americas-forgotten-city/. Jump up ^ Ibid. Jump up ^ United States Census Office, A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth : 1790 -- 1900, Government Printing Office, 1909, p. 11 ^ Jump up to : Henderson, Harold. `` The Rise and Fall of the Mound People. '' Chicago Reader. 2000 - 06 - 29. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 28. Jump up ^ Pyburn, K. Anne, Ungendering Civilization, Routledge ; 1 edition ( Jan 29, 2004 ) ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 26058 - 9 ( 1 ) ^ Jump up to : Durrie Bouscaren, `` New insights into the curious disappearance of the Cahokia Mounds builders '', St. Louis Public Radio, 4 May 2015, accessed 6 May 2015 Jump up ^ Emerson 1997, Pauketat 1994. Jump up ^ `` Cahokia 's rise and fall linked to river flooding '', Popular Archaeology, Spring 2015 ^ Jump up to : Skele, Mike ( 1988 ). `` The Great Knob ''. Studies in Illinois Archaeology. Springfield, Illinois : Illinois Historic Preservation Agency ( 4 ). ISBN 0 - 942579 - 03 - 8. Jump up ^ `` Monks Mound Slump Repair, Page 1 ''. Lithiccastinglab.com. 2007 - 07 - 31. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 10. Jump up ^ Steadman, Sharon R. ( 2009 ). Archaeology of Religion : Cultures and their Beliefs in Worldwide Context. Routledge. ISBN 978 - 1598741544. Jump up ^ Chappell, Sally A. Kitt ( 2002 ). Cahokia : Mirror of the Cosmos. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226101361. Jump up ^ Timothy R., Pauketat ( 2009 ). Cahokia : Ancient Americas Great City on the Mississippi. Viking Press. pp. 23 -- 34. ISBN 978 - 0 - 670 - 02090 - 4. Pg 23 `` Cahokia was so large - covering three to five square miles - that archaeologists have yet to probe many portions of it. Its centerpiece was an open 50 - acre Grand Plaza, surrounded by packed - clay pyramids. The size of 35 football fields, the Grand Plaza was at the time the biggest public space ever conceived and executed north of Mexico. ''... Pg 34 `` a flat public square 1,600 - plus feet in length and 900 - plus feet in width Jump up ^ `` Mound 66 ''. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Retrieved January 18, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Baires, Sarah E. ( 2014 ). `` Cahokia 's Rattlesnake Causeway ''. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology. Retrieved January 18, 2018. Jump up ^ Romain, William F. ( 2015 ). `` Moonwatchers of Cahokia ''. In Pauketat, Timothy R. ; Alt, Susan M. Medieval Mississippians : The Cahokian World. School for Advanced Research Press. pp. 33 -- 41. ISBN 978 - 1938645327. Jump up ^ `` Cahokia and the excavation of Mound 72 ''. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 21. Jump up ^ Young & Fowler, p. 148. Jump up ^ Young & Fowler, pp. 146 -- 149. Jump up ^ `` Mound 72 ''. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Pawlaczyk, George ( 16 February 2010 ). `` Copper men : Archaeologists uncover Stone Age copper workshop near Monks Mound ''. Science. Retrieved 2010 - 11 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Gahagan Long - nosed god maskette ''. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2010 - 07 - 30. Jump up ^ `` Aztalan -- Wisconsin 's Middle Mississippian Outpost ''. Milwaukee Public Museum. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2010. Jump up ^ Kelly et al. in King, 57 -- 87 Jump up ^ Robb, Matthew H. ( March 2010 ). `` Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum - Spotlight Series March 2010 '' ( PDF ). Saint Louis Art Museum. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 02. Jump up ^ Townsend, Sharp, and Bailey 151 Jump up ^ Bolfing 67 -- 68 Jump up ^ `` Visitors Guide to the Woodhenge ''. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 19. ^ Jump up to : Iseminger, William R. `` The Skywatchers of Cahokia ''. Mexicolore. