Historiography of Cahokia From the Earliest Times to European Arrival
By Vincent Jay Barrows
A History of Monks Mound
The purpose of the following is to investigate who the ancient people of the Cahokia Mounds civilization were by looking at the archaeological evidence that is now on display in the local museums surrounding
Introduction
Of all ancient civilizations in
Monks Mound is situated about a mile from the
where:
V= Volume (cubic meters)
A= Area of base (square meters)
h = difference in elevation (meters)
This is simply the area of the base of each interval multiplied by the interval height plus the outer cone shape volume (1/3*b *h) surrounding each. The following table shows the calculated areas based on the topographic map that follows:
Elevation (meters) | Perimeter: Lineal meters | Area (Square meters) | Difference in elevation (meters) | Volume (cubic meters) | Area of cone base difference in base area (A1-A2) | Volume of Cone =1/3(A1-A2)(height) | Total Volume= volume (E) + Cone Volume (G) |
130 | 894 | 58390 | 0 | 0 | 6202 | 2067 | 2067 |
131 | 874 | 52188 | 1 | 52188 | 4392 | 1464 | 53652 |
132 | 857 | 47796 | 1 | 47796 | 3165 | 1055 | 48851 |
133 | 855 | 44630 | 1 | 44630 | 2525 | 842 | 45472 |
134 | 857 | 42105 | 1 | 42105 | 2298 | 766 | 42871 |
135 | 856 | 39808 | 1 | 39808 | 2310 | 770 | 40578 |
136 | 842 | 37497 | 1 | 37497 | 2499 | 833 | 38330 |
137 | 807 | 34998 | 1 | 34998 | 2070 | 690 | 35688 |
138 | 778 | 32928 | 1 | 32928 | 3013 | 1004 | 33933 |
139 | 737 | 29916 | 1 | 29916 | 3981 | 1327 | 31243 |
140 | 709 | 25934 | 1 | 25934 | 3193 | 1064 | 26999 |
141 | 663 | 22741 | 1 | 22741 | 2431 | 810 | 23551 |
142 | 591 | 20310 | 1 | 20310 | 1777 | 592 | 20902 |
143 | 566 | 18533 | 1 | 18533 | 1446 | 482 | 19015 |
144 | 542 | 17087 | 1 | 17087 | 1317 | 439 | 17526 |
145 | 509 | 15770 | 1 | 15770 | 1158 | 386 | 16156 |
146 | 496 | 14612 | 1 | 14612 | 1450 | 483 | 15095 |
147 | 470 | 13162 | 1 | 13162 | 1056 | 352 | 13514 |
148 | 444 | 12105 | 1 | 12105 | 965 | 322 | 12427 |
149 | 428 | 11140 | 1 | 11140 | 887 | 296 | 11436 |
150 | 411 | 10254 | 1 | 10254 | 1104 | 368 | 10622 |
151 | 391 | 9150 | 1 | 9150 | 878 | 293 | 9442 |
152 | 375 | 8272 | 1 | 8272 | 753 | 251 | 8522 |
153 | 362 | 7519 | 1 | 7519 | 834 | 278 | 7797 |
154 | 350 | 6684 | 1 | 6684 | 723 | 241 | 6925 |
155 | 335 | 5962 | 1 | 5962 | 714 | 238 | 6200 |
156 | 317 | 5247 | 1 | 5247 | 1270 | 423 | 5671 |
157 | 274 | 3977 | 1 | 3977 | 3250 | 1083 | 5061 |
158 | 136 | 727 | 1 | 727 | | | 727 |
Volume (cubic meters)= | 591052.9 | + | 19221 | 610274 | |||
Volume (cubic feet)= | 20872838 | + | 678785 | 21551623 | |||
A lot of time would be required to deposit a volume of 21,551,623 cubic feet that composes Monks mound. If a population of citizens lined up with baskets and deposited one basket every minute, it would take 82 years (julian) to build Monks Mound. If one basket was deposited every second, it would take 1.3658 years. If Cahokia "accepted" population estimates are correct at 20,000 people at the peak of occupation, then each person would have to carry 2155 baskets (53.9 tons) to complete the mound. The combined volume of the other mounds on the site roughly equal the volume of earth used in monks mound. That means it is safe to double these estimates to consider the entire amount of work done at the Cahokia Mounds. Now consider that thousands of mounds were built all over the country. The sheer workforce used to build these mounds is a feat that cannot be matched by any ancient culture throughout the world. All things considered, Monks Mound alone is a challenge to the seven ancient wonders of the world.
The volume and quantity of moundbuilder work has been previously looked into by Reed, in his article “Solid Core Drilling in Monks Mound”. The authors made several mistakes in the calculations for the time used to create the volume of Monks Mound. Reed did not consider the location of origin of the unknown types of colored soil used it the construction of Monks Mound. Instead, Reed assumed that all soil came from around 200 yards (600 feet) away. However, the colored soil is unknown in the surrounding alluvial floodplain. The ten nearest borrow pits to Monks mound are at the following distances in feet: 2854, 3615, 3806, 4281, 4377, 4757, 4852, 5804, 5899, and 5994. These straight line distances were measured from the closest edge of the pit to the closest edge of Monks Mound and do not account for increase or decrease in elevation. The average distance of the nearest ten borrow pits to Monks Mound is 4624 feet (1541 yards). The total area of borrow pits at the Cahokia site is 2.01 million square feet. If the earthen construction materials used in monks mound came from these borrow pits, they would each have to be about eleven feet deep throughout the total area. However, the actual depth of the borrow pits today is around 2-5 feet deep. This could be attributed to erosion and flooding deposits in the low areas. When considering the total volume of the mounds at the Cahokia Site, if the earth for the mounds came from the local borrow pits, they would have to be around twenty feet deep. Non local colored soils found on Monks Mound indicates that it is likely that the earth used to build the mounds did not all come from local sources, but was instead brought in from larger distances.
http://www.museum.state.il.us/vrmuseum/jshape/cahokia2.html
Borrow Area (square feet) | Borrow pit number |
4862.7 | 5 |
5771.52 | 16 |
10741.45 | 2 |
14577.77 | 12 |
17060.3 | 17 |
20204.06 | 13 |
22655.06 | 4 |
25704.47 | 3 |
27579.5 | 6 |
44086.7 | 14 |
76358.27 | 9 |
88514.4 | 10 |
107935.09 | 8 |
115354.1 | 15 |
274262.41 | 11 |
429585.25 | 1 |
725386.25 | 7 |
2010639.3 |
In addition, Reed cited an experiment by Erasmus in 1965 in which it was claimed that one person could carry 1.76 cubic meters of earth 100 yards in a 6 hour work day. Reed divided this by two and used the rate of 0.875 cubic meters of soil per day per person because he assumed that the borrow pits around the Cahokia Mounds average 200 yards from Monks Mound. Next, the amount of soil that could be dug per day from the local borrow pits was estimated by Reed at 3.5 cubic meters per person per six hour day. Reed then assumed that four people would each carry away one basket of earth per borrow pit excavator. If four people each carried this amount per a six hour day, the amount of soil per person equals 0.875 cubic meters (30.9 cubic feet). The correct conversion rate is 1 cubic meter equals 35.315 cubic feet. If each basket weighed fifty pounds, then each person would have to carry about sixty two baskets or 3090 pounds at 100 pounds per cubic foot for compacted clay. The average distance covered per person per day would have to equal 108.6 miles (4624 feet/trip *62 baskets* 2 trips/basket* 1 mile/ 5280 feet). The average rate of speed to cover that distance in a six hour period is 18 miles per hour. That is 3 minutes and 20 second per mile pace. As of December 2007, the world record pace for an hour run was set by Haile Gebrselassie at 21,285 meters (13.18 miles) at 4:33 per mile pace and that is an amazing feat. If 1.76 cubic meters could be carried 100 yards by each person and this average rate could be maintained for the 1541 yard distance to the nearest edge of the borrow pits, this equals just over 4 cubic feet (8 baskets) per day per person. At this rate, each person must cover over 14 miles with a 50 pound basket. Even with a relay team of world class athletes, the projected rate of speed with a 50 pound basket of earth would be entirely impossible to achieve.
A more realistic approach is working with more than one million laborers during the Chalcolithic copper age, each relaying the earthen construction materials over a highly refined tribute network in one season. Some of the colored soil types came from hundreds of miles away and were selected for their use on the mound; the colored soils were then deposited by a larger construction team over a relatively short period of time. The rate of basketload placement would be the determining factor for completion time of the mound. It could have taken as little as 1 year 4 months if one basket was deposited every second and as much as 83.5 years if one basket was deposited every minute. A three hundred year time period for the mound construction is unlikely considering the lack of erosion between layers of the mound, and the indication of a plan to construct the entire monument as it stands before it began.
The following will review prehistoric evidence from the “American Bottom Region” and Illinois River Valley that show who the people were and what they accomplished.
LITHIC MANUFACTURING TRENDS
Lithic manufacturing trends are revealed from prehistoric evidence from local museums including the Mascoutah Heritage Museum, the Edwardsville History Museum, the Madison County History Museum and library, as well as from several private collections. These private collections include: Magie Erb, Mary Mathews, Elizabeth Kassly, Alton First Southern Baptist Church. Stone Age spear and arrow points are chronological markers based on carbon dating evidence. When the point types are identified and the dates are plotted on a graph, the results indicate the time period of human occupation. The following graph includes the lithic evidence of over 280 points that have thus far been identified from these local museum collections and private collections.
Lithic Quantity vs. time from American Bottom Region near Cahokia Mounds.
This graph shows the number of chipped stone tools dated by comparison with known carbon dated samples. See Appendix 1 for the listing of 282 lithic types from the American Bottom region that was used to develop the chart. From Ice Age to Cahokia Tribes on the site at the time of European conquest, there is evidence of at least 10,000 years of human habitation.
Evidence such as projectile points has been useful in determining pre-ceramic cultural development phases. There is a pattern that emerges when considering the lithic manufacturing style. The chart indicates all styles of lithic manufacture are found in the American bottom including Paleo, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian. The majority of projectile quantity vs. carbon dating age for “American bottom region” projectile points shows that the peak of manufacturing was around 3000-1000 BC. As supported by climatology records, the vast majority of projectile points are from the archaic period as seen in local historical museums of the area.
The study of climatology during the Holocene is an explanation for the increase and decrease of projectile point quantities in the American Bottom Region.
The pattern reveals that there was strong correlation of climatic events and lithic manufacturing cycles. The end of the "Younger Dryas Ice Age" corresponds with the beginning of the early archaic period (pre-pottery neolithic). The end of the early archaic period coincides with the "8.2 Kiloyear event" around 8200 years before present. An early archaic cluster of lithic manufacturing people ended sharply around 6000BC, which corresponds to the 8.2 Kiloyear climatic event. The "Neolithic subpuluvial" climatic event corresponds with the mid archaic decline in projectile point production. The Chalcolithic period corresponds with the beginning of the most major increase in projectile point production. This reaches its peak at the late archaic (Bronze Age). In the late Archaic, the greatest quantity of projectile points was made. Next, the climatic collapse around 536 AD is a low point of the projectile point production graph, but the "Medieval warming period" corresponds to the "Mississippian era". This is strong evidence that climate and culture are related.
