Welcome to Cahokia!
The city was 2,200
acres and covered nearly 6 miles. Houses were arranged in rows and
around open plazas, and the main agricultural fields lay outside the city.
Cahokia proves that native people lived in the western lands long before
the Americans arrived.
Monks Mounds
Monks Mound is the
largest prehistoric landmark in America. It's base covers an area
of 14 acres and it rises to a height of 100 feet. Monks Mound was
where the chief lived, not a burial mound.
Woodhenge
Woodhenge
was a calender. It consisted of thirteen posts and was made out of
red cedar trees. They used the calender to determine the time of
the year. There were three posts as crucial seasonal markers, those
marking the first days of summer and winter (the solstices), and the one
halfway between marking the first days of spring and fall (the equinoxes).
The post marking these sunrises aligns with the front of Monks Mound, where
the leader resided, and it looks as though Monks Mound "gives birth" to
the sun.
Twin Mounds
The Twin Mounds are known as Fox Mound
and Roundtop Mound. It is thought that these two mounds functioned
as a mortuary complex. Fox Mound (45 ft.) being the site for the
preparation of the dead and Roundtop Mound (40 ft.) being used for burial
purposes.
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