Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Dating from the Mississippian period (800–1350 at this site), Cahokia Mounds is the largest pre-Columbian archaeological site north of Mexico; it is also the earliest of the large Mississippian settlements. It is the pre-eminent example of a cultural, religious and economic center of the prehistoric Mississippian cultural tradition.

Around the Cahokia site there are a number of paired mounds that consist of a rectangular platform mound and a conical mound. The largest pair, called the “Twin Mounds,” are at the south end of the Grand Plaza opposite Monks Mound. These two mounds are built upon a shared earthen platform. It is suggested that these mounds might be part of a mortuary complex and that a structure on top of the platform mound was probably a charnel house where the bodies of deceased were stored or prepared for burial, perhaps in the adjacent conical mound. There are four sets of these paired mounds on the site, each with different dimensions.

Mississippian buildings were of pole and thatch construction. A framework of wooden poles was first set into a two to three-foot dug trench. The trench was then filled in and the poles lashed together with saplings.

The interior and sometimes exterior walls were either covered with layers of woven mats or were plastered with a mixture of clay and grass (daub). Bundles of prairie grass thatching covered the roofs. Most dwellings housed single families and averaged 12 X 18 feet. Other structures included council lodges, communal buildings and grain storage. Those on top of mounds were ceremonial structures or homes of the elite and rulers. Small circular structures have been found at Cahokia Mounds that were likely sweat lodges.

In the late 1100s, the Stockade, a defensive feature was built around the central precinct of the site, enclosing Monks Mound, the Grand Plaza and 17 other mounds. It was about 3 218 m long with regularly-spaced bastions (guard towers), approximately 27 meters apart.

Here you can find four styles of Guard Towers.

Cahokia has the largest concentration of mounds of any Mississippian site. There were about 120 mounds over an area of nearly six square miles. Though the site was dynamic and changed over time, the general configuration of the site remained. The largest concentration of mounds is around Monks Mound, marking the center of the site. Small clusters of mounds are found at each of the corners of the site. In this map, you can see how mounds were grouped together and their orientations, as well as the overall plan of the site.

Visitors emerge from the orientation theater, and its award-winning multimedia show, into a spectacular mirrored re-creation of a Cahokian neighborhood in AD 1150. Mannequins cast from living Native Americans depict typical activities of daily life from grinding corn and making projectile points to passing an afternoon in the sweat lodge.

The Interpretive Center gallery features 7 exhibit islands. Each explores a different topic relating to the Mississippian culture or the Cahokians who lived here 1,000 years ago. In addition to the Culture Island shown above, the gallery exhibit islands explore products, life, structures, city, time and archaeology.

To make products of everyday life, as well as special use items, Cahokians utilized plant, animal and mineral resources that were available to them in the region, as well as materials that were acquired from farther distances through trade.

The Birdman Tablet, approximately 4 inches high and 2 ½ inches wide, was found in excavations of the East Lobe of Monks Mound in 1971. This sandstone tablet depicts a man with a bird-like mask and winged costume in a dance pose, a common form of bird-man symbolism in the Mississippian culture.

The reverse side of the Tablet is engraved with diagonal crosshatching, which may represent snake skin; thus, creatures of the Cahokian upper world, this world and the lowerworld are united on this tablet, reflecting the Mississippian cosmology. This iconic image is the logo of Cahokia Mounds.