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Cahokia

America's Forgotten City

/2011/01/cahokia/img/03-cahokia-illinois-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-03.jpg Photograph by Don Burmeister http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1361274 /2011/01/cahokia/img/01-cahokia-central-plaza-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-01.jpg Photograph by Ira Block http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1361388 /2011/01/cahokia/img/02-monks-mound-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-02.jpg Photograph by Ira Block http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1361280 /2011/01/cahokia/img/04-stone-tablet-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-04.jpg Photograph by Ira Block, courtesy Illinois State Museum Birdman tablet, A.D. 1250 -1350; Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois The shell beads surrounding this stone tablet were found in a burial mound containing human sacrifices.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/05-ceremonial-mask-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-05.jpg Photograph by Ernest Amoroso, National Museum of the American Indian Cedar mask, Circa A.D. 1400; Spiro Mounds, Oklahoma Spirits and shamans loomed large in Cahokia and other mound-building communities, as revealed by a ceremonial mask.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/06-mother-effigy-bottle-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-06.jpg Photograph by Ira Block, St. Louis Science Center Mother effigy bottle, A.D. 1250 -1350; East St. Louis, Illinois Scenes of life presented in works of art include a mother nursing her baby.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/07-morning-mist-mound-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-07.jpg Photograph by Don Burmeister http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1361275 /2011/01/cahokia/img/08-rattler-frog-pipe-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-08.jpg Photograph by Ira Block, courtesy Illinois State Museum Rattler Frog Pipe, A.D. 1250; St. Clair County, Illinois Found in a burial mound in bluffs overlooking Cahokia, the Rattler Frog Pipe, named for the rattle in its right hand, may represent a shaman who has assumed an amphibian guise.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/10-chunkey-stones-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-10.jpg Photograph by Ira Block, courtesy Illinois State Museum Chunkey stones, A.D. 1050 -1200; Cahokia Mounds, Illinois Chunkey, a sport using disc-shaped stones, was popular throughout the Mississippian region. A player rolled his stone along the ground while opponents hurled spears to mark where it would stop.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/09-chunkey-player-effegy-pipe-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-09.jpg Photograph by Ira Block, St. Louis Science Center Chunkey player effigy pipe, A.D. 1250 -1350; Muskogee County, Oklahoma An effigy pipe depicts a chunkey player.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/11-woodhenge-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-11.jpg Photograph by Don Burmeister http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1361282 /2011/01/cahokia/img/12-engraving-whelk-shell-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-12.jpg Photograph by Ernest Amoroso, National Museum of the American Indian Engraved whelk shell, A.D. 1200-1400; LeFlore County, Oklahoma An engraved whelk shell discovered at Spiro Mounds bears the image of a birdman, a figure found on many Mississippian artifacts.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/13-copper-repousse-plaque-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-13.jpg Photograph by Ira Block, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, Gift of J. Max Wulfing Copper repoussé plaque, A.D. 1200-1400; Dunklin County, Missouri Unearthed by a farmer plowing a field, a plaque depicting a birdman figure is made of copper from the Great Lakes region, evidence that Cahokia and other communities were part of a far-reaching trade network.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/14-stock-cohikia-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-14.jpg Photograph by Don Burmeister http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1361380 /2011/01/cahokia/img/15-cedar-mask-emmons-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-15.jpg Photograph by Ira Block, courtesy Illinois State Museum Cedar mask, A.D. 1250; Fulton County, Illinois A cedar mask found at the Emmons site in Illinois is one of the few wooden artifacts to survive from the Mississippian era, which began more than a thousand years ago and ended in the 16th century, following the arrival of Europeans. Originally adorned with copper, the mask may have been part of a rattle used in ceremonial dances.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/16-shell-gorget-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-16.jpg Photograph by Ernest Amoroso, National Museum of the American Indian Shell gorget, A.D. 1250-1350; Castalian Springs Mound, Tennessee A gorget made of shell from the Gulf of Mexico depicts a warrior holding a club in one hand and an enemy's head in the other.]]> /2011/01/cahokia/img/17-monks-mound-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-17.jpg Photograph by Don Burmeister http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1361379 /2011/01/cahokia/img/19-thomas-easterly-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-19.jpg Photograph by Thomas M. Easterly, Missouri History Museum /2011/01/cahokia/img/20-st-louis-1869-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-20.jpg Photograph by Thomas M. Easterly, Missouri History Museum /2011/01/cahokia/img/22-big-mound-spot2-708.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-22.jpg Photograph by Don Burmeister http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1361273 /2011/01/cahokia/img/21-last-sugar-loaf-mound-714.jpg /2011/01/cahokia/img/cahokia-60-21.jpg Photograph by Don Burmeister http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1361276