Immigrants and interactions at Cahokia: insights from stable carbon and strontium isotopes of the Cahokia Mound 72 Beaded Cape Burial Group

Recent stable carbon and strontium isotope analyses of human bones and teeth from downtown Cahokia by the Illinois State Archaeological Survey at the University of Illinois have led Emerson and Hedman to characterize Cahokia as North America’s first Pan-Indian city. In this study, strontium and carbon isotope data derived from tooth enamel from individuals buried within Cahokia’s Mound 72 provide direct evidence for diet and place of origin for this ritually and politically important site. We present a suite of preliminary isotopic data for burials within SubMd1 of Mound 72, including Feature 101, the ‘Beaded Cape’ burial feature, and ‘Retainer’ Features 102, 103, and 104. These data provide new insight into the dietary and residential heterogeneity of these potentially elite and certainly symbolically significant mythic figures central to current interpretations of the founding of the Mississippian political center of Cahokia.