“Choices and Changes: 13th Century Revitalization of Cahokia, Native North America’s First City” a talk with Melissa Baltus (Univ. of Toledo)

In her virtual talk “Choices and Changes: 13th Century Revitalization of Cahokia, Native North America’s First City,” Melissa Baltus will consider the century of urban occupation and how Cahokia experienced a series of rapid material transformations that appear to be a deliberate attempt to change Cahokian politics. These changes transpired in locally unique yet regionally related ways at Cahokia and its surrounding settlements. Baltus will explore how these transformations at the city compare to excavations at a related mound site built and occupied after these significant changes.

This event will be accessible through Zoom

Melissa Baltus is an associate professor in the department of sociology and anthropology at the University of Toledo. Baltus holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is a specialist in North American archaeology, and she has excavated and published on the Mississippian period with a particular focus on America’s first city, Cahokia, during the 13th century.

This event is made possible with the support of The Archaeological Institute of America and the Departments of Art /Art History and Classics.

For more information, please email UNC Asheville Senior Lecturer in Art/Art History and Classics, and President of the AIA’s WNC Chapter at ltaylor@unca.edu