Archaeologists in the Central Mississippi Valley have identified a unique timber-and-earth platform designed for astronomical observation. The structure's alignment with the rising of Venus suggests it was the precursor to the Morning Star ceremony, a major festival of the Pawnee and other Plains nations.
The platform is surrounded by 'ritual caches' containing star-shaped shell ornaments and galena, a mineral used for ceremonial face paint. This find pushes the origins of these complex celestial festivals back nearly 800 years earlier than previously documented, showing a long-standing tradition of stellar worship in North America.