An early Chalcolithic culture at Cahokia was discovered when thousands of microblades along with copper workshop evidence were reported by Gregory Perino. The discovery of micro lithic technology along with copper manufacturing workshops equates to chalcolithic presence at the Cahokia Mounds. Chalcolithic technology generally falls into the time period toward the end of the Neolithic period is supported by the presence of black and red pottery styles. Microlithic technology was present beginning in Upper Paleolithic periods and this trait existed until Woodland times. The majority of microlithic and copper evidence seems to occur around the third to the second millennium BC throughout the world. As stated by Clarence Webb in “The extent and Content of the Poverty Point Culture”
The two long-lasting microblade traditions in the New World are in the far north and Mesoamerica. The Northwest Microblade tradition is estimated by MacNeish (Willey 1966: 415) to have begun about 6000 B.C. The Arctic Small Tool tradition, starting at 4000-3000 B.C., spread from Alaska to Greenland and lasted until about 500 B.C. In Mesoamerica, the Tehuacin Valley sequence showed obsidian blades struck from prepared polyhedral cores in the Abejas phase, dated by MacNeish (1962) at 3400-2300 B.C. Willey (1966: 83) states "this common little instrument was to become one of the most persistent of the Mesoamerican technological traditions." In view of the probable advent of other Mesoamerican traits into the Mississippi Valley in Poverty Point times, a Mesoamerican origin for the microflint industry seems appropriate. One can only conjecture why this tool maintained its popularity only through Poverty Point and Hopewell times.
A preliminary timeline of the Historic accounts of Monks Mound/ Cahokia is as follows:
a. Spanish Colonial Period
i. Hernando De Soto (1540)
ii. Codex Magliabechiano (circa 1550)
b. French Colonial Period
i. Codex Canadiensis (circa 1667-1700) Map of Mississippi River Valley Depicting Illini Confederacy
ii. Marquette and Joliet (1673) – Piasa
iii. Le Paige Du Pratz (1700-1720)
iv. River L’Abbe Mission on Monks Mound (1735-
v. Jean Bernard Bossu (1750)
vi. Illini Confederacy (1730- 1752)
vii. Western Indian Confederacy (1775-1783)
viii. George Rogers Clark, “Big Knife” (1778) Initials “GRC 1778” carved into rock in Illinois cave – South of Valmeyer, IL
ix. Cahokia Meeting place (August and September 1778): Many tribes meet with “Big Knife”
x. Mad Anthony Wayne
c. United States Colonial period
i. Order of La Trappes Monks (1809)
ii. Jarot (Dec 31, 1809)
iii. Breckenridge (1811)
iv. War of 1812
v. Amos Hill (1831)
vi. Trail of Tears (1838-1839)
vii. Thomas Ramey (1860)
viii. Railroad fill target (1860-1925)
ix. State of Illinois Purchase (1925)
x. Cahokia Mounds Lots divided and offered for sale (October 15, 1959)
The earliest Spanish Conquest accounts by Europeans of Monks Mound probably date to the mid sixteenth century. These accounts include the Hernando De Soto chronicles (1540) and Codex Magliabechiano (circa 1550). The De Soto Chronicles reveal that De Soto brought diseases that spread quickly as well as many unspeakable cruelties. The records discuss at least four cities that were visited by the De Soto expedition that were surrounded by four defensive wooden walls called palisades. Archaeological excavations of the areas surrounding the central plaza at Cahokia Mounds reveal four parallel walls that were found to completely encircle the city. These walls were constructed with guard towers called bastions that varied in shape through time, as many episodes of rebuilding the walls occurred. The posts used to construct the walls were placed side by side into four to five foot deep holes that were carefully excavated prior to placement. The estimated height of the palisades and guard towers is 20 feet in height based on the depth of the hole. As a general rule of thumb, the height of a post can be five times greater than the depth of the post hole. Light gray and whitish clay coating was found to surround the walls, indicating that an adobe style coating the posts was present on all surfaces of the palisades. The bastions were believed to be constructed for guards to stand in defensive position of the city. Numerous triangular projectile points called Madison and Cahokia points were found on the outside of the palisade walls.
When De Soto visited Quiguate on August 5, 1541, it was an agricultural town located near salt springs and was the largest town in North America. It probably was the location of the Cahokia site. This site was described as follows: “It was divided into three equal districts, in one of which was the lord’s house, situated in a high elevation made by hand.(p. 408, Garcilaso)”
This was north of the Casqui villages, which probably were later called the Kaskaskias. Interestingly, later French journals of Le Paige Du Pratz recounted the same story as told by the Native Americans.
“In order to preserve the remembrance of this honorable exploit, the warriors divide themselves into two bodies, distinguished from each other by the colour of their feathers, One of these bodies represents the invaders, and after raising loud shouts and cries, seize the Great Sun, who comes out of his hut undressed, and rubbing his eyes, as though he were just awake. The Great Sun defends himself intrepidly with a wooden tomahawk, and lays a great many of his enemies upon the ground, without however giving them a single blow, for he only seems to touch them with his weapon. In the mean time the other party come out of their ambuscade, attack the invaders, and, after fighting with them for some time, rescue their prince, and drive them into a wood, which is represented by an arbor made of canes. During the whole time of the skirmish, the parties keep up the war-cry, or cry of terror, as each of the seem to be victors or vanquished. The Great Sun is brought back to his hut in a triumphant manner; and the old men, women and children, who were spectators of the engagement, rend the sky with joyful acclimations… Strangers are then invited to dine with the Great Sun, and in the evening there is a dance in his hut, which is about thirty feet square, and twenty feet high, and like the temple is built upon a mount of earth, about eight feet high, and sixty feet over on the surface.” (P. 320, Du Pratz).
DeSoto attempted to plant the flag of Castile and Aragon to show conquest, however in reality, DeSoto was probably captured and burnt alive and then thrown into the Mississippi River by the Cahokia Tribesmen.
An excerpt from the legend “Mink Kills Slowat” from Mythology of Southern Puget Sound legend shared by tribal elders of armored conquistadors.
“Mink journeyed up the River till he came to a village. Of them he asked, “How far is it to Slo’wat now?” The people did not answer. Mink went on. Of the next village he asked the same question and they replied , “What do you wish to see Slo’wat for?” Mink went on. He was getting close to Slo’wat now. He saw some pitch. Said he, “Pitch is my grandmother. I shall wear you for my dress.”
Mink went on again with pitch on him. He got to the house of Slo’wat. He looked at the door and at the pile of heads on the shelves high above. He watches the door. The door opened. He made a spring and alighted with the house. Crying. “why did you come in?”, Slo’wat seized him. Slo’wat tried to force Mink out from the house, but Mink Kept working toward the fire. Mink kept repeating within himself, “I am Slo’wat, myself. I am Slo’wat, myself. This he repeated and held Slo’wat until he died.
Mink took all the articles of shining metal, which had belonged to Slo’wat, loaded them upon his back and started for home. All the tribes along the river heard that he had killed Slo’wat. Going to the riverside to get his canoe, he found his brother dead. “I left sufficient food for you, my brother,” he said.
DeSoto will always be known as a rapist, thief, murderer and extreme coward for his actions in North America. The remainder of the DeSoto Army was later conquered by the Native Americans when they were escorted out of the country by a large armada of canoes in 1543. When the remainder of the DeSoto expedition arrived in central Mexico, the other Spanish residents of the city spoke highly of the Natives. Several members of the DeSoto conquistadors were said to have gone completely insane when they realized that they had committed unspeakable inhuman cruelties against highly revered religious priests.
The codex Magliabechiano on page 15 reveals Cahokia style projectile points depicted on paper with the Spanish words “manta del fuego del Diablo” written across the top. In Particular, the points depicted were drawn in a highly similar shape to points found in Craig Mound from Central Oklahoma. This style of point is believed to have originated at the Cahokia Mounds due to its discovery in Mound 72.
Spanish writing is seen on the top of the page that depicts the projectile points translates to “Blanket of the Fire of the Devil”. Birdman forms that are similar to iconography found at the site fill the codex and on page 71, a depiction of a Chief carried on a litter is seen in Birdman regalia. It is suggested that sandstone engraved tablet depiction is very similar to this style. The Codex Magliabechiano shows that Cahokia style Points and birdman costumes were either in use during the mid 1500's or were being depicted at that time.
Here are the links to the codex that resembles the Birdman Tablet.
http://www.famsi.org/research/graz/magliabechiano/img_page071.html
Here is the page with Cahokia points:
http://www.famsi.org/research/graz/magliabechiano/img_page015.html
The following correspondence with Carl Weber explains some of the early Cahokia Place names:
I've attached the Minet Map -- at least the center portion of it. This map, associated with the year 1685, and according to Sarah Jones Tucker (as she said in her map collection from about 1943)... she said the map was in part based on the Franquelin Map of 1684 -- whereas its seems to me that the Minet map was created by La Salle in about 1683. If you look on the Minet map in the north, it says Lac de Baude (it should be spelled Buade) -- Governor Frontenac was Comte de Buade. Father Louis Hennepin left Fort Crevecoeur in the beginning of March 1680 -- instructed by La Salle to do so -- and with two Frenchmen ascended the Mississippi, and is responsible for, among a few other things, lac de Buade being put on the map. Note the "Choucagoua" the river of De Soto, on the map twice.
Here is the Library of Congress link to the Thèvenot map, that in 1681 was published as Marquette's map, and accompanied what was long (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g4042m.ct001908) believed to have been Marquette's first person narrative. Steck, in 1927-28 said the narrative was NOT by Marquette, and the battle has been raging since. The Thèvenot map (engraved for publication in 1681) is, as we talked about it, another "form" of the Manitoumie Map. The Map of Franquelin of 1684, informed by the explorations of La Salle, is at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3300.ct000656 -- this is the map with the outline of Louisiana on it -- note the publication date, the historically late-date being the result of its having been published for the first time in Thwaites' Jesuit Relations. Note the name "Checagou" under the red line.
Carl Weber started http://carljweber.com/late17thCenturyMaps.html
"Look on the Minet map, and you'll see the Rock River (called the Kickapoo). It IS on the map, and because of that, someone was there before the map was drawn... but there is not any mention of it in anything that I've ever read." Carl Weber
Perhaps what the Chief said was similar to A Delaware Creation Story From Journal of Jasper Danckaerts, recorded in 1679-1680, edited by Bartlett Burleigh James and J. Franklin Jameson (New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1913), 76-77. A native of the Netherlands , Jasper Danckaerts traveled through the Hudson and Delaware valleys in the late seventeenth century. In his journal, he recorded an encounter with a Delaware Indian who told him the following creation story.
We [Danckaerts and his companion] asked him, where he believed he came from? He answered from his father. “And where did your father come from?” we said, “and your grandfather and great-grandfather, and so on to the first of the race?” He was silent for a little while, either as if unable to climb up at once so high with his thoughts, or to express them without help, and then took a piece of coal out of the fire where we sat, and began to write upon the floor. He first drew a circle, a little oval, to which he made four paws or feet, a head and a tail. “This,” said he, “is a tortoise, lying in the water around it,” and he moved his hand round the figure, continuing, “This was or is all water, and so at first was the world or the earth, when the tortoise gradually raised its round back up high, and the water ran off it, and thus the earth became dry.” He then took a little straw and placed it on end in the middle of the figure, and proceeded, “The earth was now dry, and there grew a tree in the middle of the earth, and the root of this tree sent forth a sprout beside it and there grew upon it a man, who was the first male. This man was then alone, and would have remained alone; but the tree bent over until its top touched the earth, and there shot therein another root, from which came forth another sprout, and there grew upon it the woman, and from these two are all men produced.”
We acknowledge, he said, a supreme first power, some cause of all things, which is known by all the Indians of North America, hereabouts, whether Mahatans Sinnekes, Maquaas, Minquaas, southern or northern Indians, not only by the name of Sackamacher or Sachamor (which the Dutch for the sake of convenience will pervert into Sackemacher), that is to say, lord, captain, or chief, which all persons bear who have any power or authority among them, especially any government or rule over other persons and affairs, and that name, it appeared to him, was used by others to express God, more than by themselves; but the true name by which they call this Supreme Being, the first and great beginning of all things, and nothing is done without his aid and direction. “And,” he continued, “I, who am a sakemaker among the Indians, and also a medicine man (which was true), and have performed many good cures among them, experience every day that all medicines do not cure, if it do not please him to cause them to work; that he will cure one and not another thereby; that sickness is bad, but he sends it upon whom he pleases, because those upon whom he visits it are bad; but we did not have so much sickness and death before the Christians came into the country, who have taught the people debauchery and excess; they are therefore much more miserable than they were before. The devil, who is wicked, instigates and urges them on, to all kinds of evil, drunkenness and excess, to fighting and war, and to strife and violence amongst themselves, by which many men are wounded and killed. He thus does all kind of evil to them." (p175) I told him I had conversed with Jasper or Tantaque, another old Indian, on the subject, from whence all things had come, and he had told me they came from a tortoise; that this tortoise has brought forth the world, or that all things had come from it; that from the middle of the tortoise there had sprung up a tree, upon whose branches men had grown. That was true, he replied, but Kickeron was the tortoise, and the tortoise had a power and a nature to produce all things, such as earth, trees, and the like, Which God wished through it to produce, or have produced.
