Smaller conical mounds appear to have been burial mounds, containing the remains of individuals of varying status.

Ridge-top mounds, which are a distinctive feature of the Cahokia landscape, were likely used for specific ceremonial or mortuary purposes that are not yet fully understood.

Residential areas were organized around the central precinct, with evidence of different types of housing at different distances from the core.

The houses closest to the central area were often larger and better constructed than those farther out, suggesting a social organization in which proximity to the center was associated with higher status.

The houses were typically wattle-and-daub construction — walls made of woven sticks covered with clay plaster — with thatched roofs, and they were arranged in patterns that suggest organized settlement planning rather than ad hoc growth.