If you have about 45 minutes to kill, I encourage you to watch this new video about the known history of the massive Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site near Collinsville, Illinois.
The Ancient Americas channel on YouTube produced the video, which was uploaded just a few weeks ago. It’s as good of an encapsulation of Cahokia Mounds as any you’ll find.
The Cahokia Mounds interpretive center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. The grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk. Tours are available at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., staff and weather permitting.
Admission is free, though a donation of $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, $2 for children, and $15 for families is suggested.
Cahokia Mounds is located on an older alignment of Route 66 near Collinsville.
(Hat tip to Marybeth Niederkorn; images of Monks Mound and the Grand Plaza at Cahokia Mounds and an artist’s rendering of the early Cahokia Mounds site by Thank You (22 Millions=) Views via Flickr)
Often overlooked, Oklahoma has a Native American Mounds site, largest in the midwestern U.S., which is among the greatest sources of Mississippian Native American artifacts ever discovered. Located on the Oklahoma and Arkansas border, the Spiro Mounds were part of a city complex populated from 800 to 1450 A.D.