St. Louis Astronomical Society Meeting: Cahokia in Chesterfield
Mark Leach, will be featured at the June meeting of the Saint Louis Astronomical Society. He serves as the Restoration & Research Coordinator of the Blake Mound & Cave Site and as a long-standing trustee of the Missouri Archaeological Society.
This month's meeting will return to being held IN PERSON at McDonnell Hall, Room 162, Washington University in St. Louis, and via Zoom.
Nearly 1,000 years ago, a vibrant Cahokian community filled the entire Chesterfield Valley. Like Illinois' Cahokia, this civic, ceremonial, and market center was precisely planned and constructed to reflect important celestial alignments of the sun, moon, and Milky Way. Though only a small portion of the community has been professionally studied, over 100,000 artifacts have been discovered. Included are exotic materials from the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. A massive Calendar of the Sun, involving three temples and two earthen pyramids, stretched 3.56 miles across the valley. Cahokia in Chesterfield has been the focus of professional archaeological research for over 70 years. Research is ongoing and the heart of the ancient city lies well preserved under six feet of flood deposited soil.
The St. Louis Astronomical Society is an organization for individuals interested in astronomy and telescopes. The public is invited to attend its meetings, telescope observing sessions, and special events. For more information about Astronomical Society events, please visit www.slasonline.org or call 314-962-9231. The event, cosponsored by NASA's Missouri Space Grant Consortium at Washington University, is open to the public free of charge.
McDonnell Hall is on south side of the Danforth Campus, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis 63130. The closest parking is street parking on Forsyth Boulevard or the East End Garage. Parking is free for entry after 5:00 pm in yellow or visitor parking spaces only.