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 19. Jump up ^ Friedlander, Michael W. ( 2007 ). `` The Cahokia Sun Circles ''. The Wisconsin Archeologist. 88 ( 1 ) : 78 -- 90. Jump up ^ Wittry, Warren L. ( 1964 ). `` An American Woodhenge ''. Cranbrook Institute of Science Newsletter. 33 ( 9 ) : 102 -- 107 -- via Explorations into Cahokia Archaeology, Bulletin 7, Illinois Archaeological Survey, 1969. Jump up ^ Wittry, Warren L. `` Discovering and Interpreting the Cahokia Woodhenges ''. The Wisconsin Archaeologist. 77 ( 3 / 4 ) : 26 -- 35. Jump up ^ Thomas, Mary ( 2005 ). American Woodhenge : Archaeoastronomy at Cahokia ( PDF ) ( Bachelors thesis ). Northern Illinois University. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 20. Jump up ^ Iseminger, William. `` Welcome the Fall Equinox at Cahokia Mounds ''. Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Winter Solstice Sunrise Observance at Cahokia Mounds ''. Collinsville Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Cahokia Mounds Mark Spring Equinox : The keepers of Cahokia Mounds will host a spring gathering to celebrate the vernal equinox ''. Indian Country Today. Indian Country Media Network. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 20. Jump up ^ `` United States of America -- UNESCO World Heritage Centre ''. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. March 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009 - 03 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Congressional representative letter ''. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2011. Bibliography Bolfing, Christopher ( May 1, 2010 ). The Paradigm of the Periphery in Native North America ( Thesis ). Texas State University - San Marcos, University College, University Honors Program. pp. 67 -- 68. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 02. Chappell, Sally A. Kitt ( 2002 ). Cahokia : Mirror of the Cosmos. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 226 - 10136 - 1. Emerson, Thomas E. ( 1997 ). Cahokia and the Archaeology of Power. Tuscaloosa, AL : University of Alabama. ISBN 0 - 8173 - 0888 - 1. Emerson, Thomas E. ; Lewis, R. Barry ( 1991 ). Cahokia and the Hinterlands : Middle Mississippian Cultures of the Midwest. Urbana, Illinois : University of Illinois. ISBN 0 - 252 - 06878 - 5. Kelly, John E. ; Brown, James A. ; Hamlin, Jenn M. ; Kelly, Lucretia S. ; Kozuch, Laura ; Parker, Kathryn ; Van Nest, Julieann. `` Mound 34 : The Context for the Early Evidence of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex at Cahokia ''. In King, Adam. Southeastern Ceremonial Complex : Chronology, Content, Context. University of Alabama Press. pp. 57 -- 87. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8173 - 5409 - 1. Lankford, George E. ; Reilly, F. Kent ; Garber, James ( eds. ). Visualizing the Sacred : Cosmic Visions, Regionalism, and the Art of the Mississippian World ( PDF ). University of Texas Press. p. 227. ISBN 978 - 0292723085. Pauketat, Timothy R. ( 2009 ). Cahokia : Ancient America 's Great City on the Mississippi. New York : Viking Adult. ISBN 978 - 0 - 670 - 02090 - 4. Pursell, Corin ( 2004 ). Geographic distribution and symbolism of colored mound architecture in the Mississippian Southeast ( Thesis ). Southern Illinois University Carbondale. p. 205. Townsend, Richard F ; Sharp, Robert V ; Bailey, Garrick Alan ( 2000 ). Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand : American Indian Art of the Ancient Midwest and South. Yale University Press. ISBN 0 - 300 - 10601 - 7. Young, Biloine ; Fowler, Melvin L. ( 2000 ). Cahokia : The Great Native American Metropolis. Urbana, Illinois : University of Illinois. ISBN 0 - 252 - 06821 - 1. full text available at ( 2 ) Further reading Introductory Bibliography of Published Sources on Cahokia Archeology Scholarly Bibliography of Published Sources on Cahokia Archaeology Emerson, Iseminger ; Nance, L. Michael ; Winslow, Madeline ; Gass, Marilyn ( 2001 ). Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site Nature / Culture Hike Guidebook, 4th revised edition. Collinsville, Illinois : Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. pp. 79 pp. Fowler, Melvin L. ; Rose, Jerome ; Leest, Barbara Vander ; Ahler, Steven R. ( 1999 ). The Mound 72 Area : Dedicated and Sacred Space in Early Cahokia. Illinois State Museum Society. ISBN 978 - 0 - 89792 - 157 - 2. Milner, George R. ( 2004 ). The Moundbuilders : Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America. London : Thames and Hudson, Ltd. Mink, Claudia Gellman ( 1992 ). Cahokia, City of the Sun : Prehistoric Urban Center in the American Bottom. Collinsville, IL : Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. ISBN 1 - 881563 - 00 - 6. Pauketat, Timothy ( 1994 ). The Ascent of Chiefs : Cahokia and Mississippian Politics in Native North America. Tuscaloosa, AL : University of Alabama. ISBN 0 - 8173 - 0728 - 1. Price, Douglas T. ; Feinman, Gary M. ( 2008 ). Images of the Past ( 5 ed. ). New York : McGraw - Hill. pp. 280 -- 285. ISBN 978 - 0 - 07 - 340520 - 9. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cahokia. Cahokia Mounds Homepage and Map of the Site Cahokia Mounds Photo Gallery Cahokia Mounds Information & Videos - Chickasaw.TV `` Cahokia Mounds '', Illinois Historic Preservation Agency `` Metropolitan Life on the Mississippi '', Washington Post, March 12, 1997 Mississippian Art and Artifacts Visitors ' perspectives Woodhenge and the Cahokia Mounds `` Cahokia : America 's Forgotten City '', National Geographic Magazine, January 2011 IHPA video with narration on Cahokia Illinois Great Places - Mounds Society of Architectural Historians SAH ARCHIPEDIA entry on the Cahokia Mounds Cahokia travel guide from Wikivoyage Mississippian and related cultures List of Mississippian sites Timeline of Mississippi valley Middle Mississippian American Bottom and Upper Mississippi Aztalan Big Eddy Cahokia Monks Mound Mound 34 Mound 72 Woodhenge Cloverdale Dickson Mounds Emerald Acropolis Emmons Cemetery Horseshoe Lake John Chapman Kuhn Station Larson Lunsford - Pulcher McCune Mitchell Orendorf Sleeth Steed - Kisker culture Sugarloaf Mound Lower Ohio River and Confluence area Adams Dogtooth Bend Kincaid Mounds Marshall Millstone Bluff Orr - Herl Rowlandton Mound Towosahgy Turk Twin Mounds Ware Wickliffe Mounds Middle Ohio River Angel Mounds Angel Phase Annis Mound Bone Bank Caborn - Welborn culture Ellerbusch Hovey Lake - Klein Hovey Lake District Murphy Prather Slack Farm Tolu Welborn Village Yankeetown Tennessee and Cumberland Backusburg Beasley Mounds Brentwood Library Brick Church Castalian Springs Dunbar Cave Fewkes Group Mound Bottom Riverview Sellars Obion Old Town Swallow Bluff Central and Lower Mississippi Belle Meade Boone 's Boyd Campbell Carson Chucalissa Eaker Janet 's Menard - Hodges Murphy Nodena Nodena Phase Owl Creek Parkin Tipton Phase Tunica Koroa Yazoo Walls Phase South Appalachian Mississippian Adamson Avery Beaverdam Creek Bell Field Mound Bessemer Bussell Island Chauga Chiaha Chota Citico Coosa Dallas Phase Dyar Etowah Garden Creek Hoojah Branch Irene Jere Shine Joara Joe Bell King Lamar Lamar Phase Liddell Little Egypt Long Swamp Mabila Mandeville McMahan Moccasin Bend Moundville Mouse Creek Phase Mulberry Muscogee ( Creek ) Nacoochee Nikwasi Ocmulgee Park Mound Pisgah Phase Punk Rock Shelter Rembert Roods Landing Rucker 's Bottom Savannah Shiloh Sixtoe Summerour Tomotley Toqua Town Creek Waddells Mill Pond Wilbanks Fort Walton culture Anhaica Apalachee Apalachee Province Cayson Corbin - Tucker Fort Walton Mound Lake Jackson Leon - Jefferson