I had three priorities for our stay in St. Louis, (1) spending time with newfound cousin Susan, (2) visiting Cahokia and (3) visiting the Gateway Arch. We are doing well on priority one.
Cahokia was a Mississippian Culture city. The city was the largest settlement north of Mexico and had a peak population of around 20,000 people. All that is left of the city are some of the mounds. I have wanted to visit Cahokia since 1973 when I was in East St. Louis on business. Today was my first opportunity to make that visit. The dawned gray with occasional showers. The weather forecasters said that the rain probability would diminish by late morning. Surprise… they were wrong! Cousin Susan picked us up and we drove across the Mississippi to Cahokia. I got a few pictures that were a bit hazy because of the light rain and mist. When it looked like the rain had stopped, I started walking toward Monk’s Mound, the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the Americas, when the rain started coming down. I quickly returned to the Interpretive Center and finally gave up. I will try again tomorrow.
We returned to St. Louis and had a late lunch at a barbecue restaurant, Pappy’s Smokehouse. Great food, but expect to wait on line for a while. After lunch Susan drove us through Forest Park and then back to the hotel.
In the evening we drove to Susan’s home where the two Susans viewed pictures and documents about their shared ancestry.
Cahokia! Wow! In my former life as an anthropology student, I had pretty much ignored the North American “mound builder” cultures in favor of more distant (more “exotic”) societies, but I do know that one of the earliest publications of the Smithsonian Institution, in 1848, is titled “Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley”. It has long been out of print, but, through the magic of the Internet, I quickly learned that the 150th anniversary facsimile edition is available in hardcover, softcover and Kindle (99 cents!) editions — but the Smithsonian website gave me actual virtual access to the original. On page 174 of the original (310 of the Smithsonian virtual copy) I read: “The great mound at Cahokia, Illinois, is one of the most remarkable [of the ancient mounds along the Mississippi River].”