Human Cranial Earspools at the East St. Louis Precinct, St. Clair County, Illinois

Eve A. Hargrave, Lenna Nash

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Two earspools made out of human crania were recovered from the late pre-historic East St. Louis Precinct (11S706) near St. Louis where excavations were conducted by the Illinois State Archaeological Survey as part of the IDOT New Mississippi River Bridge project. In the American Bottom region of Illinois, earspools are rare and often recovered from elite or ritual contexts. Typically made of stone, animal bone, copper, or ceramic, the use of human cranial elements for these two examples is unique and represents the only known human cranial earspools in the region. Our poster focuses on the possible roles that such modified human remains played in Mississippian society during the height of Cahokia’s power.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProgram and Abstracts - 61st Annual Meeting
Pages92
StatePublished - 2017

Keywords

  • ISAS

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Human Cranial Earspools at the East St. Louis Precinct, St. Clair County, Illinois'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this