Culture Letchworth Velda Yon Pensacola culture Bottle Creek Dauphin Island Fort Walton Hickory Ridge Cemetery Naval Live Oaks Cemetery Pensacola people Plaquemine Mississippian Anna Atchafalaya Basin Emerald Fitzhugh Flowery Fosters Ghost Glass Grand Village of the Natchez Holly Bluff Jaketown Jordan Julice Mangum Mazique Medora Mott Natchez Taensa Pocahontas Routh Scott Place Sims Transylvania Venable Winterville Caddoan Mississippian Battle Belcher Blue Spring Shelter Bluffton Caddo Caddoan Mounds Gahagan Hughes Ka - Do - Ha Indian Village Keller Spiro Upper Mississippian cultures Oneota Beattie Park Mound Group Blood Run Hartley Fort State Preserve Roche - a-Cri Petroglyphs Fort Ancient culture Alligator Effigy Mound Clover Dodge Leo Petroglyph Serpent Mound SunWatch Indian Village Culture Agriculture Beans Chenopodium Little barley Maize Marshelder Pumpkin Squash Sunflower Three Sisters Tobacco Artwork Emmons mask Copper plates Rogan plates Spiro plates Wulfing cache Long - nosed god maskette Mill Creek chert Pottery Shell gorget Stone statuary Languages Caddoan Central Algonquian Cherokee Mobilian Jargon Muskogean Natchez Taensa Siouan Timucuan Tunican Yuchi Religion Ballgame ( Southeastern ) Northern Black drink Burial mound Ceremonial pipe Chanunpa Chunkey Earth / fertility cult Green Corn Ceremony Horned Serpent Platform mound Red Horn Sacred bundle Village bundle Southeastern Ceremonial Complex Stone box grave Thunderbird Underwater panther Related topics Chevron bead Clarksdale bell Mound Builder de Soto Expedition Pre-Columbian North America Periods Lithic Archaic Formative Classic Post-Classic Archaeological cultures Adena Alachua Ancient Beringian Ancient Pueblo ( Anasazi ) Baytown Belle Glade Buttermilk Creek Complex Caborn - Welborn Calf Creek Caloosahatchee Clovis Coles Creek Comondú Deptford Folsom Fort Ancient Fort Walton Fremont Glacial Kame Glades Hohokam Hopewell List of Hopewell sites La Jolla Las Palmas Leon - Jefferson Mississippian List of Mississippian sites Mogollon Monongahela Old Cordilleran Oneota Paleo - Arctic Paleo - Indians Patayan Plano Plaquemine Poverty Point Red Ocher Santa Rosa - Swift Creek St. Johns Steed - Kisker Tchefuncte Tocobaga Troyville Archaeological sites Angel Mounds Anzick Clovis burial Bandelier National Monument Blue Spring Shelter The Bluff Point Stoneworks Brewster Cahokia Candelaria Cave Casa Grande Chaco Canyon Coso Rock Art District Crystal River Archaeological State Park Cuarenta Casas Cueva de la Olla Eaker El Fin del Mundo El Vallecito Effigy Mounds National Monument Etowah Indian Mounds Eva Folsom Site Fort Ancient Fort Center Fort Juelson Four Mounds Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Glenwood Grimes Point Holly Bluff Site Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Huápoca Kimball Village Kincaid Mounds Kolomoki Mounds Lake Jackson Mounds L'Anse aux Meadows Marksville Marmes Rockshelter Meadowcroft Rockshelter Mesa Verde Moaning Cavern Moorehead Circle Morrison Mounds Moundville Mummy Cave Nodena Site Ocmulgee National Monument Old Stone Fort Orwell Site Paquime Parkin Park Pinson Mounds Portsmouth Earthworks Poverty Point Pueblo Bonito Recapture Canyon Rock Eagle Rock Hawk Russell Cave National Monument Salmon Ruins Serpent Mound Sierra de San Francisco Spiro Mounds SunWatch Taos Pueblo Toltec Mounds Town Creek Indian Mound Turkey River Mounds Upward Sun River site Velda Mound West Oak Forest Earthlodge Winterville Wupatki National Monument Human remains Anzick - 1 Arlington Springs Man Buhl Woman Kennewick Man La Brea Woman Leanderthal Lady Minnesota Woman Spirit Cave mummy Miscellaneous Aridoamerica Black drink Ceremonial pipe Chunkey Clovis point Container Revolution Eastern Agricultural Complex Eden point Effigy mound Falcon dancer Folsom point Green Corn