Cahokia's Lost City Analysis
Running head: Cahokia, America’s Lost City?
Cahokia, America’s Lost City?
Jennifer Sanchez
Professor Chryst, Eng 115
Abstract
Have you ever heard of Cahokia? In casual conversation, almost no one outside the St. Louis area has.
Cahokia, America’s Lost City?
Cahokia was the center, possibly the origin, of what anthropologists call Mississippian culture, a collection of agricultural communities that reached across the American Midwest and Southeast starting before A.D. 1000 and peaking around the 13th century. The idea that American Indians could have built something resembling a city was so foreign to European settlers, that when they discovered the mounds of Cahokia, the largest of which is a ten-story earthen colossus composed of more than 22 million cubic feet of soil, they commonly thought they must have been the work of a foreign civilization. Phoenicians or Vikings perhaps. Even to this day, the idea of an Indian city runs so contrary to American notions of Indian life that we can 't seem to absorb it, and perhaps it 's this ignorance that has led …show more content…
us to collectively ignore Cahokia 's very existence. Have you ever heard of Cahokia?
Located in and around what is now Collinsville, Illinois, at its peak the Cahokia covered nearly six square miles and had a population of as many as 100,000 people. These ancient Indians built more than 120 earthen mounds in the city. Many others are thought to have been altered or destroyed by farming and construction. While some are no more than a small mound on the land, others reach more than100 feet. Made entirely of earth these ancient people moved the soil on their backs in baskets to the construction sites, most of which show evidence of several construction stages. More than 50 million cubic feet of earth was moved for the construction of the mounds, leaving large depressions called borrow pits, which can still be seen in the area.
Three types of mounds were constructed, the most common of which wash a platform mound, thought to have been used as monumental structures for political or religious ceremonies and may have once been topped by large buildings. Conical and ridge top mounds were also constructed for use as burial locations or marking important locations.
At the center of the historical site is the largest earthwork called Monks Mound. At one hundred feet, it is the largest prehistoric earthen mound in North America. The mound is 1,000 feet long, 800 feet wide and comprised of four terraces, each one probably added at different times. An estimated 22 million cubic feet of earth was used to build the mound between the years of 900 and 1,200 A.D. The mound was named for French monks who lived nearby in the early 1,800 's as was most likely the site where the principal ruler lived, conducted ceremonies, and governed the city. Over the years, the mound has significantly eroded or been damaged by man, so that the original size is now uncertain.
The most interesting discoveries made during excavations were that of a small ridge top mound referred to as Mound 72. On this particular mound, archeologists found the bodies of nearly 300 people, mostly young women believed to have been sacrificial victims. Nearby was another grave that of what appears to have been a male ruler about 45 years old. Laid upon a bed of 20,000 marine shell disc beads, archeologists believe that many of the other bodies buried near him are the remains of those who were sacrificed to serve him in the next life.
Archaeologists have also excavated four, and possibly five, circular sun calendars referred to as Woodhenge. These evenly spaced log posts were utilized to determine the changing seasons, displaying an impressive example of scientific and engineering practices.
A gradual decline in the Cahokia population is thought to have begun sometime after 1200 A.D.
and two centuries later, the entire site had been abandoned. Though the fate of the Cahokia Indians remains unknown, theories include climate changes, war, disease, and drought. Archeologists continue to be puzzled by the fact that there are no legends, records, nor mention of the once grand city in the lore of other local tribes, including the Osage, Omaha, Ponca and Quapaw. This strange silence has led some experts to theorize that something particularly dreadful happened at the site, for which the other tribes wished to forget. Is this why we are not educated about Cahokia? Or is the European belief that Native Americans could never have built such a large and thriving metropolis the reason we are ignorant to this very important part of our history? Have you ever heard of
Cahokia?
References
Hemmings, D. (Director). (2004). Ancient civilizations [Documentary]. USA: Distributed by Questar.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. (n.d.). Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.cahokiamounds.org/
Cahokia, Illinois. (2013, March 11). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia,_Illinois
Cahokia: America 's Lost City - National Geographic Magazine. (n.d.). Cahokia: America 's Lost City - National Geographic Magazine. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/01/cahokia/hodges-text/2
Pauketat, T. R. (2004). Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Seppa, N. (n.d.). Ancient Cahokia. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march/12/cahokia.htm
Cahokia, America’s Lost City?
