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Researchers Collaborate at Ancient City of Cahokia to Discuss Factors of the Anthropocene

On March 10, 2019, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) held the symposium "Anthropocene. Archaeology of the Present," in collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin (HKW). The location, the ancient city of Cahokia—just outside St. Louis, Missouri—was the largest political center before European contact with what is now the United States.

 

Model of the Cahokia Mounds site | © The American Bottom Project Archive

Model of the Cahokia Mounds site | © The American Bottom Project Archive c/o Haus der Kulturen der Welt.

The symposium took place in convergence with the Midway Meeting of the year-long project "Mississippi. An Anthropocene River" and the St. Louis Anthropocene Field Campus. After the symposium the group made a transect walk across the industrial landscapes of East St. Louis to visit the opening of Art + Landscape STL at the Granite City Art and Design District.

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