num_pages: 256
description: Provides a theoretical explanation of how prehistoric Cahokia became a stratified society Considering Cahokia in terms of class struggle Pauketat claims that the political consolidation in this region of the Mississippi Valley happened quite suddenly around A.D. 1000 after which the lords of Cahokia innovated strategies to preserve their power and ultimately emerged as divine chiefs. The new ideas and new data in this volume will invigorate the debate surrounding one of the most important developments in North American prehistory. 
language: English
title: The Ascent of Chiefs: Cahokia and Mississippian Politics in Native North America
publisher: University Alabama Press