Jennifer Sanchez
Professor Chryst, Eng 115
Abstract
Have you ever heard of Cahokia? In casual conversation, almost no one outside the St. Louis area has.
Cahokia, America’s Lost City?
Cahokia was the center, possibly the origin, of what anthropologists call Mississippian culture, a collection of agricultural communities that reached across the American Midwest and Southeast starting before A.D. 1000 and peaking around the 13th century. The idea that American Indians could have built something resembling a city was so foreign to European settlers, that when they discovered the mounds of Cahokia, the largest of which is a ten-story earthen colossus composed of more than 22 million cubic feet of soil, they commonly thought they must have been the work of a foreign civilization. Phoenicians or Vikings perhaps. Even to this day, the idea of an Indian city runs so contrary to American notions of Indian life that we can 't seem to absorb it, and perhaps it 's this ignorance that has led …show more content…
us to collectively ignore Cahokia 's very existence. Have you ever heard of Cahokia?
Located in and around what is now Collinsville, Illinois, at its peak the Cahokia covered nearly six square miles and had a population of as many as 100,000 people. These ancient Indians built more than 120 earthen mounds in the city. Many others are thought to have been altered or destroyed by farming and construction. While some are no more than a small mound on the land, others reach more than100 feet. Made entirely of earth these ancient people moved the soil on their backs in baskets to the construction sites, most of which show evidence of several construction stages. More than 50 million cubic feet of earth was moved for the construction of the mounds, leaving large depressions called borrow pits, which can still be seen in the area.
Three types of mounds were constructed, the most common of which wash a platform mound, thought to have been used as monumental structures for political or religious ceremonies and may have once been topped by large buildings. Conical and ridge top mounds were also constructed for use as burial locations or marking important locations.
At the center of the historical site is the largest earthwork called Monks Mound. At one hundred feet, it is the largest prehistoric earthen mound in North America. The mound is 1,000 feet long, 800 feet wide and comprised of four terraces, each one probably added at different times. An estimated 22 million cubic feet of earth was used to build the mound between the years of 900 and 1,200 A.D. The mound was named for French monks who lived nearby in the early 1,800 's as was most likely the site where the principal ruler lived, conducted ceremonies, and governed the city. Over the years, the mound has significantly eroded or been damaged by man, so that the original size is now uncertain.
The most interesting discoveries made during excavations were that of a small ridge top mound referred to as Mound 72. On this particular mound, archeologists found the bodies of nearly 300 people, mostly young women believed to have been sacrificial victims. Nearby was another grave that of what appears to have been a male ruler about 45 years old. Laid upon a bed of 20,000 marine shell disc beads, archeologists believe that many of the other bodies buried near him are the remains of those who were sacrificed to serve him in the next life.
Archaeologists have also excavated four, and possibly five, circular sun calendars referred to as Woodhenge. These evenly spaced log posts were utilized to determine the changing seasons, displaying an impressive example of scientific and engineering practices.
A gradual decline in the Cahokia population is thought to have begun sometime after 1200 A.D.
and two centuries later, the entire site had been abandoned. Though the fate of the Cahokia Indians remains unknown, theories include climate changes, war, disease, and drought. Archeologists continue to be puzzled by the fact that there are no legends, records, nor mention of the once grand city in the lore of other local tribes, including the Osage, Omaha, Ponca and Quapaw. This strange silence has led some experts to theorize that something particularly dreadful happened at the site, for which the other tribes wished to forget. Is this why we are not educated about Cahokia? Or is the European belief that Native Americans could never have built such a large and thriving metropolis the reason we are ignorant to this very important part of our history? Have you ever heard of
Cahokia?
References
Hemmings, D. (Director). (2004). Ancient civilizations [Documentary]. USA: Distributed by Questar.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. (n.d.). Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.cahokiamounds.org/
Cahokia, Illinois. (2013, March 11). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia,_Illinois
Cahokia: America 's Lost City - National Geographic Magazine. (n.d.). Cahokia: America 's Lost City - National Geographic Magazine. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/01/cahokia/hodges-text/2
Pauketat, T. R. (2004). Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Seppa, N. (n.d.). Ancient Cahokia. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march/12/cahokia.htm