Strangers in paradise? Recognizing ethnic mortuary diversity on the fringes of Cahokia

We suggest that the formation and continuance of Cahokia was, at least partially, dependent on the aggregation of socially and politically diverse populations from the surrounding region. Such groups may have formed sub-communities within greater Cahokia that represented divergent ethnic clusters. Similar events have been recognized in the configurations of other early complex societies. One ivay that such ethnic groups are often represented is in distinctive burial customs. Our review of recent evidence of Cahokian mortuary practices demonstrates that the Late Mississippian Kane Mound burial complex is very different from other contemporaneous burial sites. We argue that it represents the mortuary customs of a distinctive Cahokian subcommunity with ties to areas north and east of the American Bottom.