The creation of space and place at Cahokia: Mound 72, Mound 96, and the Mound 72 precinct (Illinois)

The Cahokia site is one of the most visually impressive archaeological sites in North America. Comprised of over 100 earthen mounds, expansive plazas, and other monumental constructions, prehistoric Cahokia was the largest and most populous expression of the Mississippian cultural pattern in North America. No other Mississippian community was built on the scale of Cahokia or contained as many monuments.; In this study, the monuments of Cahokia are viewed as an active, and essential, component in the transformation of Cahokia into a culturally meaningful place, or sacred landscape. This study is focused on a portion of Cahokia that includes Mound 72 and the recently excavated Mound 96 in order to assess the importance of the creation of place in the early Mississippian period centralization of political control at the site. These data indicate that the construction of monuments was an early, and necessary, element of the creation of place at Cahokia and resulted in a built environment permeated with social meaning and value. As a socially meaningful place, Cahokia and its monuments formed a landscape of power used by elites to legitimize and justify their claims of ascendancy.; The material manifestations of the creation of place at Cahokia are seen in the artifacts and building sequences of Mounds 72 and 96. The comparative analysis detailed in this study is focused on the material cultural, context, structure, and place of Mound 72 and Mound 96 at Cahokia. Preliminary analysis of these data suggests that these two monuments constituted a significant place within the Cahokian sacred landscape. The importance of this place reached its peak during the Lohmann phase, a time that witnessed the development of a centralized political hierarchy at Cahokia.