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January 23, 2010
CAHOKIA, CAPITAL OF ANCIENT AMERICA
Dr. R.M. de Jonge ©,
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Introduction
“Cahokia Mounds, some 13 km northeast of St. Louis, Missouri, is the largest pre-Columbian
settlement north of Mexico. It was occupied primarily during the Mississippian period (800–
1400 AD), when it covered nearly 1,600 ha (16 km
2
) and included some 120 mounds. It is a
striking example of a complex chiefdom society, with many satellite mound centres and nu-
merous outlying hamlets and villages. This agricultural society may have had a population of
10–20,000 at its peak between 1050 and 1150. Primary features at the site include Monks
Mound, the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas, covering over 5 ha and standing 30
m high.” (Ref.1) - Based on this brief description Cahokia received the status of “World Heri-
tage Site” in 1982.
The question arises: “What is the reason this site became so important?” Let us quote people
who studied the matter (Ref.2). “The city of Cahokia is the focal point of what is known as
the American Bottoms, the broad alluvial valley of the Mississippi River just south of the con-
fluence with the Missouri and Illinois Rivers. This area is considered to be one of the most
fertile agricultural zones in North America. The rivers that joined within this area not only
furnished the transportation needs (trade) of the city, but through seasonal flooding it con-
stantly replenished the fertility of the soil.”- This may be correct, but it does not fully explain
the case. The local situation is not so exceptional as suggested. It appears, there is an additio-
nal reason, which is not mentioned, yet.
One of the great discoveries of the last decade is, that ancient people used latitudes the same
way as we do. In addition, these people used complementary latitudes, which we don’t use a-
nymore (Refs.12,13).- Cahokia, Illinois, is located at 39°N. It is the same latitude as the West
Azores, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. However, the southern Aleutian Islands, at the
south side of the Bering Sea, are located at the complementary latitude of 90-39= 51°N. It ap-
pears, that the local people of Cahokia considered their town as the capital of North America,
with ties to Europe in the east, and Asia in the west.
Monks Mound
This is the largest man-made earthen mound north of Mexico (fig.1). The rectangular structu-
re has a length of 290 meters (NS), a width of 245 meters, and a height of c.33 meters (Ref.3).
It possesses four rectangular terraces referring to the discovery of America in the Fourth Dy-
nasty (c.2570 BC). The head axis of Monks Mound points 5°NNE, which is repeated not only
in the neighboring mounds and eastern stockade, but also in the surrounding archaeological
sites (Ref.2). It refers to the discovery of all the Atlantic Crossings in the Fifth Dynasty. It was
the real start of the contact with the Old World (c.2505 BC). The four terraces are also in
honor of the four Egyptian kings, who discovered the sailing routes to America: Menkaure,
Sahura, Nefererkare, and Unas. (Ref.4)