Street View of Cahokia

Commissioned by Trey the Explainer, as part of a series of illustrations that seek to show Cahokia at it's height (2023).

Cahokia was a gigantic 9-14th century indigenous city located in the present-day state of Illinois, USA. A bustling multiethnic metropolis composed of groups such as the Dhegihan and the Muskogee (as well as many others), was at its height the absolute hegemon of the Mississippian cultural area and would be the largest city in the Continental US until Philadelphia in the early 1800’s.

This illustration presents a possible snapshot of life within an average cahokian neighborhood, one just east of the palisaded central district. In the distance lies the Great Pyramid of Cahokia, known today as Monks Mound, a once gigantic quadrangular structure that, due to flooding and structural instability, was remodeled into the multileveled architectural wonder that survives to this day.

In the backdrop, a cahokian noble travels with an entourage through a bustling street filled with all manner activity, from ball game players to hunters, cooks, travelers, neighbors, and local elites, men, women, children carrying out their daily duties and even dogs who partake in the urban fuss. In the foreground walks the most striking of figures: a Huastec merchant from the gulf coast of Mexico. His presence attests to the extensive trade networks that once connected pre-Columbian America, and the amazing journeys that indigenous people such as Monchacht Apé or the equatorial coastal traders partook within them.

Having first established an audience with the great king (and provided the royal coffers with the most valuable of quality merchandise at the most preferential of prices), he and his native porters carry some goods, both local and foreign to the markets of the eastern plaza. To ensure the safety and good behavior of the merchant, he is escorted by one of the king’s finest; a warrior whose skill, status and determination is reflected in his regalia, and man expected to do his task without the slightest hint of hesitation or distraction.

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All together Cahokia was no doubt a wonder to behold, and while many aspects of this reconstruction are speculative (several of which I will explain and justify in an upcoming publication) most are based on decades of research and direct material evidence that at the very least demonstrate without a shadow of a doubt the grandiose nature of this indigenous metropolis.