Cahokia Mounds State Park

About Cahokia Mounds State Park

The site of Cahokia was a regional center of Mississippi culture and was first inhabited by late forest Indians in 700 AD. The site later grew along the Mississippi in the period of 900 AD and was first inhabited by the late forest Indians in 700 AD. The hills are located in a Mississippi floodplain near St. Louis, Missouri and are managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Around 1200 AD the population began to shrink and around 1400 AD the site was abandoned by the late forest Indians and their descendants, probably due to the loss of land.

In the late 16th century, the Cahokia Indians of the Confederacy of Illinois came to the area and the place was named after them. But it is the building and cultural development of the former Indians that makes this place significant.

In addition to weaving baskets, these industrious people moved through an estimated 55 million cubic feet of earth, creating a network of hills and communal spaces. Mönchsberg, for example, covers 14 hectares, rises above 100 feet and covers a massive 5,000 square meters of land built from stone, clay, wood, stone tools and other materials. As the largest prehistoric structure in America, the Mönchsberg is a testament to the sophisticated engineering skills of these people. Only 80 survive today, which were built in the late 19th and early 20th century as part of the Cahokia Mountains State Park.

Palisades were also erected, and a calendar used by the Cahokia people and a number of other artifacts were also erected. A palisade was also erected on the western side of Mönchsberg, the largest of its kind in America.