An image of the Piasa was recorded in the Journal of Marquette and Joliet in 1673. This rock art is probably an example of a water panther called the Mishipizheu.
http://www2.ic.edu/cochran/ClassPages/205Spring03/Downs/TheLegendofthePiasa.html
Monks Mound River L’Abbe Mission Site 1st Terrace Artifacts: Source Univerity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/arch_mission.html
http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/popups/timeline.html
A Bell was found to contain four identical symbols on each of its sides. The symbol is known as a fleur-de-lys, or flower of the lilly. Also found were seed beads and catlinite “pendants”. These pipestone artifacts found on the first terrace of Monks Mound are identical in shape to the various renderings of the bears tongue from page 32 and on 44 in the Sacred Scrolls of the Southern Ojibway by Selwyn Dewdney.
The Fleur-de-lys is an important symbol with a long history that was in use during the reign of English King Edward III. The presence of the Pi-a-sa rock art in Alton, Illinois and the fleur-de-lys on a brass bell could be interpreted as influence of the coat of arms of King Edward III around 1328 AD. I suggest the following theory is worthy of consideration.
Fleur-de lis on Bell + Pi-a-sa Michipeschu = Coat of arms of King Edward III
The French colonial period began around the middle of the 17th century during which the Mississippi river basin was claimed as “New France” by the Jesuit priests from the province of La Belle. Codex Canadiensis revealed that by the late 1600’s the entire Mississippi river valley had been mapped. This map included several mound groups in the area of the Cahokia Mounds, with the label “Statue = Manitou”. This possibly refers to an idol that was placed in a temple at the Cahokia Mounds, as Manitou is the word for great spirit.
The term Cahokia is shown as the French rendering of Cachouachouia in the area of Central Illinois. It also has the depiction of the "capitan of the Illinois " and Tamaroa, Illinoiuek, and other tribal city names identified. The "Capitan of the Illinois" is depicted that may be the Natchez Great Sun described by Bossou, and Du Pratz? See:http://www.collectionscanada.ca/codex/
The Company of the Mississippi http://www.uppercanadahistory.ca/finna/finna3.html
This time period remains veiled in mystery by the coded writings of the Jesuit Chronicles. The Natchez is the French word for Natosi. They were called Suns and at the peak of their power, until around 1720, when the brother of the Great Sun died. In 1720, the French accounts relate that there was a sacrificial custom observed. However, this may have been the explanation used after a bloody battle to sanitize the truth. Le Paige Du Pratz and Bossu relate the story that the sister of the great sun called the Princess was taken captive by the French where she was forced to live out the rest of her life in a New Orleans jail. The Natchez lived among other groups that would later be called the Oneota and were known to be the Siouan speaking groups. Likely, these groups were part of the largely Algonquian tradition.
An account from the Jesuit Chronicles in 1671 seems very confusing, until one learns that by Suns, the Jesuits were describing the actions of the Chiefs. This explains the Sun Symbolism that Chiefs used in their identity. Of this passage, it can be inferred that the Chiefs that were suns wore crowns of gold, which impressed the French.
“yet it was crowned with a sort of gold fillet, which gave a very beautiful aspect.”
The Illini Confederacy period was the next European occupation of Cahokia around 1700 to 1752. Jean Bernard Bossu account of Cahokia stated:
After sailing eighty leagues from the capital of Louisiana, we arrived at the Natchez post, which was an important one twenty years ago but is insignificant today, The fort is situated on a high point overlooking the Mississippi, which is only a cannon shot away. The Natchez, who lived here formerly, were a very important people. They had several villages ruled by individual chiefs, who in turn were governed by the great chief of the entire nation. All of these chiefs were called “Suns,” and all five hundred of them were related to the Great Sun, their sovereign, who wore on his chest a picture of the sun from which he claimed descent. Ouachil, the name under which the sun was worshiped means “Very Great fire” or “Supreme fire”. The ceremonies of this sun cult were rather august. The high priest arose before sunrise and walked solemnly at the head of his people. He carried a calumet, and, in order to honor the sun, blew the first puff of smoke in its direction. Staring at the sun’s first rays and extending his arms towards the sky, each worshiper howled in turn after the high priest. Then they all prostrated themselves. The women brought their children to this ceremony and made them assume the positions required by the rite.” Jean Bernard-Bossou, Travels Into the Interior of North America, page 31-32.
Later in Bossou’s journals, another early mention of the tribal name “Cahokia” was seen in 1750.
While I was among the Cahokia, some members of the Osage tribe arrived. Their Manitou was an enormous dried snake, which, according to these Indians, had swallowed an entire wildcat and had done a great deal of damage in their territory. As a result, the set out to kill it and track it down. The scales were so thick as to deflect arrow shots, but the man that killed it by firing bullets into its eyes bore a tattooed image of the snake on his body. The minister made the tribesman believe that this god and the evil spirit ate together at night. Therefore, food and fine skins would be required for dining, and these were provided by the followers. [94 - 97 Bossu]
Circa 1757 during the French and Indian wars, a smallpox epidemic introduced biological warfare and genocide against the Native Americans. This account in Book Blackbird Andrew J. Blackbird's History of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan:
It was a notable fact that by this time [1763] the Ottawas were greatly reduced in numbers from what they were in former times, on account of the small-pox which they brought from Montreal during the French war with Great Britain. This small pox was sold to them shut up in a tin box, with the strict injunction not to open the box on their way homeward, but only when they should reach their country; and that this box contained something that would do them great good, and their people! The foolish people believed really there was something in the box supernatural, that would do them great good. Accordingly, after they reached home they opened the box; but behold there was another tin box inside, smaller. They took it out and opened the second box, and behold, still there was another box inside of the second box, smaller yet. So they kept on this way till they came to a very small box, which was not more than an inch long; and when they opened the last one they found nothing but mouldy particles in this last little box! They wondered very much what it was, and a great many closely inspected to try to find out what it meant. But alas, alas! pretty soon burst out a terrible sickness among them. The great Indian doctors themselves were taken sick and died. The tradition says it was indeed awful and terrible. Every one taken with it was sure to die. Lodge after lodge was totally vacated - nothing but the dead bodies lying here and there in their lodges - entire families being swept off with the ravages of this terrible disease. The whole coast of Arbor Croche... was entirely depopulated.... It is generally believed among the Indians of Arbor Croche that this wholesale murder of the Ottawas by this terrible disease sent by the British people, was actuated through hatred, and expressly to kill off the Ottawas and Chippewas because they were friends of the French Government or French King. (9-10)
http://www.turtletrack.org/CO_FirstPerson/Blackbird/CO_04052003_Blackbird_Ch01.htm
Sunday, August 27th, 1775
Journal of Nicholas Cresswell provides an early account of a voyage down the Ohio to Illinois. Many "indian Paintings on trees", salt bone lick in Ohio, and Delaware Villages. Cresswell "went to see the King" at Coashoskin, this was an early derivation of the place name Cahokia.
"At Coashoskis, the King "treated Me very kindly, called me his good friend, and hoped I would be kind to my Squaw. Gave me a small string of wampum as a token of friendship."
http://memory.loc.gov/gc/lhbtn/30436/0121.tif
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=lhbtn&fileName=30436//lhbtn30436.db&recNum=121&itemLink=r%3Fammem%2Flhbtnbib%3A%40field(NUMBER%2B%40od1(lhbtn%2B30436))&linkText=0A meeting was held in August and September, 1778 at Cauhou (Cahokia Mounds) during which George Rogers Clark met with tribal members of the Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sac and fox, Osage, Winnebago, Iowa, and Miami. An excerpt from his statements to the Native Americans included "You will no longer deserve to be counted as men, but as creatures with two tongues, that ought to be destroyed, without listening to anything you might say." Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778-1783.
The presence of George Rogers Clark in the Ohio River valley to the Mississippi was used to extend the territory of the USA. He gave wampum belts to several tribal leaders at that time.
As seen in a cave overlooking the Illinois River were the initials “GRC 1778”. The date and initials were written in an formal scripted style. On a later visit to the cave, the engraved rock was found laying face down in the cave. The initials match Clark who was known to have been engaged in “bloody battles” against the Native Americans. http://www.egyptianaaa.org/SI-MapOfClark.htm
The French sold the land from the Cahokia Mounds all the way to the Rocky Mountains to the United States in 1803. This was part of the unknown borders that were acquired during the Louisiana Purchase for about 2.8 cents per acre.
United States Colonial period began with the “exploration” of the newly “purchased” land of the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark were designated to “explore” the “wild country”. On Wednesday the 17th October in 1804, William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition recorded in his journal: “This Chief tells me of a number of their traditions about Turtles, Snakes, and the power of a particular rock or cave on the next river which informs of everything… none of those I think worth while mentioning.”
An area of 400 acres around Monks Mound was then known as Canteen Mound was first owned by Nicholas Jarrot, who claimed ownership on December 31, 1809. He had given the land to the Order of La Trappes Monks (Trappist) in April, 1809, before he had official possession, and when they left in 1813, they reconveyed the land to Jarrot. They actually lived on a smaller mound, even though they big mound was named after them. Illinois became a state in 1818. Amos Hill took possession in 1831 and found a small building that remained on the summit. He transformed that small building into a farm house and constructed outbuildings on the top of the other mounds. He also dug a 90 foot deep “water well” from the second terrace (60 feet above the ground level) on the west side of the mound. It was reported that at a depth of 60 feet into the digging of the well, there was pottery, charred corn, two seashells, and other remains found. The well water was found at a depth of 90 feet (30 feet beneath ground level) which was said to have a particular taste and was not considered useful for drinking because it was thought to have percolated through human burials. A stone cistern, rusted horseshoes and broken ceramics have been found eroding out of the west side of the mound. These artifacts are attributed to early historic period 18th-19th century residence. Thomas Ramey took possession of Monks Mound around 1860 and a cellar was built into the mounds summit to a depth of eight or nine feet. It was noted that the composition of the layers of the summit included black loam, bluish sticky clay, sandy loam, white and yellow sand, yellow loess, and nearly every kind of earth, deposited in basketloads. Scientists and writers have puzzled over where the colored earth used to build the mounds came from without solution. Several other cuts were made on the sides of the mound in the 1880’s. The varied colors of earth similar to those described in the cellar excavations were found to be used throughout the mounds entire construction. At the base of a pine tree on the summit of Monks Mound, the Ramey residents excavated a hundred foot long tunnel into the center of the mound. A very large five to six pound piece of Galena lead ore was found 15 feet beneath the summit of the mound. No other artifacts were noted from the excavation. Reports stated again that the colored mound materials were used throughout the mound. The colored materials found deeply within the mound were similar to those which were described in the cellar of the house. Beginning in the late 1860’s railroad expansion was happening at an extreme rate throughout the continent. Monks Mound was targeted on maps entitled “the Greatest Railroad Center and the Most Desirable location for Industrial Enterprises in the Mississippi River Valley”. Several railroad spurs were built up to Monks Mound. One such spur was built along Collinsville road from the east and one construction of a railroad spur began from the south side of the Twin Mounds, expressly for the purpose of using the mound materials for railroad fill. It is unknown how many mounds met their fate through this method, however, certainly many were destroyed by the railroad companies. It has been said that Thomas Ramey prevented the complete removal of the mound. The Ramey family owned the mound until the State of Illinois purchased some of the land in 1925 to establish Cahokia Mounds State Park.
