Cahokia's Rattlesnake Causeway

Recent archaeological excavations at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois, have uncovered evidence of a significant earthen causeway, the Rattlesnake Causeway. This 1-kilometer-long and 18-meter-wide structure was part of an early, planned city layout that connected Cahokia's central precinct to ridge-top mortuary mounds, reinforcing its sophisticated urban design. The findings reveal a grid-based plan with at least 104 earthen monuments, a large central plaza, and the causeway serving as a key landmark. This research sheds new light on the advanced engineering and spatial organization of one of North America's most complex pre-Columbian societies.

Baires, S. E. (2014). Cahokia’s Rattlesnake Causeway. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, 39(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.1179/2327427113y.0000000005