Cahokia Mounds

tells the story of how one of the US's most profound archaeological sites almost ended up a trailer park,but was saved thanks to some efforts of concerned citizens. Then this book gives a good concise overview of the site itself.But i had some questions,at it's peak just what was the population of Cahokia. How far from the center of the Monk's Mound is the population considered to be a part?I've read as high as 38,000 and then as low as 2,000 at it's peak,about 1100.From reading this book,it seems that Cahokia actually had a very short span of influence in regard to years,how about territory as well?Then there is the question of Mound 72,where there was evidence of human sacrifice.Too often this info is pushed under the rug or dismissed as propoganda from early catholic missionaries.Actually instead of making the Amerindian look like a bloodthirsty savage the effect is the opposite.There are some accounts i've read that allude to the overthrow of the Cahokia chiefdoms because of this practice,not revelry in the ritual of holding a live beating heart up to the sun as in the case of the Aztecs.Maybe this was the reason for the short span of years for the rulership of the Cahokia chiefdoms.No book i've yet read deals in any length on this subject except a few archaeological journals,most of them only lightly.The fact that not much info is available on this could mean that maybe this although a shocking practice,it was not a frequent or popular one and this type of ceremony only took place once in a "blue moon"

The series, Digging for the Past, is always intelligible, informative and fun to read; and I found "Cahokia Mounds" is no exception to this. The book was an eye opener to me, as it is a geographic area that I would never have expected archeologists to discover such a major site peopled by what seems to have been an advanced civilization. As in the Southwest, some of the "mystery" of the Cahokia indians appears to be similar to the Anazasi around whom there also are numerous theories of their lives and disappearance. In addition to this, the authors explain the discovery and subsequent excavations and studies in such a way as to make the mounds and the civilization they represent relevant and accessible today. After reading "Cahokia Mounds" I would be interested in knowing more about this Native American culture that lived in the Midwest. In conclusion the book was well-written and enjoyable, and I continue to look forward to other books in this series.