Rethinking archaeologies of pilgrimage

Cahokia, Emerald, and pilgrimage

Around 1050 C.E., a 14 km² area in the American Bottom floodplain was transformed into a sprawling urban zone that we now call Cahokia, opposite of the modern city of St Louis (Figure 1). The “central administrative zone” of this ancient urban area, consisting of Cahokia and the nearby pre-Columbian sites of East St Louis and St Louis, housed at least 20,000 inhabitants and exhibited over 200 earthen mounds and thousands of wood and thatch buildings (Figure 2) (Emerson, 2002; Pauketat et al., 2015). Recent research suggests that the location, construction, and organization of Cahokia itself were based on alignments with the moon (Romain, 2015). This transformation of the landscape was coupled with new ways of making pottery, building houses, and obtaining and consuming food (Pauketat, 2004). A new religion—consisting of a suite of interrelated beliefs and practices involving a distinct cosmic structure, feminine powers, celestial bodies, other-worldly beings, and notions of balance, purity, and renewal—constituted the construction of Cahokia and this new way of life (Alt and Pauketat, 2018; Baires, 2017; Emerson, 1997; Hall, 2006; Pauketat, 2013; Pauketat and Alt, 2017). OPEN IN VIEWER

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Figure 2.

Cahokia’s precincts: Cahokia, East St Louis, and St Louis. Courtesy: Illinois State Archaeological Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Pilgrimage to special places was a vital part of this new religion and thus critical to Cahokia’s formation. The Emerald Acropolis, situated on a 12 -m high ridge 24 km east of Cahokia, was one of these places (Alt, 2017; Pauketat, 2013; Pauketat et al., 2017; Skousen, 2015, 2016) (Figure 3). The site was built in a unique natural setting. The ridge on which the Acropolis was constructed aligns to lunar standstill events that occurred every 9.3 years, and a now-defunct spring emanated from the base of the ridge (Pauketat, 2013; Snyder, 1962: 259). Emerald was first occupied around 1000 C.E., when small groups of pre-Cahokian religious practitioners constructed small pole-and-thatch shrine buildings aligned to lunar standstill events (Alt, 2017; Pauketat, 2013). Fifty years later, Cahokians coopted and reconstructed the entire site, using the natural orientation of the ridge as the organizing principle (Pauketat, 2013; Pauketat et al., 2017; Skousen, 2016). Thereafter, the Acropolis consisted of 12 mounds, a central plaza, over 100 structures of various kinds and shapes, and a processional avenue connecting Emerald to Cahokia (Finney, 2000; Pauketat, 2013; Pauketat and Alt, 2017; Pauketat et al., 2017; Skousen, 2016). Archaeological evidence (e.g., sporadic and short-term occupation, the remains of special-use shrines and ephemeral pilgrim houses, earthen monuments built in spurts, non-local visitors, the processional avenue, the relative lack of storage pits and domestic debris) indicates that Emerald was a pilgrimage center frequented primarily by particular families or social groups from Cahokia (Skousen, 2016; see also Alt, 2017; Pauketat, 2013; Pauketat and Alt, 2017). Perhaps most importantly, pilgrimages to the Emerald Acropolis instigated the convergence of pilgrims with special substances and otherworldly powers that instigated the renewal of the world (Alt and Pauketat, 2018; Pauketat, 2013; Pauketat and Alt, 2017; Skousen, 2015, 2016). OPEN IN VIEWER

Journeying to the Acropolis

The construction history of Emerald’s mounds, the number of buildings present, and the rate of structure rebuilds suggests that hundreds, if not thousands, of people traveled to the Acropolis for certain events (Pauketat et al., 2017; Skousen, 2016). It is likely that at least some of these events happened during lunar standstills (Pauketat, 2013; Pauketat et al., 2017; Skousen, 2016). As mentioned earlier, a large portion of Emerald’s pilgrims traveled from Cahokia, about a day’s walk to the west (though some pilgrims came from more distant locales). However, these journeys were not simply casual forays taken on a whim. A lunar standstill was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and many, if not most, Cahokians would have known when these events were going to occur and prepared accordingly (Pauketat, 2013; Romain, 2015). These preparations may have included performing unique ceremonies; fasting; gathering supplies, food, and religious accoutrements; and handling and/or manipulating sacred objects and substances (for examples see Deloria, 2006; Oetelaar, 2012; Van Vlack, 2012).