In the Chicago Tribune article on the Cahokia Mounds, it was revealed that the lots were divided and offered for sale and building of houses on October 15, 1959. This division of the lots further contributed to the destruction of the mounds. Such is the way of “civilization” and the reason that Cahokia was disowned due to improper transfer of ownership.
Source: Chicago Daily Tribune Cahokia Mounds. Sept 23, 1959, Voice of the People. James E. Ehrlicher. P. 13
The longer sides of the mound were engineered facing north and south. On the north end of each of the longer sides of the mound, symmetrical projections were constructed as part of the design. Construction began by building a square shape pyramidal mound by adding buttresses on the sides of the mound prior to filling in a hollow central area. Then an elongated first terrace thirty feet high and two acres in area was added to the south facing side of the pyramidal structure. Next, the projection that makes up the front of the staircase on the mound was added. A conical burial mound ten feet high was anciently built on the southeast corner of the third terrace, which was leveled in the early 1800’s by looters.
Breckenridge noted that the top of the mound was planted with wheat and gardens in 1811 when he visited the site and wrote about the ”symptoms of ancient ruins” that he found. In the early 1800’s, the mound was covered by native, naturally growing trees including elm and oak. In 1882, the summit and first terrace was planted with nearly one hundred pear and apple trees, which was attributed to the Order of La Trappes Monks. The sides of the mound were never plowed as a result of the efforts of Thomas Ramey to preserve the mound. Trees were allowed to grow upon the mound until they were all cut down in the 1970’s by archaeologists. The trees added to the stability of the mound and absorbed water through their roots. A strong cover of vegetation and forest vegetation reduced the moisture level of the mound material and prolonged the life of the earthen monument. By removing trees from earthen monuments, two detrimental affects occur. First, rainwater can cause increased surface erosion due to the rapid movement over the surface of the soil. Second. Rainwater absorbs more rapidly into the mound material which reduces the confinement stress and increases the deviatoric stress. This soil moisture increase leads to slumping and landslide events. The leading cause of erosion is known to be deforestation. Trees should be left on mounds for these reasons.
Several ancient repair episodes took place sixty feet above the ground level on the west facing slope. These repairs were believed to be done after ancient landslides occurred, possibly after a large ancient earthquake due to close proximity to the New Madrid fault. The resulting acre size area has been called the second terrace due to its relatively flat appearance. The top of the mound is divided into two parts, called the third and fourth terraces. The fourth terrace is ninety feet and exceeds the height of the third terrace by two feet.
Scholars do not have a precise date on each of the mounds that were built. The similarity of some artifacts found on Monks Mound bear a resemblance to Mesoamerican cultural artifacts, and thus a theory that Cahokia Mounds culture came before the Mesoamerican people was proposed. I suggest that the artifact similarity on the basis of identical flint knives known as Ramey Knives, Falcon-human costumes, skull shape, and painted earthworks. The inverse reasoning of which culture influenced the other is not discernable; it is just as likely that the moundbuilder culture influenced the Mesoamericans as is the opposite.
There is a school of thought that it is important to leave the mounds shape as original as it can be. Another school of though, is in effort to make the sides of Monks Mound flat and symmetrical, even if it was not originally built that way. The powers that be have taken it upon themselves to attempt to “restore” the mound by making the sides flat and straight. A Chicago Tribune article on Monks Mound entitled “A Mighty Sepulcher” from March 26, 1882 stated that the sides of the mound below the first terrace are found “irregular deeply cut projecting points, seeming to be more part of the design than of rain storm.” The opposite point of view was stated by Gerard Fowke in 1920 when he wrote “it should have the earth that has settled to its base restored to its place”.
Unfortunately, the mound was partially destroyed with backhoes by the State of Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) in August 2007 in a fiasco misrepresented as “emergency maintenance”. The volume of material removed in the August, 2007 excavations equals at least 30,000 cubic feet, based on the dimensions of the spoil piles. The spoil piles had dimensions 183 feet by 140 feet at the base and a height of 4 feet. The equation for the volume of a pyramid equals 1/3 lwh = 1/3*183*140*4= 1/3 (104280) = 34,160, approximately 30,000 cubic feet. The volume of mound fill removed was 75 % mound and 25 % historic fill, not 90% fill and 10% mound as stated by the Site Management. The Mound material should be regarded as important and sifted to recover any Bones, pottery shards, lithics, teeth, or botanical remains.
The recent Monks Mound excavation caused improper damage to the Archaeological record, however revealed architectural information that is useful in dating the construction of the Mound. The excavations revealed limestone slabs as well as bald cypress and red cedar posts. These features of Monks Mound show that rethinking the origin of the mound’s construction is necessary to evaluate.
If the mound was excavated in order to make its surfaces more flat and linear in appearance, then Archaeology is turning the ancient mound into an amusement park. Visual surface appearance of the largest earthen mound in the United States should not be considered the most important aspect of its appeal. If an ancient monument spreads due to water inside the mound, the correct solution is to get the water out of the material. Subsequently, the Illinois professional archaeological community (IAS) recommended installation of an oversight committee at Cahokia Mounds due in part to a disturbing lack of communication from the site management before and after the excavations.
During the 2007 excavations on Monks mound, significant evidence was found including layers of colored in blue, red, white, black, grey, brown, and orange soils. The source of the colored soil is yet unknown and the symbolism in monumental earthworks is significant. There were no grass layers or erosion events found between the colored layers of construction material. This indicates that the mound was kept clean of grass. According to expert Rick Osmon, the host of the Out of Place Artifact show called OOPA LOOPA CAFE, a weekly radio show on blog talk radio, the Blue soil is very rare and is known to come from Clay County, Indiana. The white soil may be gypsum powder, which is found in northern Indiana. Red and orange soils come from southern Appalachian areas. Rick Osmon's show covers many interesting aspects of ancient artifacts, from moundbuilder technology to the latest discoveries.
See: http://www.oopaloopacafe.com/
The Following article was featured in the Native American Newsletter called the Wotangng Ikche Volume 15 issue 51. Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:41:58 -0600From: "Barrows, Vince" Subj: cahokia mounds Hello, I am standing up for Illinois by writing to communicate the Facts about a situation at the Cahokia Mounds World Heritage Site that has caused severe damage on the Monks Mound during August 2007. Over 30,000 cubic feet of the Monks Mound was removed with backhoes. No attempt was made to properly excavate the terraces, record what was encountered, or to sift the material that was removed. Monks Mound was merely torn apart with back hoes, dumped into dump trucks, and then deposited in piles down the road at a location halfway between the Woodhenge structure and Monks Mound. I received a response to a FOIA request for a copy of the permit to do the work. Apparently the Historic Preservation Agency reviewed and approved the project. I have written a second request asking if this approval included the excavation of prehistoric mound material. I also renewed my request for a copy of the permit even if they are of the opinion that none was required. Given the nature of what actually happened, I am surprised they admit to approving the project. Site management from IHPA hired an outside archaeologist from a local University for this project. I believe that archaeologist is very qualified to do this work and has the most extensive experience of working at Cahokia Mounds of anybody in the world. Unfortunately, the hired archaeologist was never out there for the actual digging according to on site archaeologists. I have been told that he assigned four grad students to watch the track-hoe while they stepped back the mound.3 Then ITARP was hired by IHPA to look at the borrow after the digging occurred. The heavy equipment was probably supplied from Plocher Construction company. I am not sure who the other archaeologists were from that were hired to look at the cuts. Site management stated their names in the recent write up in the Cahokian magazine. A short inspection of the Monks Mound spoil piles showed that they contained numerous pot shards, including rim shards of purple and red color. The pottery with red pigments were covered with red ochre pigment. Red ochre is a naturally occurring substance that is sometimes found washing out of riverbanks in central Illinois. The purple pottery is unique or unusual as far as I know. The purple pigment is the color of the Illinois state flower called Purple Violet Viola. The purple color is said to be made using murex mollusk shells which may explain the large numbers of this type of shell on the Cahokia site. I took photos after backhoes deeply cut through of the sides of the mound beneath the surface of the mound while the excavations were still open.2 These photos show very defined colors of used in the construction that indicate the Indians had colored images covering the mounds surfaces. Similar distinct layers of brightly colored archaeological material with Native American symbols have been found in earthen mounds at Ocmulgee mound, and Wickliffe Mounds. The reckless removal of the construction sequence and heavy over-cutting also damaged valuable archaeological contexts of Monks Mound. Broken pottery, cedar and bald cypress wooden posts, and a circle of limestone blocks were hit with the backhoes as they dug away at the sides of the mounds. Fortunately, University of Illinois archaeologist Tim Pauketat showed up and stopped the destruction from continuing. Tim expressed his displeasure in this work according to the professional archaeological community website (IAS newsflash website). The presence of limestone slabs and charred remains in the central chamber is evidence of a burial chamber.1 Archaeologists were called in to perform a profile survey on the east side of monks mound after the over-cutting occurred. These surveys are insufficient to replace the volumes of information that were destroyed and removed by the backhoes. I served as vice president of the CAS from 2004- 2006 because the CAS objective clearly states that "the association and its members are opposed to the destruction, unauthorized excavation, or looting of archaeological sites". CAS is an organization that is run by the site management. The monks mound work appears to have been done without a permit or not according to the permits requirements. No permit for the work has been received and the one month window for response after an official request from the Freedom of Information act has expired. Site Management have stated in public lectures that they had all permits and necessary paperwork to do this excavation. My father heard from the IHPA that "No permit was required, since they own the land" and a third party stated that a permit was issued to only remove historic fill. No permit has yet been received. Digging into a mound without a permit is a state crime; unauthorized digging into an Indian grave is a federal crime; destroying part of a World Heritage Site is an outrage. The excavated mound material needs to be regarded as prehistoric mound material. To this end it should be sifted to recover any pot shards,projectile points, beads, bone, or teeth. Hopefully the moundmanagement recognizes this. I have heard the site management regard it as "fill material". Anything you can do to encourage a proper investigation of the material would help; perhaps a volunteer program by the Cahokia Archeology Society?A FOIA request for a copy of the Permit issued by the Historic Preservation Agency for work conducted during the August 2007 on MonksMound was placed in August 2007 and a response has been received thatstates No permit was required. IHPA indicated that the project wasreviewed and approved by the Historic Preservation Agency. The responsedid not indicate whether a permit was issued: it only indicated IHPAare of the opinion that no permit was required. Bill Iseminger indicated that he had a permit and all necessary paperwork. A third party has indicated a permit was issued but it applied only to the removal of the historic fill that hat been placed to buttress the structure of the mound. If a permit was issued, I would like a copy even if IHPA are of the opinion that no permit was required. If no permit was issued, I would like a statement to that effect. I would also know if the Agency approved the removal of prehistoric mound material. The IAS made an announcement on their website that gave the indication that the professional community had no idea this work was going to occur and that some were unhappy with it. All six professional archaeologists that I have heard from objected to this work. Comments included uncertainty about the reasons that site management approved all of this and indicated some were very sad to say that this resulted in losing much trust in site management. Some archaeologists indicated that they were frustrated with the decision to do this work without considering the archaeological opportunity for research. The track-hoe guy was on a schedule and pushing the crew, so archaeologists complained that they didn't get a chance to map anything at all in the beginning of cuts. The archaeologists regretted that they quickly brought in borrow dirt and filled in the northwest cut without any detailed inspection. Inspection after Northeast cuts occurred more thoroughly to salvage what they could before backfilling occurred. During this time, the construction crews were delayed for two days when backfilling was held off. Many said this was a tragedy for the mound and wanted assurance that it will never happen again. Bill's report showed that the management recklessly over cut into the mound to make it more visually appealing. This attempt caused inappropriate damage to the archaeological record of one our states historic treasures. There was no emergency impeding threat of massive rainwater erosion to Monks mound as they claimed. The engineering was done in a way that is completely wrong for this situation.3 The report on lithiccastinglab
(See: http://lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2007septembermoundslumprepairpage1.htmsummarizes
summarizes the reasoning that the site management used to support their activities. This reasoning is the basis for progressively increasing damage and destruction to the mounds on the site that the management used over the last 30 years. There was no emergency situation with rainwater erosion or slumping. The concept that this "excavation" was an effort to stabilize and restore the mound is unsupported by the facts presented in that article. The techniques used will not reduce the internal moisture level of the mound and will do nothing for future possible slumping events. See Larry Barrows response in my initial letter for a more correct engineering plan. An obvious method is to recognize that the mound exists in a slumped state and then do nothing. For example. this year was undergoing a drought and there was no severe slumping occurring since around 1984. The slumping that occurred a few years ago was minor and did not affect the east side of the mound at all. Being a dry year shows that the sides of the mound were not in threat of collapse from rainwater erosion I totally disagree with site management that the archaeological context is lost due to slumping. A very large slumped part of a mound should still be considered good context for archaeological discovery and is still part of the mound. Digging it apart without looking at the movement and construction sequence is inappropriate. The cedar and bald cypress posts that were nocked out of place by the backhoes and the large limestone slabs encountered during this activity were only one part of the archeology. The construction sequence and possibility for painted images on the mounds original surfaces are of important archaeological value. I expressed concern for the preservation of the mounds when I saw that ATVs were using the mounds for race courses. After notifying the site management of this illegal activity, I was told by the management tostay out of it, and threatened with arrest. Cahokia Mounds management does not have the attitude necessary to preserve Monks Mound and the other mounds on state property.5 I suggest management of the site by another agency that considers the preservation of the site of high importance. Or perhaps a Native American group would take care of the site in a more responsible way. 4 There was no emergency. If stabilization was warranted, the correct way to accomplish it was to get the water out. If the site management had spent half the effort explaining what the intended to do as they have spent justifying what they did, the whole mess could have been avoided. Anyhow it is essential that this never happen again. Recently, the expansion of Milam Landfill over three mounds and Numerous native American burials was approved by the local county board. This was done after the objection of the Archaeological Conservancy and numerous citizens of the county. Sincerely; Vincent BarrowsIf you are concerned about the Monks Mound destruction, please contact Site managment and let them know. 1. According to Gregory Perino's collected works volume on hisarchaeological work. 2. For more information and photos, see
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathryncramer/986756522/in/set-72157601195678203/
http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/Marburg72/
Perhaps these colored layers contained elaborate earth paintings. The striking colored mound covered with colored painted images would be most appropriate for this type of structure. The paintings may have been similar Hopewell style birdman form or painted images similar to the Birdman tablet found at the site With the destructive excavation methods used, we will never know for sure if the destroyed layers contained imagery that archaeologist refer to as the “Southeastern Ceremonial Complex”.
