CAHOKIA PART 2....THE SITE (Lots of pics!)

[rmartin]

Cahokia Mounds State historical Site in located in southwestern Illinois. It was the home of up to 20,000 Mississippian people approximately 1000 years ago give or take a year hundred years ago. It is estimated it covered nearly 4000 acres and contained as many as 120 mounds, of which it is estimated that 85 still survive. The two most notable mounds are Monks Mound which is 104 feet high and covers over 13 acres and Mound 72 which is a low unassuming mound over 800 yards away from the big one.
Monks Mound


View from the top


A walk through the grounds....

[rmartin]

[chase]

Since I have very little knowledge of the mound builders. how long do they estimate it took to build the Monks Mound. and 120 mounds do they have an Idea what so many were there for, I am sure it was not all for Burial.

[rmartin]

How would you like to live here? My first recollection of the site was back in the early 60's and there were I think eight houses situated in a small neighborhood.

[rmartin]

Mound 72 is a low unassuming mound that was excavated from 1967 through 1971. This was actually two small mounds that a third mound covered. A total of 272 individuals were found buried there. It has been recreated. I have read where at least 30 percent of this mound remains untouched. One burial in particular stands out as no other ever found in the U.S. An evident powerful leader was laid out on a blanket of 20,000 shell beads. He was also buried with several caches of some of the finest arrow points ever made. Two of these caches included more than 400 points each and from regions as far away as Spiro in Ok. and Atzalan in Wisc. There was also a cache of several hundred antler projectile points and one of 15 fine discoidals. There was also buried with him 53 women and 4 males with their heads and hands removed. I am providing a ling that explains this better.

http://www.lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2001augustmound72excavation1.htm

Mound 72 as it sits today

[rmartin]

chase wrote:

Since I have very little knowledge of the mound builders. how long do they estimate it took to build the Monks Mound. and 120 mounds do they have an Idea what so many were there for, I am sure it was not all for Burial.

  Chase, I am not sure how long it took to build Monks mound. One interesting note about it though. A few years ago they used ground penetration radar and found what they believe to be a large stone box somewhere in the interior. That one will remain a mystery forever as there are no plans to excavate. As far as purpose of the mounds, many if not all of the flat top mounds are considered Temple mound which had structures built on them.

[rmartin]

Another tidbit. The second largest mound at the site was destroyed in 1930 and 1931. It was called the Powell Mound. The landowner wanted to use the space for his farming. He offered the State of Illinois to buy his farm and then any institution time and money for them to excavate it. When he had no takers he started on the backside with a steamshovel and basically leveled it! Here is a link for information of that.

http://cahokiamounds.org/explore/cahokia-mounds/name/powell/

[dirt kicker]

Found some info about how long it took to build monks mound. Hard packed clay weighed 100 pounds per cubic foot. They calculate the total weight of 2.16 billion pounds. If each basket of earth weighed 50 pounds, it required 43.1 million baskets to build. The current population in illinois (2008) was 13 million. This means that each person that currently lives in illinois would have to deposit 3.3 baskets to build a structure that approximates the size and weight of monks mound.
A lot of time is required to deposit a volume of 21,551,623 cubic feet that composes monks mound. If a population of citizens lined up with baskets and deposited 1 basket every minute, it would take 82 years. If they deposited 1 basket every second, it would take 1.3658 years. With the guess of 20,000 people living at cahokia in its hayday, each person would have to carry 2,155 baskets to complete the mound.

[chase]

WOW Jason! :crazy:  :blink:  :silly:  Thanks for the bucket list. :crazy:  I guess some people air out the dirt and others pile it. :blush:  Really That was a great way of putting it into terms I understand.
Ray, this is a great thread. Fantastic pic's. Some how we need to get this into out Information Center, when its complete.
Thanks for sharing!

[CMD]

chase wrote:

WOW Jason! :crazy:  :blink:  :silly:  Thanks for the bucket list. :crazy:  I guess some people air out the dirt and others pile it. :blush:  Really That was a great way of putting it into terms I understand.
Ray, this is a great thread. Fantastic pic's. Some how we need to get this into out Information Center, when its complete.
Thanks for sharing!

  x2 great info and photos. Thanks, Ray.

[clovisoid]

rmartin wrote:


How would you like to live here? My first recollection of the site was back in the early 60's and there were I think eight houses situated in a small neighborhood.

  A quick look at Trulia.com for Collinsville that you by a couple of lots in the trailer park along the back side for $7,500.  Everyone has to right to a swimming pool in their yard, right?  Just kidding, but the area of the mounds is quite large and I've heard of some local collectors that have picked up great pieces from residents in the area.  Did you drive through the neighborhoods on either side of Collinsville Rd? There are a lot of neat little hills in between houses or behind them.
It is truly great how much of the core mound area is preserved and protected.  You go to Spiro or some of the big ones in Ohio, and you are really just looking at the pile of dirt that was left once they excavated everything down to nothing.  At Cahokia you can walk on a mound and realize that 20 feet down is a treasure that would rival any other.

[rmartin]

You are right about the area around the State owned site. If you look close as you drive around, mounds can be spotted just about anywhere. There is a laundromat with one in its parking lot and a big one with a chain link fence around it on Collinsville Road close to the main site. The State purchased a small tract a couple years ago that had as I recall three mounds. The scope of this site is almost beyond belief. The references I have read say it was somewhere around 4000 acres in size.

[rmartin]

One hundred and four of the mounds have been assigned a number. Here is a link to Cahokiamounds.org that lists them with a description. http://cahokiamounds.org/explore/cah...unds/number/1/