Melissa Baltus, University of Toledo
The neighborhoods of ancient Cahokia tell its stories. Their similarities and differences provide invaluable insight into the processes of urbanization, as well as the ways in which lived lives shaped the urban landscape. Much of what we know about Cahokia’s neighborhoods derives from salvage excavations in or near the core of “downtown”. These excavations demonstrate planned site organization, dynamic neighborhood uses, and varying relationships between politico-religious practices, landscape features, and domestic spaces. Describing the development and depopulation of Cahokia through its neighborhoods, I will contextualize the findings of a recent multi-year project at one area of Cahokia and what we have learned about the city from this newly explored neighborhood.