A Mississippian conflagration at East St. Louis and its political-historical implications

A single, large-scale conflagration destroyed a cluster of up to 100 small buildings or huts within the walled ritual-residential zone of East St. Louis, part of the Precolumbian civic-ceremonial precinct near present-day Cahokia Mounds, around a.d. 1150–1200. This event likely represented a ritual commemoration rather than an act of aggression or accidental fire, as suggested by circumstantial evidence. The fire marked a turning point in the social and political history of Greater Cahokia, coinciding with a decline in mound construction and the disappearance of key ritual-residential structures from the regional landscape. Researchers analyzed architectural remains and historical patterns to link this conflagration to broader shifts in Mississippian society.

Pauketat, T. R., Fortier, A. C., Alt, S. M., & Emerson, T. E. (2013). A Mississippian conflagration at East St. Louis and its political-historical implications. Journal of Field Archaeology, 38(3), 210–226. https://doi.org/10.1179/0093469013z.00000000054