Ceremony Horned Serpent Kiva Medicine wheel Metallurgy Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing Mound Builders N.A.G.P.R.A. Norse colonization of North America Oasisamerica Piasa Southeastern Ceremonial Complex Stickball Three Sisters agriculture Thunderbird Underwater panther Water glyphs Related Genetic history Portal of Indigenous peoples of North America Pre-Columbian era U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types Lists by states Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Lists by insular areas American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Lists by associated states Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau Other areas District of Columbia Morocco Portal Protected areas of Illinois Federal National Historic Sites Chicago Portage Lincoln Home National Monument Pullman National Forest Shawnee National Wildlife Refuges Chautauqua Crab Orchard Cypress Creek Driftless Area Emiquon Hackmatack Mark Twain Meredosia Middle Mississippi River Port Louisa Two Rivers Upper Mississippi River National Grassland Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie National Trails / National Heritage Area Lewis and Clark Mormon Pioneer Trail of Tears Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area National Natural Landmarks List of National Natural Landmarks in Illinois National Wild and Scenic Rivers Middle Fork Vermilion River State State Parks Apple River Argyle Lake Beall Woods Beaver Dam Buffalo Rock Castle Rock Cave - in - Rock Chain O'Lakes Channahon Delabar Dixon Springs Donnelley / Depue Ferne Clyffe Fort Massac Fox Ridge Franklin Creek Gebhard Woods Giant City Hennepin Canal Parkway Horseshoe Lake Illini Illinois Beach James `` Pate '' Philip Jubilee College Kankakee River Lake Le - Aqua - Na Lake Murphysboro Lincoln Trail Lowden Matthiessen Mississippi Palisades Moraine Hills Morrison - Rockwood Nauvoo Pere Marquette Red Hills Rock Cut Rock Island Trail Shabbona Lake Siloam Springs South Shore Starved Rock Walnut Point Weinberg - King White Pines Forest Wildlife Prairie William G. Stratton Wolf Creek State Historic Sites List of Illinois State Historic Sites ( including, Cahokia World Heritage Site ) State Forests Big River Hidden Springs Lowden - Miller Sand Ridge Trail of Tears State Recreation Areas Clinton Lake Eagle Creek Eldon Hazlet Frank Holten Golconda Marina Johnson - Sauk Trail Kickapoo Moraine View North Point Marina Prophetstown Pyramid Ramsey Lake Randolph County Sangchris Lake Stephen A. Forbes Washington County Wayne Fitzgerrell Weldon Springs William W. Powers State Fish & Wildlife Areas Anderson Lake Baldwin Lake Banner Marsh Carlyle Lake Coffeen Lake Crawford County Des Plaines Double T Edward R. Madigan Green River Hamilton County Heidecke Lake Horseshoe Lake ( Alexander County ) Iroquois County Kaskaskia River Kinkaid Lake Kishwaukee River LaSalle Lake Mackinaw River Marshall Mautino Mazonia / Braidwood Mermet Lake Middle Fork Mississippi River Newton Lake Jim Edgar Panther Creek Peabody River Ray Norbut Rend Lake Rice Lake Sahara Woods Saline County Sam Dale Lake Sam Parr Sanganois Shelbyville Silver Springs Snakeden Hollow Spring Lake Ten Mile Creek Turkey Bluffs Union County Woodford State Natural Areas Bartlett Woods Cache River Fults Hill Prairie Goose Lake Prairie Harry `` Babe '' Woodyard Illinois Caverns Kidd Lake Piney Creek Ravine Prairie Ridge Revis Hill Prairie Sand Prairie - Scrub Oak Sielbeck Forest Spitler Woods Volo Bog State Trails Mormon Trail Trail of Tears Tunnel Hill Local County Districts Local forest and conservation districts Chicago Illinois Department of Natural Resources Commons World Heritage Sites in the United States Northeast Independence Hall Statue of Liberty Midwest Cahokia South Everglades Great Smoky Mountains Mammoth