October
30
/ 2025
Scientists have successfully dated a massive wooden marker post from ancient Cahokia, determining it was felled around 1124 AD - precisely during the peak of this remarkable North American city's political and economic influence. The discovery provides unprecedented insight into the timeline of monumental construction and the vast reach of Cahokia's material networks during the height of the Mississippian culture. Using advanced tree-ring radiocarbon dating and strontium isotope analysis, researchers determined that the bald cypress post was transported at least 110 miles (180 kilometers) to the Mitchell site, located 6 miles (10 km) north of the main Cahokia precinct. The Mitchell Log, as it is known, represents the largest marker post ever discovered in the Cahokia region. Today only a
