Cahokia: A Lost City of Giants!

Long, long ago, before even your grandparents' grandparents were born, there was a super-duper big city called Cahokia! It was in a place called the Mississippi River Valley, near where the city of St. Louis is today.

The people who lived there were called the Mississippians, and they were amazing builders. They built huge mounds of earth, like giant hills, using just their hands and baskets. The biggest mound, called Monks Mound, was taller than a 10-story building and as wide as 15 football fields!

Cahokia wasn't just a few houses; it was a HUGE city! At its busiest, more people lived there than in London or Paris at the same time. That's like having more people than everyone in your whole school district living in one place!

They had busy streets, lots of homes, and even a big wooden circle that might have been used like a calendar to track the sun. It was a very important place for thousands of people.

The most amazing thing about Cahokia is its mounds. There were over 100 of them! Some were flat-topped for important buildings, and others were shaped like animals.

Monks Mound was the biggest, and it had a giant wooden building on top. Imagine climbing all those stairs to see the whole city spread out below! They also built a big wooden fence around the city to keep it safe.

It was like a giant playground made of dirt!

Even though Cahokia was so grand, it didn't last forever. Around 700 years ago, people started leaving. No one knows exactly why. Maybe there wasn't enough food, or maybe the weather changed. It's a big mystery! Today, all that's left are the giant mounds, which are like giant whispers from the past, telling us about the amazing people who once lived there.