As I stand at the top of the tallest mound, I see the obvious necessity of building the mounds.  The flat, low ground next to the largest North American river should have flooded often.  The  physical structure of the environment necessitated higher ground.  But the mounds are also monuments.  Monuments serve purposes not dictated by the physical environment, but by psychological impulses.

The 20th century psychiatrist, Carl Jung, believed that every interaction between mankind and his environment originates and expresses mankind’s psyche.   What psychological impulses lead to monument building?  I don’t know, but given the chance, I would have questions for the Cahokians themselves.

To the Cahokian chief, I would love to ask, “Why it is that people in power must build exhibits of that power?”  Did the impulse to build the mounds come from the chiefs?  The shamans?  Or is there something about mankind’s social psychology that the needs of a society…