We Love Chunkeys

During my first visit to the Cahokia visitors center, I took a closer look at some of the many Chunkey stones displayed throughout the exhibit. Chunkeys appeared in the burial presentation of the chief, the display of the games, and in the products and materials section. I was initially attracted to them because of their smarties like shape—concave disks that looked like they were made of a heavy but smooth stone. In the products section, there was a chunkey sitting out that you could touch, and compare to other types of stoneware and creations.

The chunkey is about three inches in diameter, with a concave dimple on either side, colored either a gray or a pink, and nearly perfectly round. Although I couldn't hold one in my hand, just touch it as it was glued to a display board, I imagine it is quite hefty and just about hand sized. Chunkeys were made to be used as part of a game of strength and skill, where the players aimed spears at a rolled chunkey, and the one who came closest was considered the winner. The chunkey was meant to be held in one hand, and was meant to roll.

The stones were displayed in three cases. The first case, the chief's burial, did not have a label for the chunkeys. They were lined up with the other objects found in the tomb with the chief, next to the life-size recreation of his body on a bed of recreation seashells. There were a collection of chunkeys at the base near the feet. In the excavation photos, there was no evidence of the chunkeys, but the docent told us that they had, in fact, been found in the grave.

Around the corner from this display was the games and fun display, which described the game of chunkey stones, with pictures of people playing the game, as well as more stones and descriptions. This was the most informative display of the chunkeys, and also included clay children's chunkeys, which most likely weighed considerably less and were less valuable.

The final display was a products and materials display located across the exhibit floor from the other two displays. A chunkey stone was located outside the glass cases where it could be touched as part of the stone exhibit. The material was described, and other things made from that material were provided for comparison. This connected the chunkey with the context of its creation and the formal decisions made in its production.

The chunkeys were provided in both in context and in situ situations. The chiefs burials was based in situ—although the object was not directly where it was located, it was displayed with a life-sized model of the body and the funeral arrangements, depicting the exact situation. The other two displays, however, showed the stones in context, first within the context of the games of the Cahokia culture, and the second within the context of the production of objects in Cahokia culture.

The fact that there are so many Chunkeys on display, and that they are so prominent makes it seem like this game as a significant part of the Cahokia culture. This is in fact suggested in the displays, where it is discussed (and displayed) that people are often buried with their prized Chunkeys. The actual practice of the game is still pretty unclear, despite the explanation in the display, but the significance of the object itself is much more apparent because of the in depth evaluation in the three different exhibits.

Some of the objects displayed with the Chunkeys, such as the figures holding them, also suggest a cultural significance greater than awarded to most games. The amount of display space that is devoted to the Chunkey stone seems warranted by the amount of objects associated with the Chunkey that were found in excavation.

It mentions in one of the exhibits that Chunkeys are still used today as a game. It makes me wonder how the Chunkey stone came to be, which is not addressed at all anywhere in the displays. Since the displays focus on one particular point in history, it makes sense that they would not address anything else regarding the history of a non particular object—it quickly becomes too complex to address.