Cahokia Mounds outside St. Louis could become a National Park

2019-07-11T11:48:00-04:00

Federal legislation to make Cahokia Mounds part of a new national park could soon be introduced in Congress, according to proponents of the plan. The Cahokia Mounds and Mississippian Culture National Historic Park would also include ancient mounds in St. Clair and Madison counties and Sugarloaf Mound in St. Louis, the last remaining mound in the city.

If the proposed Cahokia Mounds and Mississippian Culture National Historic Park is approved, the thousand-year-old pre-Columbian Native American historical site, which includes mounds in southern Illinois and outside St. Louis, would be the second new national park created in Missouri in two years.

Last year, according to St. Louis Public Radio, Congress created the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park, an urban historic district that consists of a series of colonial era timber and heavy truss structures built by French settlers in the area during the 1700s.

Cahokia Mounds was named as a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1982; The site is currently listed as a National Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.

One of the best long reads of 2016 explores the demise of a medieval U.S. city

2016-12-14T18:20:00-05:00

Each generation likes to think it is unique, or at least living on the cutting-edge; but archaeologists have long known that history has a way of repeating itself. Although North America is often considered to be part of the "New World," inhabitations on this continent date back millennia. In this fascinating piece by Annalee Newitz for Ars Technica (whose length is perfect for plane reading) archaeologists uncover new sections of the lost city of Cahokia, which flourished between 1100 and 1400 A.D. in an area that is currently known as East St. Louis. A city of 30,000 that was more populous than Paris at the time, the pyramid and earthern-mound laden city went through all the statutte-endowed stages of societal refinement before taking the low road into ritual sacrifice and random trash fires. Sound familiar?

For more on the ancient world:

Archinect - News

Cahokia Mounds outside St. Louis could become a National Park

One of the best long reads of 2016 explores the demise of a medieval U.S. city