Several other examples of Mound Earth paintings have been noted in mounds including Wickliffe Mounds and Shiloh National Military Park.
Wickliffe Mounds Sun Circle Floor Painting, Sun Circle Floor Painting feature was found during excavation at Wickliffe Mounds, KY. The description of the circle at the Wickliffe Mounds stated:
“In the summer of 1994, The Murray State University archaeological field crew, directed by Dr. Kit Wesler, Professor of Archaeology, Department of Geosciences at Murray State University, along with a consortium of other universities making up the Middle Mississippi Survey, excavated around the cemetery at the Wickliffe Mounds archaeological site (15BA4) as part of an extensive research project. A Mississippian era house floor was discovered during the excavation process, located west of the cemetery (Mound C) and north of the smaller platform mound (Mound B). The excavation revealed a fired clay floor, with a painting of a circle and cross motif, a Native American symbol often referred to as a Sun Circle.
The Sun Circle (cross inside circle) is a widespread symbol in Mississippian and Southeastern Native American art. Its meaning combines the four directions, the circle of the earth, and the sacred fire, the sun and perhaps other symbolism. This motif is depicted on pottery, shell and stone and is a symbol of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.”
Other examples of the use of color in mounds include Shiloh National Military Park in West Tennessee.
http://www.archaeologychannel.org/content/video/shiloh_300kW.html
This type of colored soil is also noted in Neolithic and Bronze Age earthen mounds. Colored soil is believed to represent Burial context, as stated by Mary Ann Owoc in the following:
“It is suggested that color was used by the builders of the monuments to delineate and highlight particular positions of funerary rituals, and moreover, that colour was part of a suite of symbolic attributes of the buried landscape that enabled particular interpretations of the funerary rituals to be made by the community of mourners.”
http://mai.mercyhurst.edu/PDFs/MAO_Munsell.pdf
Limestone Slabs were hit by the backhoes as the sides of the mound were being removed. Use of the limestone slabs in mound construction is important because it is known in late archaic and woodland period mounds including Hopper Mound.
http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/hopper.html
Archaeologist Gregory Perino excavations show similar woodland and archaic artifacts in association with limestone slabs. Limestone slabs are often found in association with ancient human burials.
Several Cedar and Bald Cypress Posts were also revealed in the excavations at Monks Mound. Bald Cypress is rarely found in Southern Illinois, but is more common in southern wetlands and swamps. Bald Cypress is a long lived tree that can live to be around 1200 years old or more. Red Cedar is also a native evergreen tree that is known to have religious significance to Native American groups.
If the wooden samples are sent to several independent properly certified carbon dating companies, then it would be possible to determine an accurate date for the construction of the “World’s Largest Pyramid”. It is necessary, however, to publish the complete reports without editing the data or re-calibrating the dates.
The pottery rims found in the Monks Mound spoil piles may be interpreted as evidence of royal or imperial purple dye. Only the wealthiest empires could afford such items. One example is the Phoenicians, who used shells to manufacture purple dye. Purple dye was possibly used on royal clothing and pottery. The earliest written records for purple pottery date to around 2600 BC in China . (http://www.straw.com/sig/dyehist.html)
I suggest that shell heaps found throughout the Americas are evidence of royal dye manufacturing centers. Dye such as Murex purple was an extremely valuable commodity and was made from a part of the mollusk. It is said that a pound of Murex purple took over 60,000 shells to make. The murex shell is a species that is native to the East Coast of North America from North Carolina to Florida. This would explain the reason that many of the shells had holes poked through them at Cahokia Mounds as well.
DNA analysis in 5 of 8 (63%) of burials at Cahokia in Mound 72 Sub 2 revealed a rare mutation in Haplotype B. This mutation has been identified also in 9% of the Hopewell Mound Group burials of central Ohio. DNA analysis indicates Haplotype B is found in individuals from China, Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Japan, South America, and Taiwan. Haplotype B is the also found among Africans in 30/51 individuals (59%).
DNA analysis indicates a connection between the Ohio Hopewell and the Cahokia Elite.
Mills, Lisa A. Mitochondrial of the Ohio Hopewell of the Hopewell Mound Group. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/send-pdf.cgi?osu1054605467 Dissertation. Ohio State University. 2003.
Monks Mound was partially destroyed by the State of Illinois Historic Preservation Agency without a permit and as a result, the IAS community recommended installation of an oversight committee at Cahokia Mounds to prevent future destruction to the World Heritage Site. The state bureaucrats responsible for the preservation of the Historical site have rejected this suggestion and did not respond to any specific questions about the events.
(http://virtual.parkland.edu/ias/member_com/announcements/announcements.htm)
Tim Pauketat wrote me and stated "I am in agreement that the recent work at Monks Mound should result in a more serious look at preservation standards and the state's management of Cahokia."
National Geographic Society Response: Thank you for contacting the National Geographic Society. We appreciate your comprehensive description of the damage at Monks Mound. As a private, non-profit educational organization we are restricted from attempts to influence legislation, but I have passed your email along to the editors of the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine to make them aware of the situation.
If you have not already, I would suggest you address your concerns to UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, which designated the Cahokia Mounds as a World Heritage Site in 1982. The Centre seeks to protect and preserve World Heritage sites. They can be contacted through their website at: http://whc.unesco.org/ Thank you for thinking of us.
Sincerely,
Julie Crain
National Geographic Society
A more correct procedure for handling this project according to my father, Dr. Larry Barrows, a licensed professional Illinois geologist,
"Unfortunately the engineering was inappropriate for the mound stabilization problem. A correct approach would have included:
• Horizontal wells in the native soil beneath the mound. The wells would remove groundwater from the mound material.
• Topsoil fill with a good stand of grass on top of the mound. The topsoil fill would be shaped to control runoff and limit infiltration.
• An elevated viewers’ platform to keep the tourists off the grass.
These could have been installed with minimal interference with the actual mound material. The other very obvious option is to recognize that Monks Mound exists as a slumped and deformed structure. Then do nothing.
The terrace and backfill method that was employed is a correct strategy for a slope with a stable core such as a one-sided road cut or a landslide in unconsolidated alluvium on a hillside. It is not correct for a homogeneous four-sided mound in which the most intense shear stress (and deformation) is expected to occur directly beneath the crest of the mound. The water pressure (and pressure-induced reduction in shear-strength) is also expected to be greatest beneath the crest. In this instance the correct strategy is to get the water out of the material. Incidentally my background includes a PhD in geophysics, research into computer modeling of gravity-loaded earth structures, 30+ years of professional experience in environmental sciences, teaching graduate environmental geology and geohydrology, and an Illinois Licensed Professional Geologist certification. I am not a licensed engineer but I do work for an environmental engineering company and have a working knowledge of engineering geology. If you want a reference on the role of water in slumps, slides, and slope stability see the Annenberg Earth Revealed movie on mass wasting.
3. This is a link to the radio program where we discussed this issue.
This is a link to my father’s letter to the editor
http://www.sj-r.com/Opinion/stories/15945.asp
Mythology and Monks Mound:
Nearly none of our writers on Indian History have associated the Monks Mound with a number of legends or myths. This is due to an unfortunate belief that the thoughts of the mound builders are indiscernible and will forever be lost. Some have stated that they are of the opinion that it seems very hazardous to draw any conclusions as to the religious beliefs of the Mound Builders. However, it is revealed that creation stories, legends, and myths are abundant which can be reasonably associated with importance in the moundbuilders culture. Many Native American groups either lived at or visited Cahokia. Yet they all had similar words for it, meaning Holy place.
I suggest material evidence of "snake mountain" is seen in the crosshatched tablets found all over Monks Mound and the turtle shell found turned upside down when constructing the stairs on the first terrace of Monks Mound. The turtle shell was turned upside down and placed into a giant "midden".
Many Native American myths relate to stories associated with such consecrated objects and mounds have been recorded by savants of history. In one fitting account, the sky maiden named Nanabozho fell through the hole in the sky as she was digging up a turnip. As she fell through the hole, all the water creatures that were floating on the water-covered earth saw her falling to earth. The water birds volunteered to save her by crisscrossing their long necks in this, that, and every direction to make a net. When she fell into the net, the ducks became exhausted and the turtle volunteered to let her sit on its back. Eventually, trees sprouted from the turtles back, and debris began to float up and collect around the turtle. Raven brought the eternal fire, thus its blackened color. This is how North America was formed. The sky Maiden who was digging turnups, was the head of the sky people and together with her husband the Great Sun led the earth people.
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheStoryofPoia-Blackfoot.html
Monks mound is prominently situated as the central feature of the Cahokia Mounds group, a group of around 120 mounds in the region. From an aerial and profile view, the mound is composed in the shape of a turtle effigy. These projections may represent the turtles hind legs on the north side, constructed to indicate movement. The front projections on the first terrace represent legs of the turtle. I suggest the possibility is that this is an effigy of a turtle burying its eggs, or possibly a turtle walking south. Several versions of this account are found throughout North America. I concur with the late Oscar Schneider, “Monks Mound, that giant earthwork built in four stages with a projecting ramp to the south, is actually a giant turtle figure." Oscar Schneider, Cahokian Magazine.
