Visiting the Cahokia Mounds

Long before Europeans arrived in North America, a large Native American city developed along the Mississippi River near what is now St. Louis. Known today as Cahokia, the settlement was built by the Mississippian culture and became the largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico. Instead of constructing monuments from stone, the people of Cahokia built enormous earthen mounds, many of which were topped by important buildings and surrounded by neighborhoods, plazas, and other parts of the city. The illustration above gives an idea of what Cahokia may have looked like at its peak more than 1,000 years ago.

A millennium later, the surviving mounds don’t immediately reveal just how large and sophisticated Cahokia once was. The largest is Monks Mound, photographed above, which rises roughly 100 feet above the surrounding landscape and covers more than 14 acres at its base. Standing on these earthworks today offers a glimpse into a period of North American history that left behind fewer visible monuments than many other ancient civilizations.

Reconstructed structures at Cahokia help make the site easier to imagine as an actual community rather than simply a collection of grassy mounds. The city once contained homes and other wooden buildings spread around its plazas and earthworks, although those structures disappeared long ago and the mounds are what remain most visible today.

During my visit, I also happened to come across a Native American powwow at Cahokia. Powwows are gatherings where Native American communities come together for traditions that can include singing, dancing, drumming, and traditional regalia. I stumbled across this one by accident when it was almost over, so unfortunately I missed most of the singing and dancing. These photos were taken fairly early in my travels, and I’d definitely like to return someday and spend more time exploring Cahokia and experiencing another powwow.

Even though I arrived near the end of the powwow, the traditional regalia made the unexpected stop especially memorable. It was a very different experience from simply walking around the archaeological site and gave me another reason to want to return when I could spend more time there.