The journey to Emerald itself probably consisted of a series of formal, interconnected movements and ritual performances. Most pilgrims from Cahokia almost certainly traveled to the Acropolis via the Emerald Avenue, a special processional route (mentioned earlier) that was still noticeable as a “well-worn trail, or road” in the early 19th century (Snyder, 1962: 259). Although largely destroyed in modern times, recent investigations on remnants of the Avenue near the Acropolis indicate that, at least in some places, the roadway was straight and nearly 100 meters wide (Skousen, 2016). Undoubtedly, the size and formality of the Avenue, particularly as it neared the Emerald Acropolis, facilitated large processions of pilgrims and, perhaps most importantly, structured and focused pilgrims’ bodily movements and sensory attention on the approaching Acropolis and the powers manifest there.

Moreover, the journey along the Emerald Avenue likely involved a series of waystations or stopping points, all locales where special rituals and performances took place (Pauketat, 2013). One of these stopping points was a pair of conical mounds, called “sugarloaf” mounds, situated on the edge of the eastern bluffs and on either side of the Avenue (Pauketat, 2013). Reaching these mounds was an important point in the journey, as they marked the threshold between the floodplain and uplands, the latter being a more open landscape that afforded pilgrims with an unobstructed view of the horizon, lunar occurrences, and the Emerald Acropolis (Pauketat, 2013; Skousen, 2016). Furthermore, the sugarloaf mounds themselves were places where important individuals were buried, and the surrounding bluff edge where the mounds are situated had been sculpted into “an elevated viewing platform or performance space” (Pauketat, 2013: 110). Other potential stopping points were natural features associated with the Avenue. For example, once in the uplands, the Avenue was deliberately constructed to pass through several pairs of glacial knolls and ridges, many of which mimicked the conical sugarloaf mounds on the bluff edges (Figure 4) (Kruchten, 2012). Passing through the paired sugarloaf mounds and pairs of natural knolls would have been a critical part of the pilgrimages, and were perhaps viewed as portals or liminal areas that transformed pilgrims as they made their way to Emerald (see Hall, 1997). Another potential stopping point was the Pfeffer site, a lunar shrine site contemporaneous with and situated about five kilometers southwest of the Emerald Acropolis. Similarities between Emerald and Pfeffer—such as a sporadic occupation history, specially-oriented lines of mounds, and special shrine or temple structures—suggest that they were related and perhaps connected by a branch of the Emerald Avenue (Pauketat, 2013). Kruchten, in fact, argues that a potential branch of the Avenue passed through another set of ridges on the way to Pfeffer (Figure 4) (Kruchten, 2012). It is also likely, based on recent surveys of the surrounding landscape, that single buildings or small clusters of buildings were constructed at certain points along the Avenue and near the Emerald Acropolis; these may have been additional stopping points along the route (Kruchten, 2015). OPEN IN VIEWER

Although the timing, importance, and relationship between the Emerald Avenue, Emerald Acropolis, Pfeffer, and other potential waystations is not fully understood, these places and routes of movement were probably interconnected, forming a kind of ceremonial circuit (Pauketat, 2013). If so, traveling to these places in a specific order, remembering and retracing the movements of previous pilgrims, performing fertility and renewal rituals, and observing lunar movements was as important as reaching the Acropolis itself. Moreover, pilgrimages to the Acropolis and these other places were intertwined, at least in part, with the movements of the moon. In a way, the movements of pilgrims would have mimicked the movement of the moon and/or connected Cahokians with celestial bodies and powers (Pauketat, 2013). These relationships would have been emphasized and strengthened by pilgrims’ perceptions of the celestial movements, memories of past pilgrimages, and hope for future fertility and cosmic balance. These experiences, and undoubtedly many others, prepared pilgrims for the activities and experiences that only occurred at Emerald. Thus, journeys to the Emerald Acropolis instigated relationships not only between pilgrims and the Acropolis, but also between other places, people, religious buildings, ceremonial objects, substances, and powers.

