New Insights into Mississippian Culture at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Past and ongoing research at Cahokia, its satellites and outliers, has produced a plethora of information, old and new, which contributes to a better understanding of how this site was planned, organized, occupied, and evolved over several centuries. Current research also demonstrates how Cahokia related to and interacted with neighboring and distant sites, and how it reflected the cosmology of the Mississippian cultural tradition. This symposium will summarize the findings of current research in the greater Cahokia area, including the expansion of previous excavations, evidence copper technology, the relationship of Cahokia to its outlying communities, new insights on community planning from geophysical tests, the astronomy and geometry of the site, and the internal reorganization and development of Cahokia proper.