Download or read book Cahokia and the North American Worlds written by Sarah E. Baires and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-03-10 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The City of Cahokia provides a unique case study to review what draws people to a place and why. This Element examines not only the emergence and decline of this great American city but its intersection with the broader Native American world during this period. Cahokia was not an isolated complex but a place vivid on the landscape where people made pilgrimages to and from Cahokia for trade and religious practices. Cahokia was a centre-place with expansive reach and cultural influence. This Element analyses the social and political processes that helped create this city while also reflecting on the trajectory of Native American history in North America.
Download or read book Cahokia written by Timothy R. Pauketat and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: About one thousand years ago, Native Americans built hundreds of earthen platform mounds, plazas, residential areas, and other types of monuments in the vicinity of present-day St. Louis. This sprawling complex, known to archaeologists as Cahokia, was the dominant cultural, ceremonial, and trade center north of Mexico for centuries. This stimulating collection of essays casts new light on the remarkable accomplishments of Cahokia.
Download or read book Cahokia the Great Native American Metropolis written by Biloine W. Young and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Five centuries before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, indigenous North Americans had already built a vast urban center on the banks of the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today. This is the story of North America's largest archaeological site, told through the lives, personalities, and conflicts of the men and women who excavated and studied it. At its height the metropolis of Cahokia had twenty thousand inhabitants in the city center with another ten thousand in the outskirts. Cahokia was a precisely planned community with a fortified central city and surrounding suburbs. Its entire plan reflected the Cahokian's concept of the cosmos. Its centerpiece, Monk's Mound, ten stories tall, is the largest pre-Columbian structure in North America, with a base circumference larger than that of either the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt or the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan in Mexico. Nineteenth-century observers maintained that the mounds, too sophisticated for primitive Native American cultures, had to have been created by a superior, non-Indian race, perhaps even by survivors of the lost continent of Atlantis. Melvin Fowler, the "dean" of Cahokia archaeologists, and Biloine Whiting Young tell an engrossing story of the struggle to protect the site from the encroachment of interstate highways and urban sprawl. Now identified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and protected by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Cahokia serves as a reminder that the indigenous North Americans had a past of complexity and great achievement.
Download or read book The Ascent of Chiefs written by Timothy R. Pauketat and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 1994-09-30 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Cahokia written by Timothy R. Pauketat and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2010-07-27 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating story of a lost city and an unprecedented American civilization located in modern day Illinois near St. Louis While Mayan and Aztec civilizations are widely known and documented, relatively few people are familiar with the largest prehistoric Native American city north of Mexico-a site that expert Timothy Pauketat brings vividly to life in this groundbreaking book. Almost a thousand years ago, a city flourished along the Mississippi River near what is now St. Louis. Built around a sprawling central plaza and known as Cahokia, the site has drawn the attention of generations of archaeologists, whose work produced evidence of complex celestial timepieces, feasts big enough to feed thousands, and disturbing signs of human sacrifice. Drawing on these fascinating finds, Cahokia presents a lively and astonishing narrative of prehistoric America.
Download or read book Cahokia s Complexities written by Susan M. Alt and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2018-04-24 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical new discoveries and archaeological patterns increase understanding of early Mississippian culture and society The reasons for the rise and fall of early cities and ceremonial centers around the world have been sought for centuries. In the United States, Cahokia has been the focus of intense archaeological work to explain its mysteries. Cahokia was the first and exponentially the largest of the Mississippian centers that appeared across the Midwest and Southeast after AD 1000. Located near present-day East St. Louis, Illinois, the central complex of Cahokia spanned more than 12 square kilometers and encompassed more than 120 earthen mounds. As one of the foremost experts on Cahokia, Susan M. Alt addresses long-standing considerations of eastern Woodlands archaeology—the beginnings, character, and ending of Mississippian culture (AD 1050–1600)—from a novel theoretical and empirical vantage point. Through this case study on farmers’ immigration and resettling, Alt’s narrative reanalyzes the relationship between administration and diversity, incorporating critical new discoveries and archaeological patterns from outside of Cahokia. Alt examines the cultural landscape of the Cahokia flood plain and the layout of one extraordinary upland site, Grossman, as an administrative settlement where local farmers might have seen or participated in Cahokian rituals and ceremonies involving a web of ancestors, powers, and places. Alt argues that a farming district outside the center provides definitive evidences of the attempted centralized administration of a rural hinterland.
Download or read book Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians written by Timothy R. Pauketat and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-06-17 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using a wealth of archaeological evidence, this book outlines the development of Mississippian civilization.
