Thunder, Lightning, Wind, and Rain: Exploring Engagements with Elemental Entities in the Closing of Emerald

Summary

The Emerald Acropolis is an early Mississippian shrine complex constructed atop a high upland ridge approximately 25 kilometers east of Cahokia in southwestern Illinois. The termination and abandonment of a suite of special-use buildings located along an isolated spur at the base of the main ridge is strikingly different than the termination of similar non-domestic buildings throughout the region. These buildings, including large public structures, shrines, temples, and a sweat lodge, are adjacent to one of several ancient springs that would have been a powerful presence at the site. The closing of this portion of Emerald sometime during the early part of the Stirling phase (1100-1200 CE) is rife with water symbolism, including structured water-lain deposits and offerings that have ethnohistoric associations with Thunderbirds and violent thunderstorms. In this paper I establish thunder and associated elemental forces as sentient entities in the Mississippian world, and explore the engagement with them by those Cahokians concerned with the closure of this isolated cluster of buildings. Understanding Cahokians' relationships with these entities may shed light on the shifting socio-politics of the region during a potential time of stress

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22524