The Mysterious Disappearance of Cahokia
The Northern American city that nobody talks about anymore
A long time ago, when Columbus had not made his way to American land, there was a prosperous city, Cahokia, located in the north of Mexico.
Known to be one of the biggest American cities, it had a population of about 40,000, which is more than London’s population in 1250. Yet, despite the hustle and bustle the city witnessed and the status it held, by 1350, Cahokia disappeared like it never existed.
Life in Cahokia
The Native Americans of the Mississippian Civilization occupied Cahokia. Unlike the modern movies that portray Native Americans as underdeveloped, they were relatively advanced and made Cahokia one of the most popular cosmopolitan cities of its time and survived for about 800 years from 600 A.D — over 500 years before the arrival of the Europeans.
The natives of Cahokia hunted and farmed like as most civilizations of that time. While the men were busy in the daily hunting activities, the women engaged themselves in the fields or tended the housework and would also participate in many social activities. Their houses were simple rectangular structures that were held on wooden walls and covered with a thatched roof. Each house was like an extension of the other, linked with vast courtyards and passages.
The Cahokians were regional planners and developed mounds that featured town centers. One of these mounds exists today, like the present-day Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site of Illinois, which marks this ancient city. Such mounds involved the laborious work of digging and collecting the earth, carrying and placing millions of feet of dirt with hands and feet as the sole ‘transport system’.
Of the many mounds the Cahokians built, The Monk’s Mound is the largest ever. These areas were developed to allow gatherings of their religious leaders and other religiously influenced people. It was like the central area where religious ceremonies and other spiritual meetings were performed.
