Ceramic production is documented by the presence of unfired clay objects, production debris, and distinctive workshop assemblages at specific locations.

Lithic production — the making of stone tools — is documented by the characteristic debitage, or waste flakes, that are the byproduct of knapping.

Shell working, bone working, and possibly textile production are suggested by the associated materials found in some excavated areas.

The evidence of daily life at Cahokia paints a picture of a complex, differentiated society in which different people did different things — in which some individuals were primarily farmers, others craftworkers, others engaged in trade, and yet others in the political, religious, and administrative functions that maintained the city’s overall organization.

This differentiation of labor is one of the defining characteristics of urban societies, and Cahokia’s evidence for it is as clear as the evidence from any comparable society elsewhere in the world at the same period.