Day 18 - Free Day in St. Louis area

By:  Ken Adams - Adventure 1  

A class in Pre-Columbian Cultural Anthropology, taken long ago, created an abiding interest in ancient habitation sites and cultures. I could not resist the opportunity to use some of a “free day” to visit this World Heritage Site. The comparison and contrast with others I have been fortunate enough to explore added to my appreciation of how advanced these people were.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

The city of Cahokia was inhabited from about A.D. 700 to 1400. At its peak, from A.D. 1050 to 1200, the city covered nearly six square miles and 10,000 to 20,000 people lived here. Cahokia was larger than London was in AD 1250. The Mississippians who lived here erected a wide variety of structures from practical homes for everyday living to monumental earthen mounds that have maintained their grandeur for centuries.

The focus of the area is the Interpretive Center that provides an orientation video, and informative exhibits including a recreated village. Parts of the center explain the methods by which we have learned about these people.

Interpretive Center

Monks Mound

The largest mound on the site is Monk’s Mound. It does not appear too impressive from a mile away, but seen from other vantage points it stands out from the surrounding area.

This model from the center illustrates
how it looked at the height of
development.

This illustration depicts living there
at that time.

Cahokia Communities Map

Like we have learned about other ancient  cultural sites, Cahokia did not exist in isolation, but was the center of a hierarchy of outlying communities and villages.

It may be that religious 'outposts' of Cahokia were scattered throughout the upper Midwest, interacting with local groups.

When the Spanish and later French explorers visited peoples in the Southeast from the mid 1500s through the 1700s, they wrote about the complex societies they found. They described protected villages and social classes of Nobles Craftsmen and Commoners.

Making Flints

Several aspects of the culture have been deduced by the investigation of anthropologists.

Tatooed Native

Tatooed Head Pot

In both the accounts of the first European explorers and from artifacts, it appears that the people adorned themselves with tattoos. The implements used in the process appear to have been very painful.

Tatoo Masks

TatooTool

Others spent the free day doing laundry, shopping, and other chores.  Ira and Beverly Miller had a nice visit with family who are from the area.  

Clayton, Ira and Nathan, Laura and Garrick, and Beverly

Laura (Ira's daughter) with Garrick,
Nathan and Clayton

And of course, what would an Adventure Caravan Day be like without ending with an informal social with food!

Dick has been at the smoker again!