Decline of Cahokia Settlement, Mississippian Culture (c. 1300)

Timeline

1. c. 1275–1300Cahokia ceremonial core · IllinoisRadiocarbon dating and house-site density studies show that around 1300 CE, Cahokia's core-area population dropped sharply from a peak of about 20,000. New house construction around Monks Mound decreased and large public works stalled, indicating that the centralized ritual-political system began to disintegrate.
2. c. 1290–1310Middle and lower Mississippi River basin · Mississippi River basinExotic artifacts from distant places (such as shell beads, copper, and products of the lower Mississippi) decreased significantly in Cahokia's strata, indicating the decline of its status as a regional exchange and tribute center. Surrounding satellite settlements gradually abandoned their dependence on the core area.
3. c. 1300–1350Cahokia and surrounding satellite settlements · IllinoisBy the mid-14th century, Cahokia's ceremonial center was essentially abandoned, with only limited seasonal or small-scale occupation remaining. The population dispersed to emerging Mississippian centers in the southeast (such as southeastern Missouri and Arkansas), and Mississippian culture as a whole shifted from concentrated urbanization to a more dispersed chiefdom pattern.