Lunar alignments characterize a series of 9th through 12th century North American Indigenous civilizations. Ancestral Puebloans, Caddos, and Cahokians were involved, among others, hinting at a thick continent-wide history if not also a series of long-distance communications. In this talk, Dr. Pauketat will focus on comparing two Cahokian lunar shrine complexes in Illinois—Pfeffer and the Emerald Acropolis—to Chimney Rock in Colorado. Both Cahokian examples have been the focus of salvage archaeological investigations in recent years, pointing to some surprising similarities with Chimney Rock. What explains these widely separated, intensive 11th century ceremonial constructions atop remote elevated landforms?