The document provides information about the Mississippian culture that flourished between 800-1500 AD in the southeastern United States. It focuses on Cahokia, the largest Mississippian settlement located near modern-day St. Louis, Missouri. Cahokia had over 100 earthen mounds and at its peak between 1050-1200 AD was home to over 100,000 people, making it larger than any city in the US at the time. The most prominent mound was Monks Mound, measuring 100 feet tall and used for important buildings and ceremonies. The Mississippian culture practiced maize agriculture, built complex chiefdom societies, and participated in long-distance trade networks before the population declined around

1. ART OF THE MISSISSIPPIAN CULTURES OF
SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
© DR. MAUDE SOUTHWELL WAHLMAN 2010
0

2. • Paleo-Indian (14,000?) - 8000 BC
• Archaic 8000 - 1000 BC
• Woodland 1000 BC - 800 AD
(Adena, Hopewell)
• Mississippian 800 - 1500 AD
• Early Mississippian 800 - 1150 AD
• Middle Mississippian 1150 - 1350 AD
• Late Mississippian 1350 -1500 AD
1

3. Mississippian Centers
CAHOKIA
A Typical Hamlet
2

4. MISSISSIPPIAN CULTURES
NATIVE AMERICANS 500-1000 A.D.
Populations grew and permanent settlements increased, while
regional adaptations to environmental conditions and specialized
lifestyles evolved.
In the Eastern Woodlands, mound groups included residential
areas and were located adjacent to major rivers, and the cultural
pattern subsequently known as Mississippian began, influenced by
trade with Mexico.
By 750 AD, corn was increasingly grown in Midwest and
Southeast river valleys.
By 800 AD, in the central Mississippi region known as the
American bottom, mound centers—some with structures placed
around community plazas—become politically dominant.
By 1000 AD, Mississippian cultural patterns were well
established in the Midwest and Southeast, with population growth,
and economic stability made possible by Maize agriculture and long-
distance trade.
3

5. CAHOKIA
CAHOKIA
4

6. NATIVE AMERICANS 1000-1400 A.D.
Populations grew with political centralization in the Eastern
Woodlands and the Southwest.
The success of food crops, such as maize and beans, allowed
for concentrations of peoples. Settlements enlarged, with individual
centers assuming regional dominance.
Important Mississippian sites in the Southeast such as Cahokia,
IL, Spiro, OK, Moundville, AL, and Etowah, GA, showed clear evidence
of high-ranking inhabitants with many precious objects in their burials.
Cahokia on the Mississippi River floodplain of Illinois expanded,
and over 100 earthen mounds were built for varying purposes.
5

7. 1.
2. 4.
3.
MAJOR MISSISSIPPIAN SITES

8. CAHOKIA, IL
7

9. CAHOKIA ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 8

10. CAHOKIA, IL: AN ARTIST’S RECONSTRUCTION 9

11. On the Illinois side of the Mississippi River within sight of St. Louis and
its famous arch, is the largest mound complex in the United States. Called
"Cahokia," this enormous site has more than one hundred mounds and
covers nearly 3,700 acres.
Many of the mounds at Cahokia are gigantic and as large as almost any
mound in Ohio. But Cahokia is dominated by the largest earthen mound in
North America, Monks Mound. It measures 1037 feet from north to
south and 790 feet from east to west. It consists of several terraces
and ramps which take it to a height of 100 feet. The base covers 15
acres.
The focal point of this sprawling Mississippian village, Monks Mound,
had several buildings on top 800 years ago. These buildings housed the
elite of the village and from its summit, the chief or king could survey his
realm which covered nearly 6 square miles.
Directly in front of Monks mound was a plaza or court surrounded by
the houses of lesser dignitaries, and around this complex, a stockade of
logs kept out commoners. Cahokia was the largest prehistoric settlement in
North America.
10

12. CAHOKIA MOUNDS, IL 11

13. The city of Cahokia was inhabited
from 700 AD. to 1400 AD.
From 1100 AD. to 1200 the city
covered almost six miles, with about
100,000-200,000 people.
The mound builders at Cahokia
Mounds were some of the first intensive
farmers of North America.
The people of Cahokia had political
systems and alliances, and many things
to trade: luxury goods, copper, alligator
teeth, mica, and conch shells, all objects
acquired by hunting and trading.
By the 1400's the city of Cahokia
was abandoned, due to climate, war, or
disease.
12

14. CAHOKIA TODAY 13

15. CAHOKIA: ORIENTED NORTH AND SOUTH, AND EAST 14
AND WEST.

16. CAHOKIA
PLANS
15

17. EUROPEAN DRAWING OF A
MISSISSIPPIAN
ELITE MALE
ARTISTS VIEW OF THE KING OF CAHOKIA GREETING THE SUN ON JUNE
21 16
AT THE TOP OF MONK’S MOUND

