TheCahokiapolity was a political entity that existed withCahokia as its center and exercising control over outlying areas. Unlike otherMississippian chiefdoms, the Cahokia polity had an unusual early emergence, high population, and noted greater regional influence. The majority opinion that aCahokiachiefdom or aproto-state existed is because certain indicators of astate are not apparent in Cahokia's ruins. Despite Cahokia's large size, certain determining technological and political advances indicating a typical state have not been found in studies of Cahokia.[1][2]
The termRamey state was coined by scholars Conrad and Harn in 1972 to refer to a theorized state controlled by the capital city ofCahokia, believed to hold influence in all places where ancient Ramey pottery has been found.[3] Scholars who hold that the Ramey state existed purport it held territorial control of theAmerican Bottom, and had its capital at the ancient city ofCahokia. According to the theory, the state's economy was derived from mostly agricultural labor, with unskilled workers building large ceremonial structures for a small elite. A class of traders existed as well as a tribute system.[4]
Archeologists who point to an existence of a state at Cahokia use the evidence of urban planning and vast Cahokian trade influence as evidence that Cahokia must have been the center of a state.[5]
Various models of how the theorized Ramey state functioned exist. Most of the models differ due to different interpretations of existing archaeological finds. One model believes Cahokia was the center of a trade and tribute system with a territory of farmers that consistently fed the city. This territory spanned much of the American Midwest.[3] Evidence of an elite with political power and alegitimate use of force comes from evidence of massive human sacrifices at Cahokia.[6]
Another model is that Cahokia was the center of aTheatre state where important religious rituals performed at Cahokia wielded influence over the state's common people.[3]
Cahokia features prominently in AuthorAlan Smale’sClash of Eagles series of alternate history novels; in which theRoman Empire attempts to conquer the city, as Smale imagines it, in the early 13th Century CE.
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| South Appalachian Mississippian |
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| Upper Mississippian cultures |
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