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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Translated Abstracts

Cosmovisiones/Cosmovisões, 1(1) Abstracts

As part of our collaboration with Cosmovisiones/Cosmovisões we will publish the English translations of the abstracts from that journal. This is to give better awareness of the Cultural Astronomy research that is being published there in Spanish and Portuguese. There have been three issues so far and we will publish the abstracts of each one separately, this being the first. Cosmovisiones/Cosmovisões will also publish the abstracts of the Journal of Astronomy in Culture in Spanish translations. Additionally, it is intended for each of the two journals to occasionally select and republish a translated article from the other. This will enhance the cognizance of the related research and its authors. We, at JAC, are excited to bring you these offerings and look forward to great collaborations in the future!

Steven Gullberg, Managing Editor

Article

In Search of the St. Louis Mound Group: Archaeoastronomic and Landscape Archaeology Implications

The Cahokia Mound Group in Illinois, USA, is acknowledged as the largest Native American city north of Mexico. It flourished during the Mississippian Period. Cahokia, however, was only one of three complexes in the immediate area. Located across the Mississippi River from Cahokia, the St. Louis Mound Group was part of the larger complex.The St. Louis Mound Group featured at least 25 earthen mounds including the so-called Big Mound that contained dozens of human burials.

In the 1800s the St. Louis Mound Group was leveled to allow for urban expansion. Few records are in existence documenting the location or other details concerning the group. As a result, an important part of prehistory seems lost.  

In this paper the likely location for the St. Louis Mound Group is identified using survey plats from the 1850s, early lithographs and other data. Findings are assessed for astronomical alignments and landscape relationships, with possible cosmological implications noted.