READ THE BROCHURE Make Inferences DAY 4
Make inferences about ancient Cahokia by looking for clues in the text.
VISIT
CAHOKIA MOUNDS
STATE RESTRICETTE
LOSTC
САНС
Plan Your Visit
Cahokia Mounds State
Historic Site is located in
Collinsville, Illinois. Admission is
free. A visitors' center offers
exhibits, educational programs,
and a museum shop. Sell-guided
and ranger-guided tours are
available. Dress comfortably and
bring sunscreen, bug spray,
and water
Illinois Adve
Mounds
By 1400, the city was
abandoned. Nobody knows why.
Many things might have led to its
downfall, including climate
change, war, disease, and
overuse of natural resources.
Some people believe that cutting
down trees and diverting natural
creeks caused widespread
flooding and crop destruction
These events, in turn, might have
led to fighting and unrest in the
community
The Name "Cahokia"
Because no one knows what
the people of Cahokia called
themselves, the site is named for
a subtribe of the Illiniwek Native
Americans who inhabited the
area in the 1600s.
About Cahokia Mounds
Covering five square miles
along the Mississippi River, the
ancient port city of Cahokia was
once home to at least 15,000
people. At its peak between
AD 1050 and 1200, Cahokia had
canals, fisheries, and irrigation
for crops. In 1250, Cahokia was
larger than the city of London.
Rows of houses were built around
plazas. Ceremonial buildings sat
on huge earthen mounds. The
tallest mound took 15 million
baskets of earth and 300 years to
build. Citizens traded in copper,
elk, shark's teeth, and shells.
Cahoka