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  • State Archaeologist leads Cahokia tour for Illinois alumni

    Sep 18, 2019 4:15 pm by Tricia BarkerIllinois State Archaeological Survey
    Tim Pauketat speaks to a crowd of U of I alumni

    State Archaeologist Tim Pauketat, who has conducted extensive research at Cahokia, leads a tour of University of Illinois alumni. 

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    Illinois State Archaeologist Tim Pauketat led a tour of Cahokia Mounds on Sept. 19 for a group of University of Illinois alumni. This special event was organized by the Illinois Alumni Association and the Prairie Research Institute. 

    Cahokia appeared around 1050 A.D. and lasted for about 150 years. At the peak of this spiritual and political center, three urban "precincts"—Cahokia, St. Louis, and East St. Louis—covered 6–8 square miles. The population was 15,000–20,000, with between 20,000 and 50,000 more farmers living outside the city. 

    One of the mounds at Cahokia. These structures were built around 1050 A.D. This massive project would have required enormous labor. 

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    State Archaeologist explains to the tour group that recent isotopic analysis has revealed new information about the remains found at Mound 72, which are believed to be people who were sacrificed as part of the Cahokian's religious beliefs. 

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    The tour group stands in the shade on the Grand Plaza. 

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    University of Illinois alum Robert Hormell tells the group about the excavations he participated in between 1966 and 1968. He was part of the team that found a refuse pit beneath Mound 51, which revealed information about the diet of people living in Cahokia. 

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    View from Monk's Mound, the tallest structure at Cahokia. The St. Louis Arch is visible in the distance; one of Cahokia's three "precincts" would have been just east of the arch. 

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