If it was a sacred "National Monument" for Turtle Island, presently known as North America, which was once held in the highest regards as among the worlds most sacred places. Monks Mound was used for ceremonies that relate to the "big house" ceremony, in which the sky people sat on the north and the earth people sat on the south of the path of the sun. They contemplated the intricate workings of the cosmos, their ancestors, and their descendants. Monks mound was constructed so quickly, and with unknown colored soil types, that no grass had a chance to grow throughout the construction process. Perhaps it was then monks mound was the consecrated tomb of Nanabozho, and no effort was spared.
The ritual use and symbolism are important to consider. Linguistic studies reveal that the term for Monks Mound was called Wa-kon-da. This term is similar to the later transcribed as Twakanhah, wakan tanka, wakanda, and this means the Great Spirit. This was the invisible spirit world that was applied to large hills, trees, and animals that are all part of the larger world. Rituals were conducted on Monks mound to demonstrate an understanding of the cosmos and honor the ancestors. The Big House Ceremony was an important ceremony that took place on Monks Mound. Anthropologists John Strong, Selwyn Dewdney, Frank Speck and Francis La Flesche described these ceremonies in great detail.
It is impossible to know or to put into words the sacred consecrated nature of monks mound or to describe its true significance to the original builders. The Walam Olum gives some insight into this story in which a turtle was drawn as the earth, on which Nanabozho fell. Art educator and noted expert on Ojibway art and anthropology Selwyn Dewdney wrote the comprehensive study of Birchbark Scrolls which detailed the similarity to the Walam Olum, as follows: "A surviving pictographic record on wood, preserved by the Algonquian-speaking Delaware long after they had been shifted from their original homeland on Atlantic shores at the mouth of the Delaware River, offers evidence of how ancient and widespread is the myth of a flood involving a powerful water manito. The record is known as the Walum Olum (Painted Sticks), and was interpreted for George Copway by a Delaware Elder... Apart from the reference to man's moral wickedness, the mood and imagery of the Walum Olum convey an archaic atmosphere that surely predates European Influence." (Dewdney, page 128). Joe Napora also suggested that original birch bark documents were the source of Rafinesque's study. In 1996 a French version of a presentation by Napora, best known for his Walam Olum Translation, was published, saying "It is not in the interest of poetry to continue this dispute because the remaining pieces show a myth of emergence which is a complete story in the sense that it moves from the indefinite to the particular... Here, the details are a period of thousands of years and a space for thousands of miles... This is a true story, although it has been lost for too long for us" Napora, Joe
http://surledosdelatortue.free.fr/24WALAM.htm
Walam Olum, présentation] in ''Sur Le Dos de La Tortue. Revue de littérature amérindienne'' N°24, Octobre 1996. Additional supporting evidence that such scrolls are authentic was presented by Kidd in American Antiquity as follows: "Two instances of Birch-bark "scrolls" in archaeological contexts are reported from the Head-of-the-Lakes Region In Ontario." In 1954, a multidisciplinary team of scholars from the Indiana Historical Society published a reliable translation and commentary, saying that "the Red Score is a worthy subject for students of aboriginal culture"
The Cahokia Mounds site was occupied from the earliest Paleolithic and Neolithic times to European arrival, probably due to its convenient location at the confluence of major rivers. The Monks Mound is a timeless monument that will be here long after we are gone. Our culture appreciates the historic value of the Cahokia and surrounding Indian mounds. Preservation should be done to keep it in as original shape as possible, not to make it into a visually appealing shape to the Site Management of the Illinois State Historic Preservation Agency. As such, our posterity will be able to appreciate it for many more millennia.
It is also important to consider the Wa-sho’-be Zhin-ga, or little sacred objects with stone engravings found on Tablets from Cahokia and the American bottom region. These tablets represent sacred objects that are consecrated. There are several examples of the tablets that I know of that are inscribed from the Cahokia Mounds. It is hoped that a broad iconographic study will reveal information that would otherwise be lost.
Birdman Tablet
Description (general): Engraved sandstone tablet fragment
Material (medium): Sandstone
Length (Ht.): 92 mm Width (Diam.): 62mm Depth (Thick): 17mm
Form/ Shape: Rectangular; diagonal Copperhead snake scale replication X-hatch one side, falconoid- human figure exhibiting cloaking behavior with possible sun tablet worn on chest depicted on other. Precise solstice alignments and lunar min and max azimuth angles shown by lines on the “wing”. The obverse has an 82.14% similarity to copperhead snake scales on reverse.
Providence: Cahokia Site, Monks Mound, west side of mound located on the southern tip of southernmost lobe just west of a burial.
It is important to notice the aquiline hooknose trait. Some call it the Roman Nose. This is also known as a feature of Buddha. This physical feature is noticed on the mummy of Thutmose III (1479 BC-1429 BC) and Ramses II (1279 BC-1213 BC).
Cultural Affiliation: "Mississippian", due to proximity to Mississippi River
Ownership: Illinois State Museum
Accession/ Catalog numbers present: none
Arrival Condition/ damage: Aboriginal breaks
Date Received: 1971
“Cahokia’s Birdman symbol was found engraved on a four-inch sandstone tablet unearthed in 1971 in a lobe on the east side of Monks Mound. Radio-carbon dating of charcoal found at the base of the lobe or stump shows an approximate date of AD 1310.
The back of the small tablet is crosshatched with a pattern which some say represents the skin of a snake. The front of the tablet shows a man wearing a mask with a birdlike beak. He also wears ear spools and has feathers attached to his arms or to a cape. Thus the sky world (bird), the earth world (man) and the under world (snake) are symbolically embodied on this one tablet. An engraved shell gorget from the Mississippian site at Etowah, Georgia, and an engraved shell from Spiro, Oklahoma, depict a man wearing similar ear spools, mask and feathered cape. Native American “eagle dancers” continued to appear in ceremonies into historic times.”
The Kassly- Schaefer tablet was found with a pottery head that was probably manufactured together. The Tablet represents the torso and the head is a decapitation symbol. There is strong precedence for this. The Thruston tablet is an example of similar imagery that shows a tablet representing a torso symbol.
This very rare Native American artifact called the Kassly-Schaefer tablet is now on permanent display at the Cahokia Mounds. This interesting sandstone tablet is inscribed on both sides with symbols that represent a very scarce remainder of those that were made by people that lived in the civilization called the Cahokia Mounds. The symbols were carved from sandstone at the location of the present day Cahokia Mounds and probably are a record of tribal mythology. It had been left at its place of discovery south of Old Valmeyer, IL until the finder Elizabeth Agnes Kassly discovered the tablet in pieces on November 15, 2000 and May 15, 2003 after the tablet had been hit by a plow. On January 14, 2007, The Tablet was placed on display at the Cahokia Mounds Interpretive Center. The tablet has a length (Ht.) equal to 86.67 mm) width (Diam.) equal to 60.76 mm, and depth (Thick) equal to 28.37mm at the middle and 26.20mm nearing edges. The tablet weighs 142.2 grams. This tablet was carved from sandstone by an elite resident at the location of Cahokia Mounds probably during the Hopewellian era around 2500 years ago, and may have been highly revered as part of an Casqui ancestral shrine until around 1543, when the Capachi Raided the Casqui Shrine, as documented in the DeSoto Chronicles. It may have also been kept in the central portion of the chief’s residence on Monks Mound, to be circuited by every visitor to the house, before ever speaking to or looking at the chief, according to the Jesuit Chronicles.
Published in the following:
Elizabeth Agnes Kassly, The Prehistoric Birdman Tablets of Illinois. Prehistoric American #2, 2004.
Illinois Antiquity, Volume 36, No 2 July 2001
Icons include an ancestral lineage feather on the top of the front side above a deeply engraved line that possibly represents the sky vault. Seven inscribed points on the central figure resemble an asterism grouping, possibly “Aquarius”. The front right side shows a set of four downward branching lines that represent fish skeletons with antlers, completing the astronomical watery grouping called Capricorns, the “Water Goat”. Beneath this is a set of 13 lines, possibly representing 13 days in each of the 20 months in the Mayan Long Count.
The right leg is drawn with a sharpened appearance and may have connections to Blackfoot and Natoas myths of the tornado called the “Sharpened leg”. The diagonal line overlays the asterism grouping corresponds with the lunar orbit. The reverse crosshatched side bears resemblance to scales of a venomous Copperhead snakeskin shedding diagonally from the halfway point toward the right. This symbol is of Maya, or veiled consciousness and each x represents the arms and legs interlocking of all the ancestral founders. Another likely interpretation, as presented in the Walam Olum, is that the X invariably represents War, Evil or Bad things. Completing the important discovery was an ancient pottery head that was made with an insect-like right eye, an upturned beak-like nose, and an open mouth showing teeth. More can be seen about these objects at the following web locations:
http://lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/clayheadkasslypage1.htm
http://lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/kasslytabletbirdlarge.htm
http://lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/tabletssandstonebirdman.htm
The right eye probably represents the sun and the left missing eye represents the moon. In parallel with this symbolic effect, the shamanic custom of crossing eyes represented an eclipse. We will never know the exact meaning intended by the ancient master, however, Native American Ojibwa mythology of Nanabozho may represent similar meaning. In my opinion, the imagery on this tablet includes an Osage creation ritual called the Wa-zha-zhe. This ritual combined tradition with symbols. According to La Flesche, “In the mythical story of this gens the people came from the stars to the earth. In their wanderings they came suddenly upon a man who stood in the midst of the waters that rushed noisily over the rocks. The man leading the way turned around and said to his followers: “here stands Wa-zha-zhe, a person who has made the waters of the earth his body.” The person spoke to the people, saying: “If you make of me your bodies your little ones shall become difficult to be overtaken by death; they shall enable themselves to live to see old age. They shall also come to see the days that are beautiful.”
Derivations of Ojibwa legends are seen from page 203 of The Midewiwin of the Ojibwa text, which includes the translation of the following symbol:
“Mi´-sha-kwat´-ni-yō´. I brought the medicine to bring life. The Midē´ Man´idō, the Thunderer, after bringing some of the plants—by causing the rains to fall—returns to the sky. The short line represents part of the circular line usually employed to designate the imaginary vault of the sky.”
An Assemblage of artifacts from the Schaefer’s site including pottery, scrapers, arrowheads, and knives. Arrowhead styles include two Madison points, one Cahokia point (900 AD to 1150 AD, two Paleo or Oneoto style scrapers, pottery rim shards, one Hamilton incurvate arrowhead (diagnostic of Late Woodland Hamilton culture from about 500 AD to 1000 AD), one Steuben (diagnostic of terminal Middle Woodland to early Late Woodland periods dating about 100 AD through 500 to 800 AD), one Motley (800 BC to 600 BC which relates to the Poverty Point culture), and one Wade base (diagnostic from the late archaic and early woodland transition dating from 1000 BC to 500 BC).
Of 5093 pottery sherds from Fenaia percentage by Slip Color : 50% Cordmarked, 50% plain
15,274 chert pieces from Fenaia Site, of Varied colors including Red, Yellow, Black, White, and Green.
Several remarkable examples of chungke stones (discoidals) were found at this site. One was found with an eye engraved on one side and a spiral on the other side. Another chungke stone was found with a circle- and cross motif. The eye is a of perception of light and the spiral for perception of sound. The eye and spiral combination is known as the Gaelic term Faochag, which translates to the whirlwind spiral and thunder with the eye representing lightning. In combination the two can also relate to whirlpool, or whirlwind causation. Several experts indicate that the combination are related to fertility. According to Schuster in Patterns That Connect,parallels to the eye and spiral motif are found in Kenya, Borneo, on the earliest Sanskrit inscriptions in Java, and elsewhere in Oceania. "European lore tells of a child lost by chance or treachery, then rediscovered - recognized from a royal cross, ' redder than the rose of summer', on his right shoulder. In medieval romances, those who discover this fateful mark, even before they can assign the pre-destined hero a precise geneaology, don't hesitate to exclaim, like the countess who rescues Richard le Bleu, abandoned in the forest soon after birth, "O God, he shall be king!" (Schuster, page 144).
