Cahokia: a History

Cahokia Mounds at one time, was the largest prehistoric settlement north of Mexico. The people were known for their corn crops, which increased the population. They were a major social, political, religious and economic influence on the other tribes in the region. Once a major city, now in ruins. It's demise has left both historians and archaeologists scratching their heads. What made Cahokia so great, and what caused it to disappear? Cahokia Mounds was the largest prehistoric settlement north of Mexico and it included at least 120 mounds spread over more than 5 square miles. Permanent prehistoric occupation of the site began around A.D. 700, during the Late Woodland period. During the Emergent Mississippian period (A.D. 800-1000), population increased as corn agriculture expanded their food base and social, political, religious and economic organization became more complex. During the Mississippian period (A.D. 1000-1400) Cahokia literally "exploded” around AD 1050, becoming a huge complex chiefdom, a regional capital that many have called a “city.” Its exact size at any one time is unknown, but at its peak, from A.D. 1050-1150, it may have had a population of 10-20,000 people. By the 13th century, although still an important place, Cahokia’s population began to decline and by A.D. 1400 it had been abandoned. There is no record of what the people called themselves or their city, but archaeologists use the term "Mississippian" for them, as that was the cultural tradition of which they were a part. The name "Cahokia" was given to the site during the 1800s to commemorate a later sub-tribe of the Illinois (Illiniwek) Indians who had moved into this area in the seventeenth century, although they had not built the mounds. (Source: Prehistoric Cultures at the Confluence, William R. Iseminger) The Mississippian period begins to emerge around AD 800. The community pattern usually included groupings of houses and other structures arranged around a courtyard,