Cahokia and Moundsville are two very similar cities but in different parts of the country. First going into Cahokia; the name “Cahokia” came from an aboriginal people that lived in the city at about 17th century. It is located in southern Illinois between East St. Louis and Collinsville, right across from the Mississippi River. Cahokia was at its peak from 1050 to 1200 AD with a highest population of about ten to twenty thousand people. This city was spread over 6-square miles. Way bigger than the city of Moundsville. Moundsville is a large settlement of Mississippian culture on the Black Warrior River in central Alabama. This settlement was heavily populated with roughly about ten thousand people and took over almost more than three hundred and seventy acres and was built on a bluff over looking the Mississippi River.
With a leading amount of mounds, Cahokia was
…show more content…
sited to have over one hundred and twenty mounds. These mounds included 3 different types, such as rectangular platform mounds, conical mounds, and ridge top mounds. These mounds were built in stages and modified over a long period of time. Cahokia is know for its largest mound called “Monks Mound” This mound received this name because a group of monks lived near it in ancient times. It was constructed with four terraces, covering about 17 acres at its base; the mound towered over the city. Archaeologists have found giant postholes at the top designating the presence of what may have been a temple, likely made of wood, measuring one hundred and four feet by forty-eight feet. Its postholes were over 3 feet in diameter, the temple being around 50 feet tall. Monks Mound, along with a grand plaza and a group of smaller mounds, was walled in with a 2-mile-long wooden stake.
Around 20,000 wooden posts were used to create the erotic building. Cahokia also constructed Ethagy mounds that were shaped like animals when viewed from the air. They also created the “American Woodhenge.” This woodhenge was constructed of 5 circles made from 12-60 wooden posts. These posts would likely have been used as a calendar of sorts marking the solstices, equinoxes and festivals important to the residents.
Cahokia had fences to differentiate and defend the different levels of rankings. Archaeologist could find that higher ranked people were buried in the mounds while the poor were just buried in cemeteries. The higher ranked were buried with garments and other items that may have been important to the occupant.
Another mound that was in Cahokia was called Mound 72. Archaeologists excavated around two hundred and seventy two people that were most likely sacrificed during their time period. Their remains told archaeologist that they ate lots of meat and other nutritious
goods. On the other hand Moundsville only held about twenty-six mounds and the larger mounds held all the noble people of the valley. Mound A and B are two of the largest mounds and Mound B was located just north on the sites central axis. The height of this mound was about fifty-eight feet and because of the symmetry of the habitation archaeologist believes that they planned the construction of all the mounds. Many of the tiny homes that were built were composed of thatch and poles. Many of the poor people were buried underneath their homes. Nobles, which was in group A were buried with copper, stone discs and shell beads and only 117 burials were found in mounds and non mound sites. In group B residents were buried with effigy vessels, animal bones, shell gorgets, and projectile points. In group C people were only buried with bowls and pottery. The last group also consisted of one thousand two hundred and fifty six burials that were found with no grave goods at all. Most of the artifacts that were found were very well preserved. Together these places had the same idea regarding their rankings and if nobles were buried with important items and the poor were buried with nothing or not even buried in a mound but just in a plain cemetery. Both sites were very unique and influential to their people and even people way later that excavated the sites, but no one can really begin to tell what the reason of decline was for both Moundsville and Cahokia.
About 800 years ago, a great civilization inhabited the land in west Alabama, located along the Black Warrior River, south of Tuscaloosa. It encompassed a known area of 320 acres and contained at least 29 earthen mounds. Other significant features include a plaza, or centralized open area, and a massive fortification of log construction. The flat topped, pyramidal mounds ranging from three to 60 feet, are believed to have been constructed by moving the soil, leaving large pits that are today small lakes. As major ceremonial center, up to 3000 people inhabited the central area from 1200-1400 AD. An estimated 10,000 lived around the stockade, which surrounded three sides of the civilization (Blitz 2008:2-3; Little et al 2001:132).
In the early stages of North American colonization by the English, the colony of Jamestown, Virginia was founded in 1607 (Mailer Handout 1 (6)). Soon after the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1629 (Mailer Handout 2 (1)). These two colonies, although close in the time they were founded, have many differences in aspects of their lives and the way they were settled. The colonies have a different religious system, economic system, political system, and they have a different way of doing things; whether that be pertaining to making money, practicing religion, or electing governors. Along with the differences, there are also a sameness between these two colonies. Each colony has been derived from England and has been founded by companies
When researching Pueblo dwellings and the Anasazi people "Anasazi meaning ancient ones in the Navajo language"(Lynnd2012). Information retaining to the culture and how permanent dwellings did not start until the Anasazi started growing their food. Prior to agriculture, all food was product of hunting and gathering, this made moving across the country more frequent to be able to gather enough food. Once they started to farm and cultivate they stated building the first sets of housing which consisted of holes in the grounds and only later would they build on top of the holes with stone and mortar, this didn't happen till around 750AD and was a means for storage.
