Cahokia Mounds - Essay Sample

Introduction

The one place I have visited in recent times and will be back is the Cahokia Mounds State Historic site. Beautiful scenery including the Monks Mounds are bound to make one tour the area again. Located in the southern part of Illinois near East St Louis, the site contains over a hundred mounds that were part of a city in the past. The town existed about a thousand years ago making up a critical part of the society at that time. Today the site is an archaeological site with scientists studying it to understand the ways of people before Europeans made contact. The essay aims to describe the Cahokia Mounds, exploring what other people think about it.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Location and History

Although the original name of the town is unknown, it was later named after a tribe that lived in the region; the Cahokia which was a member of the Illinois Confederation. The Cahokia people are currently considered extinct. The first settlements in the area began around the 6th century, but the construction of the mounds took place three hundred years later. The people did not have a written form of communication, but they left symbols in pottery, wood, shell, and stones. The people also practiced agriculture, planting crops to feed the population of about ten thousand to twenty thousand. The community also traded with the other groups such as those located around the lakes region, and the city was therefore of great importance to those who lived in it and the surrounding areas (Emerson, Thomas and Kristin 149).

During the13th century, the town declined in power. The city was entirely deserted by 1300 and only later did other tribes settle. The original inhabitants did not come back. Reasons such as increased warfare with surrounding groups and diseases spreading through the urban population may have caused a decline in the region. The stratified society ruled by chiefs ceased to exist. The "woodhenge" is a vital artifact found in the mounds suggesting that the Cahokians practiced astronomy. The people built posts that formed a ring which when aligned with another outside the circle, it showed exactly where the sun rose in spring and set in the equinoxes. A few woodhenges were built and one has ever been reconstructed. A copper workshop was even identified from the mounds (Rauf 10).

What Other Materials Say About Cahokia

Researchers in the last century identified about 270 bodies on Mound 72. The remains were mostly young women, and the archaeologists believe that the people had been killed for sacrifices. The mound features different layers, each layer added after some time. The people in various layers died differently, with a particular layer containing about 39 bodies showing that the people were violently killed and dumped in the grave. The mound also has the remains of a strong leader and his servants killed to accompany him in the next life. The city was profoundly religious, and its leaders offered the sacrifices to recognize the existence of other beings. There is a considerable number of bodies of people who were not from the town. The town, therefore, acquired people to sacrifice from the surrounding regions, mostly through warfare, but the locals made the majority of those slaughtered (Hedman, Kristin and Hargrave 167).

Cahokia encouraged art and other cultural activities. Among the several found artifacts from the mounds is a stone artifact showing a person playing a game. The game is referred to as "Chunkey," and historians are not aware of the rules of the game. The game was even played in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in some parts of the United States. Stone disks and giant sticks are thought to have been a critical part of the game. The game was played as a team sport to bring people together near the Monks Mound. The competition involved several players, and the majority of the people watched on the sides as the hundreds of sticks flew in the air. The town dwellers, therefore, participated in the sport, a break from the activities such as farming and trading. In the eighteenth century, people gambled on the results of the game while it is not clear if Cahokians gambled (Round 450).

What Other People Say About Cahokia

Cahokia mounds are considered sacred by many people in North America. Certain metaphysical groups in the region believe the place has strong psychic energy. Many people visit the area to view the beautiful scenery and to offer prayers to the dead. Also, some people are fascinated by the people who built the mounds, and they want to know how a small town grew to a healthy city controlling most of the activities in the region. The region became strong even before Europeans made contact in the area, yet it was well planned; the leaders knew the population would increase. However, unlike other ancient cities, the town was abandoned (Pauketat, Timothy and Susan 50). The city, therefore, is both a historical and a sacred place, receiving millions of people every year who think it is essential.

Monk Mounds were significant to the Illinois Scientific Establishment members. When news spread that the mounds were going to be level, the members attempted to save them. The piles were also in danger of destruction due to cultivation in the region. The mounds were also carelessly excavated. The American Institute for Archaeology was also concerned about the leveling of the hills. The organizations, therefore, formed several committees and turned to the federal government to stop the move. Individuals also thought the mounds important and participated in the preservation. Josua Lindahl designed a plan on how the park would come to be a state property by using the legislature. Many anthropologists and archaeologist thought Cahokia mounds were an essential part of history and took part in its preservation (Rauf 23).

The Illinois State owns Cahokia Mounds and designated as a historic site of the state. The designation is essential to preserve the site and control how the public relates to the site. Since millions visit the area each year, the place is a critical part of the region's economy hence the need to protect it. Also, the site is managed by an agency of the Illinois government and the archaeological resources protected by the laws and regulations of the state. In 2008, a master plan was devised to preserve, interpret, restore and research on the historic site. The program also protects the region from erosion, floods, and archaeological features which may be damaged (Rauf 40). The region essential to the government hence the many steps taken to protect it.

Important Aspects

From the visit, I found the rise of the ancient city from a small town important. The story of its growth is particularly intriguing. Cahokia was the largest city north of Mexico before the Europeans set foot in the region. The center began after rivers shrank exposing a large strip of land that could easily be tilled. The people, therefore, started growing corns and rarely practiced hunting, which was their primary source of food before. Due to the agriculture and trade, the town grew to become a powerful state in the region, with people moving from the neighboring villages to take part in the new ventures. The town leaders knew the population would grow hence the town was well planned; to expand as the population increased (Emerson, Thomas and Kristin 149). The people went ahead and built mounds that still stand even today.

The society was a complicated one with chiefs being in charge. Leadership was hereditary, and the leaders were mighty. The center encouraged the growth of the minor industry to produce tools necessary for agriculture and to trade with the neighboring communities. At the height of its power, the town was highly populated and a major trading center in the region. The city also developed a strong culture, with artifacts being passed to the children and gift giving a common tradition. The town became successful, and a wall had to be built to protect it against external attacks. Although the city only started as a small center, it grew to become one of the most influential towns in North America before the Europeans arrived. The growth is essential showing how determination can help one overcome a difficult situation and be successful at the end (Round 450).

Conclusion

The visit to the old city of Cahokia was a good one, and I am bound to be back to explore the place more. One may wonder why millions of people travel to the site, but the history of the area is fascinating, showing the aspects of the people who lived before us. Although studying the mounds reveals details such as human cruelty through sacrificing their fellow people, the cultural ways of the people reveals more. The site has been of importance to different groups hence the reasons why it has been preserved, holding both historical and archaeological value. Many people visit the region for various reasons. Since only a few mounds have been excavated, one cannot help but wait for the others to be explored; to show what kind of information they hold. Visiting Cahokia Mounds was a good idea.

Works Cited

Emerson, Thomas E., and Kristin M. Hedman. "The dangers of diversity: The consolidation and dissolution of Cahokia, native North America's first urban polity." Beyond Collapse: Archaeological Perspectives on Resilience, Revitalization, and Transformation in Complex Societies (2016): 147-175.

Hedman, Kristin M., and Eve A. Hargrave. "Ritual and Death, Integration and Community Building at Early Cahokia." Archaeology and Ancient Religion in the American Midcontinent (2018): 167.

Pauketat, Timothy R., and Susan M. Alt. "The elements of Cahokian shrine complexes and basis of Mississippian religion." Religion and Politics in the Ancient Americas. Routledge, 2017. 51-74, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781317440833/chapters/10.4324/9781315694856-3

Rauf, Don. Breaking History: Lost America: Vanished Civilizations, Abandoned Towns, and Roadside Attractions. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.

Round, Phillip H. "Mississippian Contexts for Early American Studies." Early American Literature 53.2 (2018): 445-473, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/696824/summary