Constructing Mound 12

Of the many activities that occurred at the Acropolis during pilgrimages, building earthen monuments was one of the most significant (Skousen, 2016). Though evidence points to an intense flurry of construction activity at Emerald around 1050 C.E., Mound 12—a 7-meter-high, two-tiered platform mound and the centerpiece of the Acropolis—was built sporadically throughout Emerald’s history (Pauketat, 2013; Skousen, 2016). As currently understood, construction of Mound 12 began at 1050 C.E. and proceeded in distinct stages. The stages of the first terrace consisted of thick layers of basketloaded fill topped with multiple pairs of thin (≤1 cm), alternating light-dark soil layers or “blanket mantles” (Pauketat, 2013; Skousen, 2016). To create these blanket layers, the soil was likely mixed with water into a plaster or slurry that was applied to the mound surface on hands and knees, much like the way plaster was applied to shrine and temple floors (Alt, 2017; Pauketat, 1993: 141, 2008; Pauketat et al., 2017). In contrast, the stages on the second terrace were built by packing alternating light and dark layers of soil between 1 and 10 cm thick into place by foot or with some tool, what Pauketat et al. (2010) call “packed earth construction.” Importantly, these alternating bands of light-dark fill are occasionally interrupted by layers of water-washed silt, the result of rainstorms washing silt onto the mound surface (or possibly individuals manually pouring water onto the mound surface). I previously interpreted two clusters of laminated layers as evidence of lulls in the mound’s construction between pilgrimage events (Skousen, 2016). Around 1200 C.E., Mound 12 was capped and construction ceased (Skousen, 2016).

While the construction of Mound 12 was far more than just piling soil, it was not particularly unique. Other mounds in the Cahokia region were built using similar techniques (e.g., major stage enlargements and series of alternating light and dark soil layers, see Baires and Baltus, 2017; Pauketat, 1993; Pauketat et al., 2010; Sullivan and Pauketat, 2007). Additionally, constructing mounds at this time in the Cahokia region likely involved notions of renewal and purification, references to mythical events, and connections to other-worldly places (Baires et al., 2013; Hall, 1997; Knight, 1986, 1989; Pauketat, 1993). Building Mound 12 at the Acropolis during pilgrimage events was particularly affective because it involved, among other things (1) mixing powerful substances, earth and water, obtained from special sources; and (2) aligning these substances with the moon. Handling and depositing these vital substances during Mound 12’s construction allowed pilgrims to engage with otherworldly powers in intimate, sensuous ways that could not be achieved elsewhere in the Cahokia region. Such embodied experiences and the relationships that ensued were likely the reason for undertaking pilgrimages to Emerald in the first place.

The primary substances used to construct Mound 12—earth and water—were obtained from unique sources and therefore imbued with special power. The silty texture and the presence of natural manganese concretions in the soils from Mound 12’s fill and the surrounding area’s subsoil indicate that the earth was obtained from a nearby source, and a carved-out area, the remnants of which can still be seen today, indicates that the fill was borrowed from the north side of Emerald’s ridge (Skousen, 2016; Winters and Struever, 1962: 86). Incidentally, the now-defunct spring was once inside this borrow area (Figure 5) (see Pauketat et al., 2017). This is no coincidence. Many southeastern Native American groups considered springs, rivers, and caves as portals to the underworld, a place of danger and power (Hudson, 1976). Such portals provided access to underworld beings and creatures and were sources of life, death, fertility, and renewal (Emerson, 1997; Langford, 2007). Though the beliefs of Cahokians and historic-era southeastern native groups were undoubtedly different in many respects, it is likely that Cahokians viewed this spring as a powerful place, if not as a conduit to powers of fertility and renewal (see Hall, 1997; Hudson, 1976). I contend that the earth used to build Mound 12 was chosen because of its proximity to this watery opening. OPEN IN VIEWER