Download or read book Cahokia written by Sally A. Kitt Chappell and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2002-02-15 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the turn of the last millennium, a powerful Native American civilization emerged and flourished in the American Midwest. By A.D. 1050 the population of its capital city, Cahokia, was larger than that of London. Without the use of the wheel, beasts of burden, or metallurgy, its technology was of the Stone Age, yet its culture fostered widespread commerce, refined artistic expression, and monumental architecture. The model for this urbane world was nothing less than the cosmos itself. The climax of their ritual center was a four-tiered pyramid covering fourteen acre rising a hundred feet into the sky—the tallest structure in the United States until 1867. This beautifully illustrated book traces the history of this six-square-mile area in the central Mississippi Valley from the Big Bang to the present. Chappell seeks to answer fundamental questions about this unique, yet still relatively unknown space, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. How did this swampy land become so amenable to human life? Who were the remarkable people who lived here before the Europeans came? Why did the whole civilization disappear so rapidly? What became of the land in the centuries after the Mississippians abandoned it? And finally, what can we learn about ourselves as we look into the changing meaning of Cahokia through the ages? To explore these questions, Chappell probes a wide range of sources, including the work of astronomers, geographers, geologists, anthropologists, and archaeologists. Archival photographs and newspaper accounts, as well as interviews with those who work at the site and Native Americans on their annual pilgrimage to the site, bring the story up to the present. Tying together these many threads, Chappell weaves a rich tale of how different people conferred their values on the same piece of land and how the transformed landscape, in turn, inspired different values in them-cultural, spiritual, agricultural, economic, and humanistic.
Download or read book Cahokia City of the Sun written by Claudia Gellman Mink and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Medieval Mississippians written by Timothy R. Pauketat and published by School for Advanced Research P. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Medieval Mississippians, the eighth volume in the award-winning Popular Archaeology Series, introduces a key historical period in pre-Columbian eastern North America--the "Mississippian" era--via a series of colorful chapters on places, practices, and peoples written from Native American and non-Native perspectives on the past. The volume lays out the basic contours of the early centuries of this era (AD 1000-1300) in the Mississippian heartland, making connections to later centuries and contemporary peoples. Cahokia the place and Cahokian social history undergird the book, but Mississippian material culture, landscapes, and descendants are highlighted, presenting a balanced view of the Mississippian world.
Download or read book Cahokia s Countryside written by Mark Mehrer and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this first comprehensive analysis of several recently uncovered sites in the American Bottom region, Mehrer focuses on household archaeology to shed light on the daily lives of the Mississippian people. He examines the objects of daily use--domestic and ceremonial buildings, storage and processing pits, mundane and exotic artifacts--to reconstruct the framework of everyday life and to show how the routines of early native people changed with time. New findings reveal the changing roles of households in their communities, exposing a social order more complex than previously thought. Mehrer examines seven sites in the American Bottom region--the Robert Schneider, BBB Motor, Turner-DeManger, Florence Street, Julien, Range, and Carbon Dioxide sites--and integrates his findings with new information from the large Cahokia mound center. Analyzing patterns of debris distribution, pit morphology and arrangement, and household organization, he reveals much about the social and cultural developments in the region. While illuminating the daily lives of Cahokians, Mehrer develops an analytical approach to archaeological site data that can be applied in other parts of the world. The Cahokia region is of special interest because the Cahokia site is the largest mound center in North America and because the Mississippian society there rose and fell long before Europeans arrived. Although archaeologists have previously focused on Cahokia's elite population, until now little has been known about its rural residents.
Download or read book Cahokia written by T. R. Waven and published by . This book was released on 2023-07-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Step back in time and explore the captivating world of Cahokia, an ancient city that once thrived at the heart of the Mississippian civilization. In this meticulously researched and comprehensive book, we journey through the history, culture, and legacy of this enigmatic pre-Columbian metropolis. "Cahokia: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient American City" delves into the remarkable rise and flourishing of Cahokia, situated in the lush landscapes of present-day Illinois. Through the lens of archaeology, history, and interdisciplinary research, readers will gain a profound understanding of this sophisticated urban center. Uncover the mysteries of Cahokia's social organization, where hierarchical structures and political governance shaped the everyday lives of its inhabitants. Discover the significance of trade networks, commerce, and economic activities that contributed to Cahokia's prosperity and regional influence. Immerse yourself in the spiritual beliefs and religious practices of the Cahokian people, as we explore the sacred sites, rituals, and cosmological connections that bound the community together. Learn about the cultural expressions, symbolism, and artistic traditions that reveal the aesthetics and beliefs of this vibrant civilization. Trace the decline of Cahokia and the debates surrounding its enigmatic fall, investigating the potential factors that led to its transformation over time. Follow the enduring legacy of Cahokia on later Native American cultures and modern society, as we contemplate the impact of this ancient metropolis on the broader historical tapestry. This book sheds light on the diverse and vibrant world of Cahokia. Journey through time and explore the complexities, achievements, and resilience of a civilization that remains a testament to the rich cultural heritage of the Americas.
