Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site preserves a prehistoric Indian city, which had a population of @20,000 people. The people built three types of mounds: Flat-top mounds for structures and homes of the leaders; round-top mounds for burials of elite; and ridge-top mounds for marker mounds. They built large open plazas for ceremonies, games and markets. The center of the city was surrounded by a 2 mile wooden wall. A sun calendar was used to mark the seasonal sun rises.
The prehistoric people of this city were artisans, farmers and hunters. With a large population, people could specialize in making decorative items such as pottery, stone pipe, copper tooling and shell jewelry. Farmers had their fields outside the city limits. They grew squash, pumpkins, Jerusalem artichoke, tobacco and corn. To feed a large population through the winter months, grain was stored in clay pots and placed in specialize buildings on stilts in hopes to keep it safe from animals.
With so many people around the city there was not alot of wildlife to hunt. Hunters would travel along the nearby bluffs or search the Bottomland Forest. The forest was the home of many creatures: opossum, gray squirrel, striped skunk, little brown bat, eastern chipmunk, red fox, woodland vole, raccoon, and white-tailed deer along with an array of reptiles and birds. The hunters would use the animals fur for clothing, meat for food and bones for tools.
The Cherokee had many stories about the forest animals. "Jistu/Rabbit" - The trickster figure in the folklore. "Ka-na-ne-s-gi/Spider and the Sun" - A myth about the origin of light. "Why the Si-qua-u-tse-tsa-s-di/Possum's tail is Bare" - A legend about Rabbit playing a trick on Possum. "Awi Usdi/Little Deer" - Deer teaches Hunters to respect animals. "Why the U-tiv/Mole lives Underground" - A story about Mole's brief career as a matchmaker.
This geocache is placed on IDNR/Historic Sites managed property with permission. Do not place the following items in the Geocache: food items, inappropriate, offensive or hazardous materials. It is the visitors responsibility to orient themselves with policies and rules pertaining to this Agency managed site.