Refiguring the archaeology of greater Cahokia

Agency in a Postmold? Physicality and the Archaeology of Culture-Making

“…Like all monuments at Cahokia, the point of construction appears to have been the act of construction itself, as attested in the many placed and replaced monumental posts (Pauketat, 1993(Pauketat, , 1998b(Pauketat, , 2000. Like earlier pre-Mississippian and rural early-Mississippian counterparts in village courtyards, these posts were routinely extracted and reset in all-inclusive ritual performances.…”

“…There, the pre-Mississippian practices of setting posts into their individual post holes virtually disappeared as a feature of ordinary domiciles after AD 1050 (Collins, 1990(Collins, , 1997Pauketat, 1994Pauketat, , 1997Pauketat, , 1998a. The abrupt transition to walltrench housing at that time corresponds with a suite of other changes, not the least of which was the planned construction of Cahokia's enormous central precinct of earthen pyramids and plazas (Dalan et al, 2003;Pauketat, 1994Pauketat, , 1998bPauketat, , 2004a. This was the centerpiece of a "new political-administrative capital and a remarkably pervasive transformation of people, their cultural practices, and even the meanings of their bodies.…”

“…In the mid-eleventh century, and seemingly within the span of a generation or so, people practicing single-post house construction founded a series of new peripheral villages in the hills surrounding the Mississippi River floodplain and Cahokia (Alt, 2001(Alt, , 2002Pauketat, 1998bPauketat, , 2003bWilson, 1998). At one of these new settlements-the Halliday site-the settlers constructed single-set-post houses in clusters around small courtyards.…”

Odontometric determination of sex at Mound 72, Cahokia

“…1). During its most dense occupation in the early portion of the Mississippian period (AD 1050-1150) (Pauketat and Lopinot, 1997;Pauketat, 1998), Cahokia spanned nearly five miles and contained approximately 120 earthen mounds (Fowler et al, 1999). During its most dense occupation in the early portion of the Mississippian period (AD 1050-1150) (Pauketat and Lopinot, 1997;Pauketat, 1998), Cahokia spanned nearly five miles and contained approximately 120 earthen mounds (Fowler et al, 1999).…”

“…Due to its large size and perceived sociopolitical importance, Cahokia has been studied extensively (e.g., Fowler, 1969Fowler, , 1974Kelly, 1991;Emerson, 1997;Milner, 1998;Young and Fowler, 2000;Pauketat, 2004Pauketat, , 2009Byers, 2006). During its most dense occupation in the early portion of the Mississippian period (AD 1050-1150) (Pauketat and Lopinot, 1997;Pauketat, 1998), Cahokia spanned nearly five miles and contained approximately 120 earthen mounds (Fowler et al, 1999). Several different mound forms were discovered at Cahokia, including platform, conical, and ridge-top.…”