Fields of Movement in the Ancient Woodlands of North America

Reimagining the Development of Downtown Cahokia Using Remote Sensing Visualizations from the Western Edge of the Grand Plaza

“…While Cahokia has traditionally been viewed as a single "site" defined by an epicenter of four plazas surrounding Monks Mound, recent scholarship has focused on Downtown Cahokia's relationships with the nearby East St. Louis and St. Louis mound centers, considering all three sites to be precincts of an urbanized "Greater Cahokia" landscape [44,45] (Figure 2). Moreover, the regionally situated Emerald mound group and the Richland Complex sites have been interpreted as places for pilgrimage (Emerald) and farming (Richland) within Greater Cahokia that also impacted forces of change in the American Bottom [46][47][48][49][50][51][52] (Figure 2c). Cahokia itself contains over 100 earthen mounds, Indigenous architectural features created through the prescribed arrangements of various soils, sediments, and stones by Pre-Columbian American Indians that typically occur in conical, platform, and ridgetop forms at the Cahokia site [15,23,[53][54][55].…”

Rethinking archaeologies of pilgrimage

“…Other mounds in the Cahokia region were built using similar techniques (e.g., major stage enlargements and series of alternating light and dark soil layers, see Baires and Baltus, 2017; Pauketat, 1993; Pauketat et al., 2010; Sullivan and Pauketat, 2007). Additionally, constructing mounds at this time in the Cahokia region likely involved notions of renewal and purification, references to mythical events, and connections to other-worldly places (Baires et al., 2013; Hall, 1997; Knight, 1986, 1989; Pauketat, 1993). Building Mound 12 at the Acropolis during pilgrimage events was particularly affective because it involved, among other things (1) mixing powerful substances, earth and water, obtained from special sources; and (2) aligning these substances with the moon.…”

“…Movement, however, is more than just physical locomotion. Movement creates relationships-it is the mechanism or quality through which phenomena of all kinds continually align or position themselves in relation to others (Baires et al, 2013;Ingold, 2007Ingold, , 2011Ingold, , 2015Pauketat, 2013;Skousen, 2016;Skousen and Buchanan, 2015). In additional to the journey, ceremonies, processions, and other activities, all with unique bodily movements, also occur during pilgrimages, and these movements often coincide with the movements of celestial bodies and the passing of time (e.g., specific dates or holidays) (see Bell, 1992;Coleman and Elsner, 1995;Janusek, 2008;Pauketat, 2013;Tilley, 1994;Van Dyke, 2007;Weismantel, 2013).…”

Sublime perversions: Capturing the uncanny affects of queer temporalities in Mississippian ruins

“…Charged with powerful material deposits like quartz crystals and stone implements, mound atmospheres fueled religious fervor in Mississippian spheres. During mound construction, ritualized basket loading of earth allowed Cahokians to engage with land, community, and ancestors (Baires et al, 2013;Pauketat, 2000aPauketat, , 2000bPauketat, , 2008. Physical interactions between Mississippians and earth were mutually constitutive.…”