Water was the second vital substance used to build Mound 12 but, unlike the soil, it was obtained from two seemingly opposing sources. The most important source likely came from the spring itself. It was the closest supply of water for the Acropolis, and was probably used by pilgrims and caretakers for drinking and other needs. Due to its close proximity to the borrow area, this water was almost certainly mixed with the silty earth to produce the plaster or slurry that was then smeared on mound surfaces (see above). The second source of water, in contrast, came from the sky. As mentioned earlier, rainstorms washed water and fine particles of silt onto extant surfaces of the second terrace (Figure 6). It is possible that construction stages of Mound 12 were ritually closed or terminated through these rain events, much like rainstorms were used to decommission nearby shrine structures (Alt, 2017; Pauketat et al., 2017). The otherworldly associations of both sources of water are obvious. Like the earth, the water from the spring was charged with underworld powers, while the rainwater came from the upperworld, a place with its own spirits, deities, and powers (Langford, 2007). OPEN IN VIEWER

In addition to obtaining and mixing earth and water into mound fill, pilgrims also piled and aligned this fill in reference to lunar standstill events, perhaps as one of the final acts on the ritual circuit. While constructing mounds in this way was undoubtedly at times a labor-intensive, repetitive, and tiresome process, it was certainly not meaningless. The importance of these lunar events had been realized nearly 50 years prior to the site’s transformation by Cahokians in the mid-11th century, and Cahokian pilgrims would have been well aware of Emerald’s connection to these rare celestial occurrences from the orientation of the landscape and pre-Cahokian buildings (Alt, 2017; Pauketat, 2013; Pauketat et al., 2017; Skousen, 2016). But the act of digging and processing this special fill, carrying it up and down the ridge, and dumping, spreading, and packing it during an actual standstill event would have been far more efficacious than doing it at another time. Performing these activities, while taking particular care to maintain and replicate the mound’s orientation under the direction of ritual specialists or engineers, directed pilgrims’ attention to the moon and its otherworldly powers. Pilgrims surely noticed the play of moonlight across the ridge, mounds, and buildings, and that affected their perceptions of and feelings about the place. They were almost certainly reminded of stories of the earth diver, who dove to the bottom of the primordial sea to retrieve a bit of mud in order to create the world (Hall, 1997), or the “Earth Mother,” a mythical being embodied by the moon and notions of birth, renewal, and the underworld (Emerson, 1997). Perhaps pilgrims were suffused with the moon’s special power as they built the mound and, in some way, felt as if they controlled these powers themselves.

Pilgrimages to Emerald, then, involved tracing prescribed routes of travel, visiting and performing ceremonies at particular places along the way, and combining powerful substances at the Acropolis itself. While any pilgrimage experience involved innumerable activities, people, beings, substances, materials, and so on, these activities formed discrete bundles of relationships that had particular affects. Pilgrims mimicked and manipulated powers and beings, even if only minimally, through traveling at certain times and in certain ways and handling and combining earth and water from special sources. These activities linked pilgrims to the moon and perhaps allowed them to align themselves or commune with the forces and beings that they relied on daily (cf. Baires and Baltus, 2017). Perhaps most importantly, pilgrims’ embodied, sensuous participation in journeying to and experiencing the Acropolis as well as assembling substances along its specially aligned ridge during rare lunar events produced hierophanies or a sense of enchantment that could not be matched elsewhere.