Diasporic Longings? Cahokia, Common Field, and Nostalgic Orientations

As Cahokia experienced its prolonged abandonment and violence spread throughout the Midwest and Southeast, thousands of people left the American Bottom region and either established new communities or integrated into others. Tracing where Cahokians went has been difficult to discern archaeologically, begging the questions: How do we distinguish between diasporic and other kinds of population movements? And what might a diasporic community born of thirteenth and fourteenth century violence look like? This article discusses the Common Field site in southeast Missouri and explores the possibility and utility of considering Common Field a diasporic community by highlighting the role of nostalgia in diasporic movements.