Several other chungke stones have been found with engravings around the Cahokia Mounds. One is from nearby D. Hitchens site was found with an eye on one side and a sun on the other at the. As described by Erin Marks, “Klostermeier found artifacts on the site that suggest some reciprocal trade with Cahokia. First is a discoidal, which is a disc similar to the chunky stones of Cahokia, except that this particular one has an engraving of an eye on one side and a sun on the other. These are very rare and suggest that the D. Hitchens site could have been more elaborate than a mundane farmstead. The discovery of the discoidal leads Klostermeier to consider that this site might hold a village, rather than a simple farmstead, (Yancey 2005:16). These are two very different views on the function of the site.” (http://www.siue.edu/ura/prospective/pdf/ErinMarksProposal.doc)
Quincy Museum Tablet Reverse restoration
The Quincy Museum tablet found at Monks mound in 1921 by Byron Knoblock seems also to have symbolic connections with the Birdman Tablet. Illinois Antiquity. Volume 30, Number 3. October 1995. Kevin Sampson
“Broken edges are heavily worn and the stone has been lightly burned. The artifact measures 6.2mm in length, 4.4mm in width, and 1.5 mm in thickness. The engraving on this tablet fragment depicts a nearly complete tail and lower wings of a falcon. The layout of the engraving is that of an open winged falcon from the underneath side with outstretched talons. This is executed in a style similar to the famous Cahokia Birdman Tablet and we can only speculate on what the body and head of the bird looked like, nevertheless, this “half falcon” is an important addition to Cahokias somewhat sparse iconographic history.”
Quincy museum information:
“This piece was identified by Kevin Sampson, Illinois State Museum, while looking through artifacts our museum received from Byron Knoblock.”
• Description (general): Engraved sandstone tablet fragment
• Material (medium): Sandstone
• Length (Ht.): 62.87 mm Width (Diam.): 45.00 mm, 63.17 total based on ratio Depth (Thick): 14.39 mm
• Form/ Shape: nearly complete tail and lower wings of a falcon figure with extended leg and talons grasping serpent, reverse with semi-circular markings(?) covered with sticker
• Providence: Cahokia Site, west of Monks Mound. Found May 15, 1921. Donated by Byron Knoblock to Quincy Museum
• “Broken edges are heavily worn and the stone has been lightly burned. The engraving on this tablet fragment depicts a nearly complete tail and lower wings of a falcon. The layout of the engraving is that of an open winged falcon from the underneath side with outstretched talons. This is executed in a style similar to the famous Cahokia Birdman Tablet but we can only speculate on what the body and head of the bird looked like. Nevertheless, this “half-falcon” is an important addition to Cahokias somewhat sparse iconographic history” Kevin Sampson.
• Ownership: Quincy Museum
• Accession/ Catalog numbers present: 102-660
• Arrival Condition/ damage: Aboriginal breaks, and possible erosion
• Published: Illinois Antiquity, Volume 30 Number 3,October 1995, Illinois Antiquity
• Vol 36, No. 2 July 2001 Illinois Antiquity
However, the following is a possibility about the possible meaning and interpretation of several tablets.
In the dialect between the Algonquian speaking Narragansetts in A Key Into the Language of America by Roger Williams and the New Albin Tablet pictured here:
http://www.nps.gov/efmo/planyourvisit/upload/tablet-Atlatl%20final_2%20%28updated%29.pdf
The image on the front of the New Albin tablet shows a lightning bolt-wielding deity. The Narragansett word for 'thunderbolts are shot' is: Neimpauog peskhimwock.
Meaning in the ‘other’ Quincy Museum tablet found at Monks mound in 1921 by Byron Knoblock (?) seems also to have symbolic language. My interpretation is that the myth "Chekechekchekawe" is most closely fitting for this image. The term is defined in Keating's footnote as:
The next account, by Keating, [Footnote: Long's Exped., 1824, ii, p. l58.] relating to the Chippewas, shows a slight analogy to the sandstone tablet at Qunicy Museum:
"The Chippewa believe that there is in man an essence entirely distinct from the body; they call it "Ochechag," and appear to supply to it the qualities which we refer to the soul. They believe that it quits the body at the time of death and repairs to what they term "Chekechekchekawe;" this region is supposed to be situated to the south and on the shores of the great ocean. Previous to arriving there they meet with a stream which they are obliged to cross upon a large snake that answers the purpose of a bridge; those who die from drowning never succeed in crossing the stream; they are thrown into it and remain there forever. Some souls come to the edge of the stream but are prevented from passing by the snake that threatens to devour them: these are the souls of the persons in a lethargy or trance. Being refused a passage, these souls return to their bodies and reanimate them. They believe that animals have souls and even that inorganic substances such as kettles etc., have in them a similar essence."
“In this land of souls all are treated according to their merits. Those who have been good men are free from pain, they have no duties to perform, their time is spent in dancing and singing and they feed upon mushrooms which are very abundant The souls of bad men are haunted by the phantom of the persons or things that they have injured, thus if a man has destroyed much property the phantoms of the wrecks of this property obstruct his passage wherever he goes, if he has been cruel to his dogs or horses they also torment him after death. The ghosts of those whom during his lifetime he wronged are there permitted to avenge their injuries. They think that when a soul has crossed the stream it cannot return to its body, yet they believe in apparitions and entertain the opinion that the spirits of the departed will frequently revisit the abodes of their friends in order to invite them to the other world and to forewarn them of their approaching dissolution.”
In Roger's Willaims Key to the Language of America "Chekechekchekawe" is defined as: a southwest God, newborn faun, or simply a location to the south south-west.
Well represented on this tablet are the Tsi-zhu (sky) and hon-ga (earth) people and the Wa-zha-zhe (water) people’s structure of shrines in their villages along the path of the sun. These tribal divisions called clans (fires) held ceremonies during which the interplay of aspects involving ancestry and cosmological wisdom were celebrated.
Another possibility is a correspondence between the obverse side of the Quincy Tablet and the constellation of Aquila. Perhaps this symbol represents a secret symbol of stargazing shaman or holy men.
Mary Mathews Falcon
Found at the Fenaia site, just south of Old Valmeyer on Bluff Road by Mary Mathews, some time between 1978-1980, Dimensions include a maximum length equal to 121.96 mm from head to tail, 96.86 mm from claw to wing tip, and thickness equal to 19.26mm. Latitude = 38 deg 16’34.31”N, Longitude = 90 deg 18’03.20” W
A line encircles the outer edge of the stone, as if to indicate an eternal path (of war).
This tablet probably was used in a sacred bundle. As described by Francis La Flesche, Osage and the Invisible World:
In formulating this supplementary rite, the priests, in order to give their action a mystic effect, resorted to a mythical story in which the Men of Mystery and the Buffalo Bull clans figured prominently as the givers of a hawk as a war emblem to each of the Seven Fireplaces (clans) of the Land People; to each of the Seven Fireplaces (clans) of the Water People; and to each of the Seven Fireplaces (clans) of the Sky People. These hawks were called Wa-xo’-be Zhin-ga, Little bundles, and symbolized the courage of the warrior. There seems to be no tradition as to whether the four eagles above mentioned were enshrined or not, but if they were, they appear to have been supplanted by the sacred hawks that were enshrined (figuratively) in the space between the arch of the sky and earth beneath, [both of] which are symbolically represented by the woven rush case within which lies the hawk.
One of the best-known of these stories tells how the Raven disguised himself in order to enter the house of the Sky Chief, from whom he stole the sun, moon and stars (Princess) to give to humankind (progenitors of all lineage). Morphing of the Sky Chief's spoiled grandson back into Raven - And then Raven fills the sky with the sun in his beak (another explanatory motif for why beak is missing on the tablet, and how the next Great Sun appears). Thanks to Raven the thief, we now have daylight in the world.
Blackfoot mythology tells of the raven and thunderbird, controllers of frigid snow, and lightning, respectively. Every day they battle each other with lightning and snow. Thunderbird uses lightning to melt the snow, which continues until the entire world is frozen solid except for a small space around thunderbird. The tablet includes both images melded into one.
Weck Stone Tablet – St. Louis County at confluence of Meramec and Mississippi
On Friday, June 8, 2007, Shari and I went to the University of Missouri to research the tablets cast by Eichenberger. In the collection was the Weck Tablet from St. Louis County. The card description read as follows:
“WECK STONE (TABLET), Eichenberger Cast Pre-1966 No. 65
From a large village site in the extreme southeast corner of Saint Louis, County on the second bottoms at the confluence of the Meramec and Mississippi Rivers.
Found in 1889 and in the collection of Charles E. Weck in Kimmswick, MO. Loaned for casting by Frank Magre of Crystal City, MO.”
Dimensions were as follows:
Length= 73.30 mm, Width = 48.85mm, Thickness= 7.19 mm,
Weight= 36 gram, Mass= 0.353 Newton
The prospect of a major archaeological site intrigued Shari and myself, and so we looked up the location and found it to be very nearby the Schaefer and Fenaia Sites, only on the other side of the River. We decided to travel to the site to try our luck and see what we could find. Below is a location map.
The local residents informed us upon inquiry about archaeology in the area that there was a large stone wall of unknown age and two mounds directly across the railroad tracks. We walked over to the site and found that the rock wall was easy to locate. It was about 20 feet tall, and composed of limestone, gravel, and chert, combined in layers. The wall was covered with vines and trees, and was very weathered. The weathering and materials used in construction indicated a great age. Upon inspection, the wall was found to extend up the hill and may have been once part of a much larger enclosure. Large oak trees had grown on top of segments of the wall. The tree roots were causing major cracks to develop in the structure of the wall. Severe erosion and weathering was also clear and it is unknown how long the wall extended up the hillside. The thick underbrush made it difficult to determine the extents of the walls dimensions. Further investigation and following a well used ATV trail led us to two mounds that were side by side. The mounds were surrounded by ATV tracks and a peregrine falcon was flying over top of them. An unknown snake slithered away from us through the grass on the walk to the mounds.
Several motifs are present including a woodpecker in the central portion of the tablet which bears a resemblance to the Ramey- Peet sandstone tablet.
There is also a depiction of a canoe rigged with a sail beneath the woodpecker and a whirlwind or tornado toward the right. Lee Pennington stated that the sailing vessel is of a double gunwale style. In Jenning’s Bark Canoes, the presence of canoes rigged with sails is noted among the Mi’kmaq birchbark ocean canoes, Western Ojibwa Lake Nipigon Birchbark canoes, and the Chipewyan Birchbark from North River, near Forth Churchill on Hudson Bay (Jennings, 29, 77, 88). Beneath the tornado is a form that also shows up on several catlinite engravings. The circle and figure in the center may be a depiction of the Cahokia Mounds at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Missouri River. The figure in the lower right hand corner is a mythic green or blue dragon, guardian of the east. In the upper left is a mythic Kirin or panther image that appears similar to the carving of the Key Marco figurine. The Kirin was known as the guardian of the west and it was in use at the time of Confucius.
It is remarkable that the three hands engraved on the reverse side show each hand facing up but the fingers are drawn in such a manner that the thumb is on the opposite side of the correct location. The right hand is the left and the left hand is the right. The hands would have to be crossed to achieve this. The middle hand either facing up or down and may be a representation of both up and down directions. The fingers are touching at key points to indicate interlacing with the swirl. At the St. Louis Art Museum, a recent exhibit on New Ireland: Art of the South Pacific, I had the privilege to speak with Michael Gunn about his work in New Ireland. Michael Gunn reported that the most ancient art forms of the aboriginal occupants in include carved figurines with the left hand and right hand switched. For example, the actual right hand was present on all figures shown on the left side. The left hand was shown on the right side. Michael Gunn indicated that such figures could represent ancestral ties to the past.
