Cahokia History

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In the years following European colonization of the New World, the English settlers began to build larger and larger cities. They viewed these achievements as a sign that they were bringing civilization to the Americas. But European colonists were not the first to erect complex cities on American soil, there were already vast townships scattered throughout the New World long before 1492. Cahokia is one of those cities. Sprawled out on the East bank of the Mississippi in what is now the state of Illinois, this city covered at least 6 miles and was home to at least 50,000 people, putting it on a par with in of the large capitals in Europe. Yet for all its size and numerous population, the city diminished in just a few years, leaving the frontier…show more content…
80 of the approximately 120 man-made earthen mounds that once covered the area still exist. To achieve construct these mounds, thousands of workers had to move more than 55 million cubic feet of earth over a period of decades, using little more than woven baskets, to create this system of mounds and public plazas. One such mound, called Monks Mound, covers 14 acres and rises 100 ft. It was topped by a immense 5,000 sq. ft. building reaching another 50 ft. (Cahokia, 2015). Monks Mounds, named for the Trappist monks that took up residence there for a short time after Euroamericans settled the area, is the largest edifice and would have been the central focus of the city. Excavations of Monks Mound revealed evidence of a large building, possibly a temple or the residence of the principal chief, which would explain it centrality in the city. Another public locality was the large flat plaza placed near to Monks Mound. Known as the Grand Plaza, it covers roughly 50 acres and served as a place where games and community rituals occurred (Cahokia,…show more content…
As the placement of the posts mark solstices and equinoxes, the site has come to be referred to as "Woodhenge." A second important finding was the discovery of a copper workshop. This is the only known Mississippian site where copper was worked. Just as insightful as these discoveries, if not more so, was the excavation of human remains. One such discovery took place at Mound 72, where archaeologists found the remains of a man in his 40s who was possibly a Cahokian chief. His probable importance is based on the fact that he was laid to rest on more than 20,000 marine-shell disc beads arranged in the shape of a falcon, a recurring image in Mississippian culture (Cahokia, 2015). As the physical remnants attest, Cahokia had a remarkable history. First settled around 600 CE during the Late Woodland period, the building of mounds began with the emergent Mississippian culture, about 900 CE. While the inhabitants left no written accounts beyond symbols etched into pottery and copper, among other mediums, the elaborately laid out community, along with Woodhenge and the mounds, reveal a highly complex and sophisticated society. As the city’s original name is a mystery, it was ascribed the name of the Cahokia tribe that French explorers encountered in that area in the 17th century (Cahokia,
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