Cahokia Mounds

ancient cities · archaeology · Native Americans

Massive ancient city. Cahokia was a thriving Native American city that peaked around 1100 AD with between 15,000 and 20,000 people living there. That made it bigger than London at the same time in history.

Built from mounds. The ancient city was constructed using about 120 earthen mounds of different sizes and shapes, each one built by hand. Today you can still see about 80 of these mounds at the state archaeology park in Illinois.

Strategic location. Cahokia sat right across the Mississippi River from where St. Louis is today, giving it control of important river trade routes. The city covered about 6 square miles at its peak, which is huge for a place built over a thousand years ago.

Planned community. The mounds served different purposes, including homes, temples, and gathering places, showing that Cahokia was carefully organized. The largest mound, called Monks Mound, still stands today and is the biggest prehistoric earthwork in North America.

Archaeological treasure. Today, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site preserves about 2,200 acres where visitors can explore the mounds and learn about this fascinating lost city.