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Article: Cahokia Mounds Log Theory Gaining Strength
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- December 25, 1994
CopyrightCopyright 1994 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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COLLINSVILLE Ancient architects may have used log structures in
one of the continent's largest prehistoric cities to help them align
the earthen mounds that the site was named for, an anthropologist
says.
The theory on how Cahokia Mounds was built isn't new, but Melvin
Fowler says he may be a step closer to proving it.
Popular theory holds that a circle of upright logs at the
Downstate site was built to announce equinoxes and solstices, and
many people gather each year at the restored 410-foot-diameter circle
to watch the first winter sunrise.
But some researchers believe the circle may also have been a
prehistoric "aligner" used by planners to design their city using
stars that ...