The Mississippian
Site
Located in what
is now downtown St. Louis, Cahokia was a cross roads of the mid-continent.
At its height, Cahokia included a large central town and about
10 outlying villages with over 50 small hunting and fishing camps.
Over 100 mounds were built between 1050 and 1250 A.D.
The central mound
at Cahokia was built in 14 stages and took over 300 years to complete. It covers nearly
15 acres and rises 100 feet. The mound is composed of more than 22 million cubic feet of earth. A group of French Trappist
Monks settled on the lower level of the mound. They abandoned
the settlement do to an outbreak of malaria. They left only the
name Monks Mound behind. |