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Cahokia settlement

Type Object Region North America Time c. 900–1000

Cahokia was the largest prehistoric urban settlement in North America during the Mississippian period, located in the Mississippi Valley opposite mod…

Timeline

  1. c. 900–950Mississippi east-bank valley · IllinoisThe settlement population on the east bank of the Mississippi Valley grew sharply; agricultural surplus and river trade drove social stratification, laying the foundation for large-scale mound construction and regional integration.
  2. c. 950–1000Monks Mound · IllinoisGiant platform mounds such as Monks Mound were successively built, forming ceremonial plazas and palisade walls facing the Mississippi, marking Cahokia's emergence as the political and religious center of the Mississippian cultural region.
  3. c. 980–1000Mississippi River basin · Mississippi River basinCahokia connected the Great Plains, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes region via the Mississippi River and its tributaries; the long-distance circulation of shells, copper, and obsidian reinforced its regional hegemonic position.

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