Social Complexity at Cahokia

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1) Territorial Organization What area was integrated into a single Cahokian polity? What was the relationship between Cahokia and its neighboring mound centers? What were the roles or functions of Cahokian “outlier” communities? local (e.g. Knoebel Site, Emerald Mounds) regional (e.g. Spoon River Focus) macro-regional (e.g. Aztalan, Trembleau) 2) Population What was the population of Cahokia itself? What was the population of the Cahokian polity? 3) Economic Organization How was the population of Cahokia supported? Were there markets at Cahokia? What was the organization and scale of craft production in the Cahokian polity? What was the organization and scale of trade/exchange in the Cahokian polity? What accounts for the wide areal distribution of Ramey ceramics? 4) Political Organization How many levels of organizational hierarchy existed in the Cahokian polity? How were conflicts adjudicated? Was there internal warfare? External warfare? Was taxation or tribute extracted? 5) Social Organization How many levels of social stratification were present in the Cahokian polity? What were the roles/activities of members of the highest social strata? What were the roles/activities of members of the middle or lower social strata? 6) Religious Organization Were there religious specialists at Cahokia? Were there anthropomorphic gods?