Little Egyptian wrote:I pray the federal government takes this over.
This is one reason to elect Obama because as President he has the power to declare Cahokia Mounds a National Monument without an Act of Congress. Obviously, McCain could do the same but for several reasons, he would be far less likely than Obama to do so.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/ ... odges-textAmerica's Forgotten City
By Glenn Hodges
Photographs by Don Burmeister and Ira Block
If they ever build a Wal-Mart at Machu Picchu, I will think of Collinsville Road.
I'm standing at the center of what was once the greatest civilization between the deserts of Mexico and the North American Arctic—America's first city and arguably American Indians' finest achievement—and I just can't get past the four-lane gash that cuts through this historic site. Instead of imagining the thousands of people who once teemed on the grand plaza here, I keep returning to the fact that Cahokia Mounds in Illinois is one of only eight cultural World Heritage sites in the United States, and it's got a billboard for Joe's Carpet King smack in the middle of it.
But I suppose Cahokia is lucky. Less than ten miles to the west, the ancient Indian mounds that gave St. Louis the nickname Mound City in the 1800s were almost completely leveled by the turn of the century. Today only one survives, along with some photographs and a little dogleg road named Mound Street. The relentless development of the 20th century took its own toll on Cahokia: Horseradish farmers razed its second biggest mound for fill in 1931, and the site has variously been home to a gambling hall, a housing subdivision, an airfield, and (adding insult to injury) a pornographic drive-in. But most of its central features survived, and nearly all of those survivors are now protected. Cahokia Mounds may not be aesthetically pristine, but at 4,000 acres (2,200 of which are preserved as a state historic site), it is the largest archaeological site in the United States, and it has changed our picture of what Indian life was like on this continent before Europeans arrived.
I'm assuming they're in a crane.Mark Groth wrote:The photog must have been standing atop the landfill across the interstate highway to get that choice shot of the other mounds.
The Twin Mounds are on the southern border of the site, and the Interstate is actually beyond Monk's Mound.Mark Groth wrote:The photog must have been standing atop the landfill across the interstate highway to get that choice shot of the other mounds.
Ooops. I should have noted there were 6 pages more. The article is great, with great pictures including incredible artifacts which are very similar to Aztec artifacts.Alex Ihnen wrote: The article is fairly brief, but is great exposure for Cahokia. Interesting that major excavation work was initially paid for by highway funds when I-64 went through and now by more highway funds with the new I-70 bridge. Disturbing, but interesting. I guess funding the study of something that's about to be destroyed may be better than not funding at all.
This place should be a National Park. Just 1% has been excavated - it should be the center of more significant archeological study. It should be celebrated.
Has Cahokia Mounds applied to be a National Park? If they haven't, then there would be nothing incredible about it.Alex Ihnen wrote:It would be incredible if it was decided that Grant's Farm was historically significant enough to become a National Park, but Cahokia was not.
I think it would be incredible (in the "amazing" sense, not the "I don't believe it" sense) if they had applied and were unsuccessful. I also think it would be incredible if the powers that be have never applied for National Park status. The current arrangement is just so strange to me, a massive and impressive relic of a culture from over 1000 years ago, the largest Mississippian archaeological site in the country, and we keep it in our metaphorical attic. In talking with people in St. Louis I'm surprised by how many people have never been or are only vaguely aware of it. This should be a major point of pride, a crown jewel for the region on par with the Arch. Maybe if the transfer of Sugarloaf Mound to the Osage Nation opens it up to visitors and gives it a higher profile, we'll see more interest from the St. Louis side of the region in Cahokia.The Central Scrutinizer wrote:Has Cahokia Mounds applied to be a National Park? If they haven't, then there would be nothing incredible about it.
