Cahokia Of Bound Analysis

Violence and coercion was a major factor in the rise of Cahokia because of how it was reinforced through tradition and ritual. The culture of violence and coercion sponsored by Cahokia had a lasting impact on indigenous societies in eastern North America that continued well beyond European contact. Excavations in Cahokia of Mound 72 reveal a stratified and hierarchical society, one in which ritual human sacrifice played a significant role. Cahokia’s central fortifications and other archaeological evidence also reveals a society often at war. Chunkey, a game with Cohokian origins, was a means of channeling violence and maintaining a sort of order in society. Chunkey’s influence cannot be underestimated, as many tribes were still regularly …show more content…
Some even showed signs of being buried alive. A group of DNA researchers in Illinois have hypothesized that these victims may represent political rivals within the Cahokia polity. The many discoveries in Mound 72 give us a glimpse into the importance of human sacrifice in Cahokian burial traditions, as well as reveal how normalized violence had become in the ancient …show more content…
Frenchman Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz left a detailed record of the funeral proceedings following the death of a prominent Natchez Chief, Tattooed Serpent. The Natchez are noted for being the only Mississippian culture with complex chiefdom characteristics to have survived long into the period after the European colonization of America began. As part of Cahokian diaspora, the Natchez shared many other cultural traits with early Cahokian civilization. Upon Tattooed Serpent’s death, many people were sacrificed, including two of his wives, his sister, his chief servant and his wife, his physician, as well as several old women and an infant baby apparently not related to the chief. The victims died willingly, and were strangled by their closest male kin. Excavations from Mound 72 suggest that this brand of human sacrifice amongst the Natchez originated or at least had roots in Cahokia. Cahokian violence also influenced tribes in Iroquoia. The Iroquois actively played chunkey until they developed an even more violent game, lacrosse. However, both chunkey and lacrosse were relatively tame when compared to the Iroquois “Mourning Wars”. For years the Iroquois launched large-scale attacks against neighboring tribes in order to avenge or replace the massive number of deaths resulting from battles or disease. This process not only allowed the Iroquois to maintain their own numbers, but also to both scatter and

Show More

Related Documents: Cahokia Of Bound Analysis

Essay on Anthro Study Guide