ANTH 1003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Monks Mound
22 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Moundville, al: 26 mounds, some plazas and palisades. In a bend of the mississippi river. There are about 120 mounds total, both burial and platform, and some possible residential structures. Population estimates for the cahokia vary widely, but the best estimate is 15,000. Specialists at cahokia included arrowhead makers, religious specialists, and artists. Elites are evidenced by burial with valuable objects, sacrificial burials near burials of possible elites, and the enclosed central palisade. Sacrifice was common, and most victims were women, possibly local or outsiders. Monuments - monk"s mound is a two story platform that once possibly held a building. Trade - drew resources from a wide area to the north, non locals lived and died in the area. Conflict - palisade may have been used for defense during internal strife, evidence of sacrifices without heads/hands and artist renderings of conflict and violence.
