What happened to Cahokia?

In its heyday in the 1100s, Cahokia — located in what is now southern Illinois — was the center for Mississippian culture and home to tens of thousands of Native Americans who farmed, fished, traded and built giant ritual mounds. By the 1400s, Cahokia had been abandoned due to floods, droughts, resource scarcity and other drivers of depopulation.

What is the significance of the Cahokia Mounds?

Cahokia Mounds is a National Historic Landmark and a designated site for state protection. It is also one of only 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites within the United States.

What was the population of Cahokia in AD 1050?

According to a 2007 study in Quaternary Science Reviews, “Between AD 1050 and 1100, Cahokia’s population increased from between 1,400 and 2,800 people to between 10,200 and 15,300 people”. an estimate that applies only to a 1.8-square-kilometre (0.69 sq mi) high density central occupation area.

Was Cahokia the largest city in the United States?

If the highest population estimates are correct, Cahokia was larger than any subsequent city in the United States until the 1780s, when Philadelphia’s population grew beyond 40,000. Moreover, according to some population estimates, the population of 13th-century Cahokia was equal to or larger than the population of 13th-century London.

Where is the Cahokia Woodhenge today?

Location within Illinois today. The Cahokia Woodhenge was a series of large timber circles located roughly 850 metres (2,790 ft) to the west of Monks Mound at the Mississippian culture Cahokia archaeological site near Collinsville, Illinois.

Cahokia Mounds are a testament to the highly organized culture of the early Mississippian people who built the largest city in pre-Columbian North America. Artist’s (William Iseminger) rendering of the city, circa AD 1150-1200.

Was Cahokia America’s first city?

In other words, underneath modern-day Illinois and its tangled web of highways and construction lies America’s first known city. The most immediately-apparent remnant of ancient Cahokia near modern-day St. Louis is the 100-foot tall “Monks Mound.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESmAa1CGO68