New research from St. Louis University and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency aims to create the most authoritative 3D map of Cahokia Mounds in order to better inform future studies of the famed prehistoric site. The researchers are using drones and Light Detection and Ranging technology, known as lidar, to better identify previously unmapped portions of the 2,200-acre National Historical Landmark. “Understanding the landscape from a larger perspective is, I think, really important,” said Justin Vilbig, a SLU Ph.D. student working on the project.
Cahokia Mounds, located about seven miles from downtown St. Louis in what’s now Collinsville, served as an epicenter of local Native American culture. At its peak, it’s believed that between 15,000 and 20,000 people lived in Cahokia around the years 1100 to 1200, according to NGA.