Cave Monticello and the University of Virginia Poverty Point San Antonio Missions West Carlsbad Caverns Chaco Culture National Historical Park Grand Canyon National Park Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Kluane - Wrangell -- St. Elias - Glacier Bay - Tatshenshini - Alsek Mesa Verde Olympic National Park Pueblo de Taos Papahānaumokuākea Redwood Waterton - Glacier International Peace Park Yellowstone National Park Yosemite National Park Territories La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site Shared with Canada Museums and cultural institutions in Greater St. Louis Art Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis Laumeier Sculpture Park Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum Pulitzer Arts Foundation Saint Louis Art Museum St. Louis Mercantile Library Art Museum Saint Louis University Museum of Art The Sheldon William and Florence Schmidt Art Center Architecture Gateway Arch Frank Lloyd Wright Kraus House Botanical Jewel Box Missouri Botanical Garden Children 's City Museum The Magic House History Alton Museum of History and Art Anheuser - Busch Brewery Basilica of St. Louis, King of France Campbell House Museum Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis Chatillon - DeMenil House Cupples House Daniel Boone Home Eugene Field House First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site Jefferson Barracks Museums Scott Joplin House State Historic Site Lemp Mansion Lewis and Clark State Historic Site Missouri History Museum Museum of Westward Expansion Old Cahokia Courthouse Old Courthouse Benjamin Stephenson House Soldiers ' Memorial Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site Union Station Science and natural history Cahokia Mounds Crow Observatory Mastodon State Historic Site McDonnell Planetarium Saint Louis Science Center Sports St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame World Chess Hall of Fame Theatres and music venues Fox Theatre The Muny National Blues Museum Kiel Opera House Powell Hall The Sheldon Transportation Greater Saint Louis Air & Space Museum Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum Museum of Transportation Zoological Butterfly House World Aquarium Saint Louis Zoo Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cahokia&oldid=856975337 '' Categories : Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Middle Mississippian culture Native American museums in Illinois Archaeological museums in Illinois Museums in St. Clair County, Illinois State parks of Illinois Archaeological sites in Illinois Former Native American populated places in the United States Populated places established in the 7th century National Register of Historic Places in St. Clair County, Illinois National Historic Landmarks in Illinois World Heritage Sites in the United States History of Greater St. Louis Protected areas of St. Clair County, Illinois Pre-historic cities in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Madison County, Illinois Mounds in Illinois 7th - century establishments in North America 14th - century disestablishments in North America Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from December 2013 Use mdy dates from May 2012 Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing French - language text Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikivoyage Languages Català Cebuano Čeština Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски മലയാളം მარგალური မြန်မာဘာသာ Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Slovenščina Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 29 more Edit links This page was last edited on 28 August 2018, at 18 : 52 ( UTC ). 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Question: at the apex of cahokia the population stood at
Answer: between 6,000 and 40,000