Exploring Alignments to the Moon & other Celestial Bodies at Mississippian sites in Illinois
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Tyler Ferree is an archaeologist at the Western Illinois Field Station of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. He will join us via Zoom at the Peoria Riverfront Museum's Dome Planetarium to talk about "Mississippian Archaeoastronomy: Exploring Alignments to the Moon & other Celestial Bodies at Mississippian Period sites in Illinois".
In recent years, archaeologists working in the Midwestern U.S. have discovered the extent to which ancient Native American astronomers accurately tracked the movements of celestial bodies during the Mississippian period (1000-1500 C.E.). Ceremonies involving the moon, the stars, and the sun were important, and Mississippians organized entire communities around alignments to astronomical phenomena. Monuments such as platform mounds, walls, and religious buildings were often aligned to within one degree of celestial events, with the lunar standstills being particularly common.
This presentation will describe three cases of celestial alignments in the Mississippian period in Illinois. The first is the city of Cahokia, which is the largest and most important Mississippian site and the only pre-contact urban center north of Mexico. Next is the Emerald Acropolis, which is best interpreted as a lunar shrine complex associated with Cahokia, located approximately 15 miles east of the city. Lastly, the presentation will go over some of the evidence for lunar alignments at Mississippian period towns closer to the Peoria area, throughout the Central Illinois River Valley.
Photo: Full moon setting over a platform mound at Larson, a Mississippian site in the Illinois River Valley (photo courtesy of Tyler Ferree).
In recent years, archaeologists working in the Midwestern U.S. have discovered the extent to which ancient Native American astronomers accurately tracked the movements of celestial bodies during the Mississippian period (1000-1500 C.E.). Ceremonies involving the moon, the stars, and the sun were important, and Mississippians organized entire communities around alignments to astronomical phenomena. Monuments such as platform mounds, walls, and religious buildings were often aligned to within one degree of celestial events, with the lunar standstills being particularly common.
This presentation will describe three cases of celestial alignments in the Mississippian period in Illinois. The first is the city of Cahokia, which is the largest and most important Mississippian site and the only pre-contact urban center north of Mexico. Next is the Emerald Acropolis, which is best interpreted as a lunar shrine complex associated with Cahokia, located approximately 15 miles east of the city. Lastly, the presentation will go over some of the evidence for lunar alignments at Mississippian period towns closer to the Peoria area, throughout the Central Illinois River Valley.
Photo: Full moon setting over a platform mound at Larson, a Mississippian site in the Illinois River Valley (photo courtesy of Tyler Ferree).
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Where is it happening?
Planetarium at The Peoria Riverfront Museum, Caterpillar Visitors Center, 110 SW Washington St, Peoria, IL 61602, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherPeoria Astronomical Society
