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Cahokia
Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi | Timothy R. Pauketat
10 posts | 5 read | 36 to read
The fascinating story of a lost city and an unprecedented American civilization While Mayan and Aztec civilizations are widely known and documented, relatively few people are familiar with the largest prehistoric Native American city north of Mexico-a site that expert Timothy Pauketat brings vividly to life in this groundbreaking book. Almost a thousand years ago, a city flourished along the Mississippi River near what is now St. Louis. Built around a sprawling central plaza and known as Cahokia, the site has drawn the attention of generations of archaeologists, whose work produced evidence of complex celestial timepieces, feasts big enough to feed thousands, and disturbing signs of human sacrifice. Drawing on these fascinating finds, Cahokia presents a lively and astonishing narrative of prehistoric America.
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shanaqui
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Pickpick

I've been reading Cahokia for a while, but it still seems fair to include it in my #BookSpinBingo. For a short book, it took a while to get through, and I found that it took quite a while to get down to business and start discussing archaeology. Once it did, that was fascinating, though!

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shanaqui

Hm. That was most of a chapter of reconstruction, without telling me where the evidence comes from, which is not reassuring...

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shanaqui

I'm barely reading at the moment, with my exams coming up and causing stress-stress-stress, but I am enjoying this in small doses -- Cahokia's not an area I know much about at all.

If anyone has recs for books about/adjacent to archaeology, I'd love that. I've read a fair amount in that genre in the past, but probably easiest to just rec me stuff anyway and I'll sift through for stuff I haven't read!

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TracyReadsBooks
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Incredible history that we seldom think or are taught about, the history in our own back yard—literally, parts of this site were bulldozed to build residential neighborhoods. This book discusses the history & archaeology of Cahokia, North America‘s “largest pyramidal-mound complex,” a city once home to as many as 20,000 inhabitants. Human sacrifice, monumental celestial timepieces & more make for a fascinating, if sometimes dense, read.

Emilymdxn That sounds fascinating! Really want to read this 5y
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TracyReadsBooks
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This is true.

(I also really appreciate all the drama in this description.)

wanderinglynn I just learned about this site in a training session on Native America cultural communications course. I‘ll have to read the book! 5y
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TracyReadsBooks
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It‘s May 21st and it‘s 47 degrees!!! And that‘s basically the high for the day. The only thing to do on a morning like this is to take a few minutes for some tea and a good book.

AmyG We‘re getting a snowstorm in CO. 47 sounds lovely. 5y
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TracyReadsBooks
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My next nonfiction read is about Cahokia, an ancient site located just outside of St. Louis in southern Illinois. This Native American city emerged about 1000 years ago and was once home to 200+ packed-earth pyramids (mounds) and as many as 20,000 residents. By 1400, only 400 years later, it was abandoned. Fascinating to read & think about all of this while wandering through downtown Chicago.

emtobiasz I spent a summer working on a dig there in college! Of course, our project was just going back over what a treasure hunter/hack archaeologist had excavated in the 60s 🙄 but it‘s fascinating how little Americans know about the site in our own backyard! 5y
suzisteffen Oooh i want to read this. Grew up about 300 miles from Cahokia, NEVER HEARD OF IT until I was in art history graduate school. 5y
Tamra It is weird that I and so many others can get thru school and never hear about it! 5y
TracyReadsBooks @emtobiasz @suzisteffen & @Tamra You are all so right! It‘s crazy that we don‘t really learn about this civilization/site in school! I visited a year ago but the visitor center was closed—can‘t wait to go back & see more. Annalee Newitz is working on a book about archaeology & four lost cities, Cahokia is one of them. Definitely interested in reading what she has to say & learning more. (edited) 5y
pdever The site and the museum there are both worth the visit! 5y
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Purpleness
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this exploration of Cahokia's culture and how archeologists have been working on this puzzle for generations. Although it leaves you with a lot of questions (perhaps more than you started with) about the origins and fate of this once hugely influential city, that's because of all the work that still has to be done in this area.

LauraBrook Thank you for the reminder about this, I keep meaning to pick it up! 8y
Daisey I very much agree with this review! So interesting, yet so much more I still want to know. 8y
Carol I grew up a county north of Cahokia and somehow never visited the Mounds. I will correct this the next time I'm home for a visit. 8y
Clevercactus I've been to Cahokia. It's a very surreal place. 8y
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Purpleness
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Beads and spitting were also used as a kind of honored greeting, confusing Europeans, who did not take kindly to being spat on.

kammartinez Hm, sounds interesting. Will give the bookstore a ring, see if they've got a copy on-hand. 8y
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Purpleness
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One chapter in and enjoying learning about a little known culture shift in the 11th century

BarbaraTheBibliophage I've been to the Cahokia Mounds many times! 8y
callunakeep LOVE Cahokia Mounds, have been there many times as it is practically in my back yard! 8y
SusanInTiburon Wow! News to me! 8y
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Daisey Interested to know what you think of this. I enjoyed it, but did not learn as much about this fascinating ancient culture as I had hoped. There was more about the archaeological process in the area than I expected. 8y
katherinedelores Cahokia Mounds are a fave! Used to go all the time as a kid. My aunt did some archaeological work there when she was in college 😊 8y
Purpleness @Daisey I'll be sure to do a review when I'm finished. So far I'm still at the beginning, and I can see that it is pointing towards a broader view than just focusing on the one culture; I'm hoping that it uses that as context in a relevant way. 8y
LitProfNovara Why have I not heard of this book? I live 20 mins from the mounds, I teach Native American lit, and I take my class there each fall. Thanks for posting!!! 8y
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