Cahokia Mounds Update

I just ran across this article via Real Clear Science.

Floods might have doomed prehistoric American city

"...research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that a major Mississippi River flood around 1200 hastened Cahokia’s end."

Cahokia Mounds

I visited Cahokia Mounds today.  It is a very interesting site, and has a great museum or, as they call it, interpretive center.  Cahokia was the historically largest urban center in North America north of Mexico until the mid 1700's when Philadelphia surpassed it.  At its height more than 20,000 people lived in the six square miles centered around the complex of mounds there.

View of Downtown St. Louis from the top of Monks Mound

The largest structure there is Monks Mound, which rises more that 100 feet above the surrounding countryside and was ultimately a multi-level terraced temple complex.  Again, the largest one north of Mexico.