Cultural Evolution at Cahokia
Julie Zimmermann Holt
Cahokia, some 20 minutes from SIUE, is the largest archaeological site north of Mexico,
named by UNESCO a World Heritage site. While most archaeologists agree that Cahokia
was a city –one of the largest cities in the world between AD 1100 and 1200 – they argue
about how powerful or organized that city really was. Archaeologists traditionally
portrayed Cahokia as the powerful center of a complex society, and some went so far as
to suggest that it was the center of a state. This image of a “mighty Cahokia” fell out of
favor several decades ago. Most archaeologists since then have described Cahokia as the
center of a chiefdom, although they might debate how powerful that chiefdom was. Most
would admit that all other chiefdoms known east of the Mississippi were a fraction of the
size which probably reflects the level of organization of those societies. However, a
minority view persists that Cahokia was “more” than a chiefdom. Most vocally, Timothy
Pauketat has recently referred to Cahokia as a “civilization.” More recently I have argued
that Clifford Geertz’s model of the theater state offers a non-western alternative way of
thinking about Cahokia and the nature of its power. These debates reflect shifting
attitudes within the broader field of anthropology towards cultural evolution, history, and
human agency as explanations of culture change. This presentation will examine debates
about cultural evolution at Cahokia as a reflection of broader paradigm shifts within
anthropology and anthropological archaeology.