Cahokia Mounds — Mound 72 (Beaded Burial and Woodhenge Sector)
Cahokia Mound 72 · Beaded Burial Mound · Cahokia Woodhenge Adjacent
Mississippian (Lohmann 1050–1100 through Moorehead 1200–1275, Stirling 1050–1150)·Mississippian (Cahokia Stirling phase capital)·🇺🇸 Illinois, St. Clair County, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Mississippi bottoms, United States
About
About Cahokia Mounds — Mound 72 (Beaded Burial and Woodhenge Sector)
Cahokia Mounds — Mound 72 (Beaded Burial and Woodhenge Sector) is a multi-period tell/ancient village in Illinois, St. Clair County, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Mississippi bottoms, United States — Elite mortuary ridge-top mound with 270+ burials and mass female sacrifice — Woodhenge astronomical outlier Excavated evidence reveals Mississippian (Cahokia Stirling phase capital) cultural horizons with earth architecture. 5 m high; beaded burial on falcon blanket; submound pits 30 m preserves basket-loaded earth mound, submound mortuary pits, shell-beaded blanket (20,000 beads) technique.
Position on Illinois illustrates richest mississippian elite mortuary — beaded falcon burial with retainer sacrifices demonstrates cahokia hierarchy.
Why it mattersRichest Mississippian elite mortuary — beaded falcon burial with retainer sacrifices demonstrates Cahokia hierarchy.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 0153 young women mass sacrifice — retainers or war captives?
- 02Woodhenge posts — solar calendar or mourning lodge?
Theories
- 01Fowler chiefdom vs. Pauketat urban theocracy model for Cahokia
- 02Mound 72 beaded burial as cosmogram vs. elite tomb debate
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1030 CE Stirling phase mound founding; 1050 CE Beaded Burial; 1100 CE ridge-top mound remodel; 1350 CE abandonment
- Period
- Mississippian (Lohmann 1050–1100 through Moorehead 1200–1275, Stirling 1050–1150)
- Culture
- Mississippian (Cahokia Stirling phase capital)
- Builders
- Mississippian Cahokia elite and labour (mound-basket construction)
- Purpose
- Elite mortuary ridge-top mound with 270+ burials and mass female sacrifice — Woodhenge astronomical outlier
- Abandoned
- c.1350 CE Cahokia decline abandonment; 1400 CE plaza reuse ends
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1967–1971 Fowler (Milwaukee/UW-M), 1977–present Woods
- Excavation
- Excavated
1967
Fowler opens Mound 72, beaded burial with 20,000 shell beads found
1971
53 female sacrifice pit and mass graves published
1993
Woodhenge solar alignment re-mapped and C14 Bayesian
On the ground
Structures & features
38.6544° N · 90.0608° W · 135 m · 3 mapped features
Mound 72 Ridge-Top and Beaded Burial Pit
moundRidge-top mound with beaded falcon burial (20,000 beads)
38.6546° N · 90.0607° WMass Female Sacrifice Pit (53 Young Women)
burialMass sacrifice pit with 53 young women over bluff-top
38.6543° N · 90.0610° WWoodhenge V Post Circle Exposure
astronomicalWoodhenge post-circle outlier adjacent to Mound 72
38.6547° N · 90.0605° W