18. BURIAL
OF
A
KING
OF
CAHOKIA,
WITH
SHELLS
17

19. MONK’S MOUND 1892, NE VIEW
By 1050, The four-terraced
Monks Mound, the largest
earthen structure in the United
States, was under construction
at Cahokia.
By 1200, Beans were a staple
in the Eastern Woodlands and
VIEW FROM THE WEST are grown together with maize.
18

20. CAHOKIA: 1936 VIEW OF MONK’S MOUND
19

21. CAHOKIA: STAGES OF BUILDING MONK’S MOUND 20

22. MODEL of TERRACES ON MONK’S MOUND,
CAHOKIA 21

23. CAHOKIA: MONKS MOUND TODAY 950-1300 AD
LARGEST EARTH MOUND IN THE AMERICAS, AND THE LARGEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI
EARTHWORKS,
MONK'S MOUND AT CAHOKIA, ILLINOIS, MEASURES 1,000 FEET IN LENGTH, MORE
THAN 700
FEET IN WIDTH, AND IS STILL 100 FEET IN HEIGHT.; ALIGNED WITH THE SUN AT THE
EQUINOXES.
SEE BERLO, P. 81. 22

24. MONKS MOUND, CAHOKIA
23

25. CAHOKIA RECONSTRUCTED
24

26. Temple/Palace on Monks Mound
25

27. GAMES AT CAHOKIA
26

28. CAHOKIA: TWIN
MOUNDS
FOX MOUND (LEFT)
27

29. CAHOKIA: ONE OF THE TWIN MOUNDS
28

30. LIFE AT CAHOKIA
29

31. HOUSE CONSTRUCTION AT
CAHOKIA
30

32. CAHOKIA
RECONSTRUCTED,
INSIDE THE VISITORS
CENTER
31

33. DOMESTIC LIFE AT
CAHOKIA
32

34. CAHOKIA VILLAGE LIFE
33

35. WARM
CLOTHING
34

36. CORN
AGRICULTURE
35

37. TRADING AT CAHOKIA
36

38. In the 12th century Cahokia was as large as London. It was the largest city
in America until Philadelphia grew larger in 1800. It was thriving 800
years ago in the heartland of our country. At its center was Monk's
Mound, towering as high as a 10-story building. 37

39. PALISADE
(PROTECTIV
E WALL)
AROUND 1300 A.D., THE POPULATION OF CAHOKIA DECLINED; A
DEFENSIVE WALL WAS BUILT AT THE SITE'S CENTER.
BY 1350 THE SOUTHERN CULT REACHED ITS PEAK OF INFLUENCE.
SIMILARITIES IN RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND ART PROLIFERATED
ACROSS THE EASTERN WOODLANDS; WARRIOR, BIRD-MAN, AND
SERPENT IMAGERY WERE AMONG THE VISUAL THEMES.
38

40. FACING WEST, WOODHENGE, MARKET, CAHOKIA, IL
39

41. WOODHENGE, AN ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY AT CAHOKIA 40

42. RECONSTRUCTED WOODHENGE 41

43. SUNRISE AT CAHOKIA,
FROM WOODHENGE
42

44. MISSISSIPPIAN SIGNS
43

45. SPIDER GORGET, 1200-1500 A.D.
PILEATED WOODPECKER GORGET
Incised Shell c. 1200 A.D.
1.Worn at the throat of a chief/priest as a CAHOKIA SHELL
status
symbol;
PENDANTS
2. buried with him/her; 44
3. The cross is a directional symbol.

46. POTTERY MAKING AT CAHOKIA 45

47. 46
CADDO POT CAHOKIA: CERAMICS

48. CAHOKIAN PAINTED CERAMICS
47

49. BEAVER CLAY POT, CAHOKIA, IL
C. 1200 A.D. 11.75” 48

50. FACE POTS, CAHOKIA
49

51. 50
CAHOKIA: CERAMIC FEMALE FIGURES

52. COPPER BREAST PENDANT
51

53. STONE SCULPTURES
OF CHIEFS 52

54. CAHOKIA MATERNAL
SCULPTURE
53

55. CAHOKIA: STONE FEMALE FIGURES 54

56. CAHOKIA WEB SITE:
http://cahokiamounds.org
55

57. CAHOKIA
SANDSTONE
TABLETS
THE BIRDMAN TABLET WAS
FOUND IN MONKS MOUND IN 1971
56

58. CAHOKIA STONE BIRDMAN TABLET
57

59. SPIRO,
OK
58