A Microhistory of Human and Gastropod Bodies and Souls During Cahokia's Emergence

Research at Cahokia Mounds reveals that the inclusion of gastropod shells in human burials during the site's emergence (c. ad 1050–1100) may have symbolized a connection between the living and the watery underworld, playing a pivotal role in the city's development as a complex polity. Analysis of shell materials from six previously excavated ridge-top mounds, combined with new data from Wilson Mound, suggests that the deliberate partitioning of human and gastropod bodies was part of a broader mortuary practice that facilitated social and spiritual relationships. This microhistorical approach highlights how the disarticulation and burial of the dead, mediated by mollusc shells, could have contributed to Cahokia's rise as a significant pre-Columbian center.

Baires, S. E. (2016). A Microhistory of Human and Gastropod Bodies and Souls During Cahokia’s Emergence. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 27(2), 245–260. https://doi.org/10.1017/s095977431600055x