Monks Mound rising in terraces beyond a broad lawn

Mississippian (Indigenous)

Cahokia Mounds

“A city the human hand raised of earth toward the sky”

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Photo: Joe Passe · CC BY-SA 2.0

Scenes

An aerial view of Monks Mound, the surrounding mounds, and the Mississippi beyond — A city of raised earth and the great riverNational Archives (NARA) · Public Domain

Monks Mound seen beyond a great tree and a path across the grass — A path across the grass leading to the moundJoe Passe · CC BY-SA 2.0

Meaning

At your feet a vast hill of earth climbs skyward as a wide staircase. From the top, low mounds are scattered across the grass in every direction, and the breadth of a city where more than ten thousand once lived opens all the way to the horizon.

The people of the Mississippian culture built this city from around 1050 CE; at its height its population passed ten thousand, making it the largest city in the Americas north of Mesoamerica of its time. Monks Mound, raised of earth to a height of 30 meters, is the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas, and Woodhenge, a ring of upright wooden posts, is held to have marked the rising sun as a solar calendar. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Field notes

Location: 미시시피강 유역 · Illinois · N38.7° · W90.1°
Best time: At sunrise on the equinox, when Woodhenge stands aligned with the sun
Getting there: Near Collinsville, Illinois, east of St. Louis; from the visitor center, walk the staircase of Monks Mound and the paths among the mounds.
Etiquette: On the mounds one keeps to the marked paths and stairs, guarding the thousand-year earth and what rests beneath it.

Sources

· UNESCO World Heritage
· Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Official site Wikipedia

Photographs are freely licensed works from Wikimedia Commons and similar sources; the author and license appear beneath each image.