Cahokia: Ancient America’s Great City on the Mississippi, by Timothy R. Pauketat, is on the history, society, and religious customs of the Cahokian people. Consisting of twelve chapters, each chapter deals with a different aspect of Cahokian society. Chapter one opens up by telling the reader how the stars in the sky played an important role in the Native American belief system. The Planet Venus was the key figure in all of this, in fact the ancient Maya believed Venus to be a god. According to the Cahokians , Venus had a dual nature, in the daytime Venus was viewed a masculine, and in the evening it was seen as feminine. In the same chapter, Pauketat lets us know about the discovery of, two hundred packed-earth mounds constructed in a five-square mile zone represented the belief systems of the Cahokian people. Historical archeology was the main reason for the discovery of two hundred earth packed mounds. At its peak, Cahokia had a population of over ten thousand, not including the people who lived in the towns surrounding the city. By the time the 1800s came around, the European Americans had already been living in North America for some time; however, many Europeans refused to acknowledge the Native American role in building these ancient mounds. Instead, they believed the mounds to been built by a race of non-Indians. Due to the preservation of Cahokia within a state park and modern highway system, many things became lost. Since many things became lost, very few archaeologists have a good understanding of Cahokia. While there may be a loss of a complete picture, archaeologists are still making progress with numerous discoveries. These discoveries bring into question long-held beliefs such as a people who were peaceful an...
Jamestown and Plymouth were both very intense colonies. Jamestown had obligations only for financial purposes. Whereas, Plymouth cared for so much more. It had obligations for a variety of religions. In this colony, people were very fond of God. William Bradford once said, “ Nevertheless, to keep a good conscience. and walk in such a way as God has prescribed in his word, is a thing which I must prefer before you all, and above life itself.” Therefore, Plymouth was far more fair and reasonable, because of their interest in God and their opportunities for their religious variety. Even though, both colonies had many similarities like being helped by Native Americans, and they both encountered sickness, death, and struggle; Plymouth’s purpose
It is believed that the Mississippian Indians are some of the earliest residents of Clay County. Other tribes including the Cherokee, Iroquois, Chickasaw, and Shawnee have also resided in the County. The earliest white man in the area was Frenchman, Martin Chartier. He came as part of Shawnee hunting party around 1691 and, it is believed, he remained the...
In the 17th century, England was late when it came to the colonization of the new world. Which went through many changes before it was able to test the waters, forming the first settlements in the mid-Atlantic, Virginia. Under the guise of a noble mission given to them by King James I, the Virginia Company funded the first Colonies in Virginia. Years later, after perfecting their skills at surviving this new land, colonies in the south, Carolina were formed. These two regions both had their share of challenges, but they overcame them in different ways. Each had a method of doing things by force or from trial and error. The world in 1606 was very different than the world of today, but this is a story based on the
In this ancient place there were all different kinds of remnants from what looked to be a permanent settlement, which led us to believe that it was formed in the Neolithic period. Scientists also believe from the skull fragments found that the Cro-Magnons were the hominid type that inhabited the area. Some of the fossils found helped to prove that the settlement was immobile because the fossilized plants were apparently in a specific arrangement, showing that they were planted purposefully. Some of the cotton grown in this area was apparently used to make woven cloth. Remnants of corn meal were used to make some of the mortar for their establishments, along with mud and sand. They also made their bricks, which were much larger than today’s, from mud. Some of the teeth from the Cro-Magnons were found to be stained. They were thought to be from the coffee ingested due to the high amounts of caffeine deposits in the bones.
The votive statues were created by worshipers of the ancient Mesopotamian gods. They were crafted out of materials such as limestone, alabaster, gypsum, and other such materials (Votive Statues). These statues were created around 2900 to 2350 BCE at the Square Temple at Eshnunna. The creators of these statues created them in their own likeness to be held at the Square Temple, a place of worship to their gods. It was the worshipers belief that the gods would bless these statues and in turn, bless the creators (Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, 2004). Worship of the gods was a huge part of the culture of Ancient Mesopotamia, as such these votive statues played a major role in that culture.
La Venta, built between 1000 and 600 B.C., sat on an island in a swamp (Stanton 93). Later, around 500 B.C., Monte Alban, which was used as a religious center even after the Olmecs faded, was built on an immense mountain (Stanton 93). The cities were made up of temples and plazas, and decorated by monumental stone heads, which weighed up to 50 tons (Stanton 93)! These heads probably represented their early kings and had distinct helmets (Kingfisher 32). It is incredible how the Olmec people transported the stone from the distant mountains to La Venta, near the shore, without the aid of work animals or carts.
Behind every great structure in the world, there are the people who made them, and who took the time and effort to design them. Those who made Stonehenge succeeded in creating an incredibly complex and mysterious structure that lived on long after its creators were dead. The many aspects of Stonehenge and the processes by which it was built reveal much about the intelligence and sophistication of the civilizations that designed and built the monument, despite the fact that it is difficult to find out who exactly these people were. They have left very little evidence behind with which we could get a better idea of their everyday lives, their culture, their surroundings, and their affairs with other peoples. The technology and wisdom that are inevitably required in constructing such a monument show that these prehistoric peoples had had more expertise than expected.
they did have human sacrifices, it was an offering to nature by the person being
In this regard, several tombs were put up, especially for the royalty where the mummies were kept. In addition, the pharaohs were buried together with their possessions to use once they reached the afterlife. Similarly, the Indus people were buried with their possessions, and archaeological evidence has been found supporting such claims(Phillipsburg School District, n.d).
Each block weighs fifty tons! They would thatch the roofs with tree trunks and straw. After the buildings were constructed, the Incan people would smooth the stones with sand, mud, and clay to make the structures look polished. The people who inhabited this ancient site considered it to be magical because of the Andes Mountains and the Amazon River. The Temple of the Condor was a place of worship where the head of the condor was used as an altar for sacrifices.
January 2004 M.A.T.R.I.X Introduction To Archaeology: Origins of Food Production. Electronic document. http://www.indiana.edu/~arch/saa/matrix/ia/ia03_mod_12.html, Accessed October 9, 2010