Another Day, Another Adventure

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Greetings! What an exciting day I just had! I requested revisiting Monk’s Mound to the Chief because I was in such awe of its magnitude the other day and I really wanted to see it again. So, he escorted me there early this morning and one again, I was amazed. The chief then insisted to take me to Mound 72, the site of human sacrifice, about a half mile south of Monk’s Mound. Most of the sacrifices occurred there between AD 1050 and 1150 and there are the remains of 272 people there. He told me that that was the largest amount of sacrificial victims ever found north of Mexico. The chief explained to me that Cahokia has polytheistic religious beliefs and their religion connects with the stars, the moon, and the sun in the heavens. One of the most prominent deities was a goddess who was responsible for the bones of the dead, a mythical serpent, and crops. Thus, by sacrificing people to the Goddess, the tribe is ensured a good harvest. I found many small round red sculptures depicting this Goddess around the land.



After leaving Mound 72, the Chief led me to a large opening with two teams and a crowd also split in two where the Cahokian game of Chunkey was to be played. I moved to one of the crowds and heard the rest of the audience discussing what they gambled and bet for this game. This game involved people throwing large sticks (larger than their bodies) to the Chunkey stone and hoping to get as close as possible to the stone in order to be rewarded with points. Unfortunately the man I was cheering for lost, but on the bright side I did not bet! I was fascinated by the different aspects of their culture that I was able to observe in one day and it also made me realize how many people there truly are in this civilization. The chief reaffirmed my speculation of the population size and told me that there are about 50,000 people living in Cahokia Alright that is all for now. I can’t wait to tell all of you more! Goodbye!

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Photos

Mound 72, sacrificial ceremony
There was one instance in which 53 young women between 15 and 30 that were all sacrificed.