Download or read book Cahokia written by A. Martin Byers and published by . This book was released on 2009-03-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "[Byers] confronts conventional interpretations of the hierarchical socio-political organization of prehistoric Cahokia, arguing that its rise in the twelfth century resulted from its importance as a heterarchical multi-cult center. Both provoking and stimulating, Cahokia's arguments challenge current assumptions in archaeological reconstructions of prehistoric political complexity."--Thomas E. Emerson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Cahokia is located in the northern expanse of American Bottom, the largest of the Mississippian flood plains, and opposite St. Louis, Missouri. Byers overturns the current political characterization of this largest known North American prehistoric site north of Mexico. Rather than treating Cahokia as the seat of a dominant Native American polity, a "paramount chiefdom," Byers argues that it must be given a religious characterization as a world renewal cult center. Furthermore, the social and economic powers that it manifests must not be seen to reside in Cahokia itself but in multiple world renewal cults distributed across the American Bottom and in the nearby upland regions. Byers argues that Cahokia can be thought of as an affiliation of mutually autonomous cults that pooled their labor and other resources and established their collective mission as the performance of world renewal rituals by which to maintain and enhance the sacred powers of the cosmos. The cults, he argues, adopted two forms of sacrifice: one was the incrementally staged manipulation of the deceased (burial, disinterment, bone cleaning, and reburial), with each unfolding step constituting a mortuary act having different and greater world renewal sacrificial force. The other was lethal human sacrifice--probably correlated with long distance warfare by which to procure victims. A. Martin Byers is a research affiliate in anthropology at McGill University in Montreal.
Download or read book Cahokia written by John Kelly and published by American Landscapes. This book was released on 2019-03-05 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The large American Indian city of Cahokia sits amidst a diverse natural landscape within the larger central Mississippi river valley. Well positioned on the rich agricultural soils of the Mississippi river bottomlands of the Amercan Bottom it is at the core of a cultural landscape that its residents helped shape. In this volume the editors and authors attempt to not just focus on Cahokia and its configuration but also the other towns and settlements dispersed throughout the region extant for nearly four centuries. The importance of Cahokia to native peoples and to the world community as a UNESCO World Heritage site resides in its creation as a "Cosmological Center of the Universe." In order to begin comprehending where we are today in an interpretation that respects and plays homage to those that were instrumental in its conception and the implementation of a vision, one must understand the principles that underlie the Indigenous cosmology and rituals of Eastern North America. Mapping the mounds began as early as the late 18th century and thus represent the first efforts to depict what was readily seen. Over 300 sites with earthen mounds have been documented in the region and range from isolated mounds honoring the dead thousands of years ago to an array of over 100 mounds in the case of Cahokia that in some instances honored the ancestors individually and collectively. The editor's investigations over nearly 25 years have helped elucidate the significance of Cahokia as an urban center and the processes leading to its creation. The history of this sacred place are highlighted by a number of major discontinuities that represent intellectual "axis mundi" of this discussion. However, it is the broader landscape perspectives over the centuries that serve to illuminate the vibrant colors of this narrative.
Download or read book The World of Indigenous North America written by Robert Warrior and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-05 with total page 870 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World of Indigenous North America is a comprehensive look at issues that concern indigenous people in North America. Though no single volume can cover every tribe and every issue around this fertile area of inquiry, this book takes on the fields of law, archaeology, literature, socio-linguistics, geography, sciences, and gender studies, among others, in order to make sense of the Indigenous experience. Covering both Canada's First Nations and the Native American tribes of the United States, and alluding to the work being done in indigenous studies through the rest of the world, the volume reflects the critical mass of scholarship that has developed in Indigenous Studies over the past decade, and highlights the best new work that is emerging in the field. The World of Indigenous North America is a book for every scholar in the field to own and refer to often. Contributors: Chris Andersen, Joanne Barker, Duane Champagne, Matt Cohen, Charlotte Cote, Maria Cotera, Vincente M. Diaz, Elena Maria Garcia, Hanay Geiogamah, Carole Goldberg, Brendan Hokowhitu, Sharon Holland, LeAnne Howe, Shari Huhndorf, Jennie Joe, Ted Jojola, Daniel Justice, K. Tsianina Lomawaima, Jose Antonio Lucero, Tiya Miles, Felipe Molina, Victor Montejo, Aileen Moreton-Robinson, Val Napoleon, Melissa Nelson, Jean M. O'Brien, Amy E. Den Ouden, Gus Palmer, Michelle Raheja, David Shorter, Noenoe K. Silva, Shannon Speed, Christopher B. Teuton, Sean Teuton, Joe Watkins, James Wilson, Brian Wright-McLeod
Download or read book Star Path written by W. Michael Gear and published by Forge Books. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fourth novel in the Cahokian story cycle, Star Path is an evocative tale about America’s greatest pre-Columbian city by New York Times bestselling authors W. Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear How do you say no to a god? The god incarnate, Morning Star, sets his human sister Night Shadow Star and her slave Fire Cat on a dangerous journey to the edge of their world. For their brother, Walking Smoke, still lives...and is a madman who is convinced that he is the true deity destined to rule Cahokia. Night Shadow Star has her own agenda; the Underworld Lord Piasa has promised that if she and Fire Cat succeed with his agenda, they might become nameless, clanless, and worthless. And thus free. But the treacherous Tenasee River that they must travel holds its own perils. And at the end of the journey, Walking Smoke prepares to spring his trap. Star Path, the fourth book in the Gears’ People of Cahokia series, provides us with a rare look into the mystical underpinnings of Native American culture and the founding of Mississippian civilization.
Download or read book The Archaeology of Ancient North America written by Timothy R. Pauketat and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-27 with total page 735 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unlike extant texts, this textbook treats pre-Columbian Native Americans as history makers who yet matter in our contemporary world.
