Assessment Questions 14.6

Despite its inconspicuous appearance, Mound 72 at Cahokia is the most elaborate, complex, and intriguing burial site in the Mississippian world, containing over 270 burials with a spectacular array of grave goods and evidence of human sacrifices.

Mound 72 was used for the interment of about 272 people in 25 distinct burial features between circa 1050 and 1150 C.E. It includes group graves with evidence of mass sacrifice, where individuals were killed together. Some victims showed signs of violent deaths, such as strangulation and decapitation.

One burial feature contained the remains of 53 females, aged 15 to 30, who were sacrificed together. Evidence on their neck vertebrae suggests death by strangulation. Isotope analysis indicates nutritional deprivation. The victims were outsiders, not from Cahokia or its surrounding region.