Specialization, political symbols, and the crafty elite of Cahokia

Mistaken assumptions about the scale and economic infrastructure of the Cahokian polity have led to a gross misunderstanding of occupational specialization, prestig-goods exchange, and political centralization. New data on the restricted production of igneous-rock axeheads and molluscshell ornaments in the Cahokia region indicate the centrally sponsored manufacture of local symbols using exotic raw materials. Cahokian patrons, rather than being involved in an overintegrated panregional economic system, controlled the production and distribution of symbols within their domain and appropriated cultural meanings in the process.