Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site's story spans centuries, starting as a Woodland village around 200 BCE. By 1000 CE it transformed into a major Mississippian center with earthen pyramids and trade links to Cahokia. After a sharp population decline around 1200 CE mirroring Cahokia's collapse, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site rebounded from 1250 to 1375 CE, reaching its peak behind palisade walls. Peak period artifacts focus on warfare themes with carved shells from the Gulf of Mexico.
Timeline of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site from Woodland village to Mississippian peak
USAGeneral
Key facts
- Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site was a Woodland period village as early as 200 BCE
- Around 1000 CE, the site began transforming into a Mississippian culture site with first earthen pyramids
- Pottery style changes and copper art indicated communication with Cahokia
- Around 1200 CE, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site's population experienced a sharp decline, mirroring Cahokia
- Unlike Cahokia, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site was permanently abandoned, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site saw a 50-year abandonment followed by a rebound
- From 1250 to 1375 CE, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site's community regrew to its peak population and erected palisade walls and a nut tree buffer zone
- Artifacts from the peak period focus on warfare themes with carved shells from the Gulf of Mexico
Site mentioned
Sources
Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Sitefriendsofgastateparks.org
Etowah Mounds is the most intact Mississippian Culture site in the Southeast. Artifacts in the museum show how natives of this political and religious center ...
Etowah Mounds and village site | Environmental Sciencesebsco.com
Etowah Mounds and village site, located in the Etowah Valley, represents the largest Indian settlement of the Mississippian culture, thriving from ...
Etowah Indian Moundsen.wikipedia.org
It is considered "the most intact Mississippian culture site in the Southeast", according to Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites.
Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Sitegastateparks.org
Native Americans from 1000 A.D. to 1550 A.D., Etowah Mounds is the most intact Mississippian Culture site in the Southeast. Visitors can follow a nature trail ...
American Lives (Etowah Mounds, Georgia) - The History Filesamericanlives.historyfiles.co.uk
The Etowah Indian Mounds site contains the tallest mounds of the Mississippian South Appalachian culture in North America.
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