One of the ancient civilizations that stood at a high stage of development and have now disappeared from the face of the earth is the so-called Mississippi culture. It is the largest Native American culture, which existed in the southeastern United States for eight centuries (from the 8th to the 16th century AD).
If we compare it with European culture, then in terms of the level of production development, it was similar to the Bronze Age.
The largest and most interesting monument of the Mississippi culture is the ancient Indian city of Cahokia, located in the United States in the territory of the present state of Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi River near the city of Collinsville.
Cahokia is a complex of 109 mounds. The construction of burial mounds, which are both burial and religious buildings, is a characteristic feature of the Mississippi culture. Excavations have shown that there were originally 120 of them, but not all of them survived.
The famous Cahokia burial mounds were built by ancient Indian tribes who inhabited this area from the 7th to the 14th century AD. e. They are a unique archaeological site, which has been under the protection of UNESCO since 1982.
The amazing harmony of the complex, the complex structure of the burial mounds and the peculiarities of their location are evidence that this ancient Indian civilization was highly developed and prosperous. The very fact that the construction of these tombs took about one and a half million cubic meters of land, speaks of the existence of unique technologies and construction techniques among representatives of this civilization.
Those who have visited Cahokia and seen the ruins of the ancient city say that this is an amazing and mesmerizing sight. Some kind of mystical power that has survived to this day emanates from them. Cahokia has a very powerful energy, it is perfectly felt by people who do not even have a clear idea of bioenergy fields.
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The highest point of the flowering of the Mississippi culture in Cahokia stretched over two centuries, it lasted from about 1050 to 1250 AD. e. Archaeological research has shown that this Indian city stretched over an area of just over 2 km2. The population of the city was about 40 thousand people. This means that the city was compact and densely populated. Such a compact living is another evidence of a highly organized society.
According to researchers, the inhabitants of Cahokia had extensive and fairly accurate knowledge in the field of astronomy. This is evidenced by a unique find outside the city walls - a kind of calendar built of wooden stakes. The city itself was surrounded by a fence, and behind it, nearby, apparently there was something like the first astronomical laboratory of local Indians.
High stakes were driven vertically into the ground in a circle. Four of them indicated the points of sunrise on the main astronomical days of the year - the day of the summer and winter solstice and the spring and autumn equinox. The purpose of the rest has not yet been understood, but it is obvious that they served the Indians as a calendar, and the position of each is not accidental - it marks some significant date for the inhabitants of Cahokia.
Interestingly, the central mound of the complex, the so-called Monastic mound, is built in such a place that on the four days of the year indicated, the sun seems to rise from it. This probably had an important ritual significance in the beliefs of the Cahokian Indians.
The religion of the inhabitants of Cahokia was a complex complex of pagan beliefs and rituals. This is evidenced by the numerous mystical images found during the excavation of the mounds. One of the main symbols was the image of a falcon.
He was revered as a kind of mystical creature that makes a connection between people and gods. The tombs of especially revered leaders were made in the shape of a falcon. During the rituals, the priests painted their faces, imitating the color of the falcon's head. His image was also often found on clothes.
Another frequently encountered cult image was a cross located in a circle, from which the sun's rays emanate, indicating the cardinal points. The symbolic meaning of this image is still not clear. But it is surprising that a similar image was found in other parts of the earth, in completely different cultures, scattered both in space and in time.
How it united unrelated peoples and cultures is a big mystery over which religious scholars and ethnographers all over the world struggle.
The funeral rites of the Cahokian Indians were, on the one hand, very magnificent, but on the other, they were striking in their cruelty. In the tombs of the leaders or other noble people of the city, numerous skillfully made jewelry from precious stones were found. The crypts and burial beds themselves were decorated with amazing skill. They were decorated with thousands of polished shells, ornaments from arrowheads, ornaments from mica and copper.
And here in the crypts, next to the tomb of a noble deceased, there were the remains of dozens of people with signs of violent death. The throats of the men were cut, the women were strangled. Apparently, these were slaves or someone from the household of the deceased leader, who were killed so that they would accompany their master to heaven.
The decline of Mississippi culture occurs at the end of the 16th century. By the time James Cook visited Cahokia, there was no longer any indigenous population left; nomadic Indian tribes lived in this territory, which had nothing to do with the original inhabitants of this city. Where the creators of the mounds went, why this advanced civilization disappeared from the face of the earth - is still unknown.