The hands are also shown with very long fingers and long fingernails. Perhaps this indicates mortuary rituals associated with removing flesh from a body after it has decomposed in the charnel house. The middle hand has a whirl below the wrist.
Beneath the hands is a face of the Braden B Style with “Blind eyes” (Pre-Columbian Shell Engravings from the Craig Mound at Spiro, Oklahoma, Part 1).
The Ramey/ Peet Cahokia tablet –With the basic design of the Georgia-Tennessee gorgets in mind it is interesting to examine the well-known Cahokia Tablet (fig 21). This irregular stone tablet bears incised on one side a central striped pole, flanked by two pileated woodpecker heads, their mouths open and “speech” scrolls issuing from their mouths. On the reverse is engraved the Pole again, this time flanked by two human heads tilted backward with mouths open as if singing, again with speech scrolls. There can be little doubt that the Georgia-Tennessee gorgets and the Cahokia Tablet are expressing in highly simplified form a more complicated symbolic concept or ritual. It is of particular interest, therefore, to examine four gorgets from the Spiro Mound figured by Hamilton in plates 88c, 89a, and b, and 90b. In plate 90b there is a central pole with four spots consisting of concentric circles. It is surmounted by a pot decorated with curving lines, issuing from which is a gulloche-like element, and on each side are two human figures, apparently dancing and singing. With right and left hands they support the pot, and in their left and right hands are rattles. Their kilts are ornamented with crosses and are supported by large fringed and knotted sashes. One has a large fanlike feather bustle, the other is a turkey hen drawn in quite a lifelike manner.
Several similarities are apparent when comparing the Weck Stone with the Ramey Tablet. A spiral scroll is emanating from the open beak of the woodpecker. Each tablet has a face opposite of the woodpecker head.
Ramey tablet is broken in quarters, and only one half of it was every found.
Dimensions: 61.5 mm by 75.5mm by 15.5mm thick. Weight=108 grams
It is associated with Mound 18, a conical burial mound just to the east of Monks Mound.
According to Edward Armstrong, in the Folklore of Birds, “Romans regarded the bird as a transformed king, so in Indian legend he is a Raja who lost his throne. All the evidence consistently points to the woodpecker as having been associated with fertility. The birds close association with the oak suggests that it did not become a thunderbird earlier than the period when oak forests were widespread (5000BC-2000BC).” Armstrong writes that the evidence of woodpeckers as a motif falls between the Mesolithic and the Bronze Age. Myths relate that a woodpecker would call before an approaching storm, and that the bird drinks only rainwater. The red cap of the Piliated authenticated his status as rain-maker. He was making thunder and so bringing rain.
The original is now in the collection of the Madison County Historical Museum in Edwardsville. Obverse has two faces incised on one side, and the farces of what appear to be stylized pileated woodpecker heads with speech scrolls emanating from their mouths on the other. On both sides the images are separated by a margin which has been identified as a striped pole and is included as a basic characteristic of the Southern Ceremonial Complex. Reverse depiction of faces are significantly different from the one on the Cahokia Tablet. Both have two occipital hair knots and a variation of speech glyphs coming from their mouths. They have headdresses depicting the beaded forelock, much shorter noses, and small yet clearly discernible ear spools.
There are several points which we make in connection with the tablet.
1. First, in reference to the faces; these are exactly such faces as are common among the sun-worshipers of the south.
2. Second, the figures correspond to stone idols and terra cotta images found elsewhere, the retreating forehead and open mouth having become familiar to us by means of the pipes and incense burners found in the southern mounds.
3. Third, the faces on the tablet are such as to correspond to the elongated skulls found at Cahokia and among the southern mounds. These flattened skulls are peculiar. They differ entirely from the round skulls, which are common at Cahokia and in the northern States – Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin – but which are not founds in the Southern States. Two distinct races evidently inhabited this spot at different times.
4. Fourth, the chief point, which we make, is in reference to the horse shoe figure seen issuing from the mouth. A photograph might reveal the lines in such a way that our readers would be better satisfied, but we throw it out a s theory that this horse-shoe near the mouth of each figure is a symbol of the soul, and that we have in it the same symbolism common in the far east, the horse-shoe being considered the emblem of the soul or the spirit of life in India, and corresponds to the Nile key in Egypt.” (p 58-59 American Antiquarian)
Appendix 1:
Lithic Types from the American Bottom Region:
POINT NAME | ACTUAL LENGTH (mm) | ACTUAL WIDTH (mm) | ACTUAL THICKNESS (mm) | Early Est. | LATE EST. | TIME PERIOD |
-12000 | -11000 | |||||
Scraper | -12000 | 1500 | ||||
Scraper | -12000 | 1500 | ||||
Scraper | -12000 | 1500 | ||||
Scraper | -12000 | 1500 | ||||
Scraper | -12000 | 1500 | ||||
Scraper | -12000 | 1500 | ||||
Paleo Blade | -11000 | -9000 | ||||
Folsom | -9000 | -8000 | Paleo | |||
-8500 | -8000 | Early Archaic | ||||
-8500 | -8000 | Early Archaic | ||||
-8500 | -8000 | Early Archaic | ||||
-8500 | -8000 | Early Archaic | ||||
Sloan Dalton | -8500 | -7900 | Early Archaic | |||
Kessell Side Notched | 60.11 | 36.87 | 8.12 | -8400 | -7400 | Early Archaic |
Hardin | 75.39 | 29.66 | 7.16 | -8000 | -5500 | Early Archaic |
Hardin | -8000 | -5500 | Early Archaic | |||
Hardin | -8000 | -5500 | Early Archaic | |||
Hardin | -8000 | -5500 | Early Archaic | |||
Hardin | -8000 | -5500 | Early Archaic | |||
Hardin | 53.46 | 22.5 | 7.29 | -8000 | -5500 | Early Archaic |
Hardin Barbed | 62.89 | 32.78 | 6.61 | -8000 | -5500 | Early Archaic |
Lost | 63.4 | 43.62 | 8 | -8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic |
Lost | 53.35 | 36.65 | 8.53 | -8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic |
Quad | -8000 | -7244 | Late Paleo | |||
Square Knife | -8000 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
74 | 37 | -8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic | ||
40.74 | 27.82 | 6.6 | -8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic | |
-8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic | ||||
79.99 | 35.29 | 6.84 | -8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic | |
57.01 | 8.9 | -8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic | ||
-8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic | ||||
-8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic | ||||
-8000 | -6000 | Early Archaic | ||||
Triangle - Unknown | -8000 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Triangle - Unknown | -8000 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Triangle - Unknown | -8000 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Triangle - Unknown | -8000 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Drill | 90.1 | 22.54 | 8.8 | -7500 | -6500 | Early Archaic |
Drill | -7500 | -6500 | Early Archaic | |||
Drill | -7500 | -6500 | Early Archaic | |||
Kirk Corner Notched | -7500 | -6900 | Early Archaic | |||
Kirk Corner Notched | -7500 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Kirk Corner Notched | -7500 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Kirk Corner Notched | -7500 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Kirk Corner Notched | -7500 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Kirk Corner Notched | -7500 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Kirk punch serratetd | -7500 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Kirk serratetd | -7500 | -6000 | Archaic | |||
Stillwell | 103.25 | 38.43 | 6.92 | -7500 | -6900 | Early Archaic |
Stillwell Corner Notched | 72 | -7500 | -6900 | Early Archaic | ||
Neuberger | 77.45 | 37.31 | 7.94 | -7300 | -7000 | Early Archaic |
Greenbrier | -7000 | -5000 | Archaic | |||
Greenbrier | 47.76 | 25.88 | 8.84 | -7000 | -5000 | Archaic |
Maccorkle stemmed | -7000 | -6500 | Early Archaic | |||
Kirk Stemmed | 76.12 | 30.27 | 9.7 | -6900 | -6000 | Archaic |
-6900 | -6500 | Early Archaic | ||||
Lecroy Bifurcated | -6500 | -5800 | Archaic | |||
Crescent Bannerstone | -6000 | -4000 | Archaic | |||
Crescent Bannerstone | -6000 | -4000 | Archaic | |||
Godar Matanzas | -6000 | -3000 | Archaic | |||
double edged bannerstone | -5800 | -4000 | Middle Archaic | |||
double notched buttefly | -5500 | -3500 | Archaic | |||
Tama | 44.54 | 26.64 | 8.45 | -4500 | -3000 | Archaic |
-4300 | -500 | Late Archaic | ||||
Celt | -4000 | -2000 | Archaic | |||
Celt | -4000 | -2000 | Archaic | |||
Celt large | -4000 | -2000 | Archaic | |||
Chungke Stone | -4000 | -2000 | Archaic | |||
Pestle | -4000 | -2000 | Archaic | |||
Stone Ball | -4000 | -2000 | Archaic | |||
Bottleneck | 58.15 | 20.78 | 6.66 | -3770 | -3000 | Archaic |
Bottleneck | -3770 | -3000 | Archaic | |||
64.51 | 22.65 | 9.24 | -3700 | -3000 | Archaic | |
-3700 | -3000 | Archaic | ||||
-3700 | -3000 | Archaic | ||||
-3700 | -3000 | Archaic | ||||
-3700 | -3000 | Archaic | ||||
-3700 | -3000 | Archaic | ||||
-3700 | -3000 | Archaic | ||||
68.2 | 26.54 | 6.67 | -3700 | -3000 | Archaic | |
68.2 | 26.54 | 6.67 | -3700 | -3000 | Archaic | |
68.2 | 26.54 | 6.67 | -3700 | -3000 | Archaic | |
68.2 | 26.54 | 6.67 | -3700 | -3000 | Archaic | |
68.2 | 26.54 | 6.67 | -3700 | -3000 | Archaic | |
84.03 | 30.12 | 9.66 | -3500 | -2000 | Late Archaic | |
Lamoka | 54.43 | 23.06 | 6.47 | -3500 | -1800 | Late Archaic |
Lamoka | 34.48 | 15.62 | 5.97 | -3500 | -1800 | Late Archaic |
Lamoka | -3500 | -1800 | Late Archaic | |||
Common Corner Notch | 65.99 | 32.32 | 9.06 | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic |
Common Corner Notch | 87.47 | 32.88 | 8.49 | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic |
Etley | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Etley | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Etley | 158.75 | 41.05 | 30.07 | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic |
Table Rock Stemmed | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Table Rock Stemmed | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Table Rock Stemmed | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Table Rock Stemmed | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Table Rock Stemmed | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Table Rock Stemmed | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Table Rock Stemmed | 62 | 28.51 | 8.96 | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic |
Table Rock Stemmed | 54.06 | 26.24 | 10.27 | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic |
Table Rock Stemmed | 53.35 | 28.64 | 10.1 | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic |
Table Rock Stemmed | 55.41 | 30.71 | 11.02 | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic |
Table Rock Stemmed, snapped | -3000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Brewerton | -2980 | -1723 | Late Archaic | |||
Brewerton | -2980 | -1723 | Late Archaic | |||
Brewerton | -2980 | -1723 | Late Archaic | |||
Brewerton | 26.06 | 17.03 | 7.97 | -2980 | -1723 | Late Archaic |
Brewerton | 31.11 | 19.31 | 8.29 | -2980 | -1723 | Late Archaic |
Ledbetter Stemmed | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Ledbetter Stemmed | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Ledbetter Stemmed | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Ledbetter Stemmed | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Ledbetter Stemmed | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Pickwick | 73.92 | 33.52 | 9.24 | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic |
Saratoga-Pickwick | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Saratoga-Pickwick | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Saratoga-Pickwick | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Saratoga-Pickwick | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Saratoga-Pickwick | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Saratoga-Pickwick | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
Snook Hill | -1800 | -1600 | Late Archaic | |||
Saratoga-Pickwick | -2500 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
171.45 | -2000 | -1000 | Late Archaic | |||
70.42 | 23.95 | 11.48 | -2000 | -1000 | Late Archaic |