Lost City of Cahokia | Animated Documentary | Myth Stories

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Welcome to Cahokia. Centuries ago, this area was home to a Native American metropolis bigger than London.

Cahokia had astronomers who studied the stars and builders who erected vast structures. Their designs included hundreds of man-made earth pyramids and wooden solar observatories. Cahokia was one of the world’s most advanced cities circa 1250 A.D.

But most have never heard of it. All that remains today are these earth pyramids, more commonly known as the Cahokia Mounds. These were massive engineering projects that required intricate planning and meticulous attention to detail. Much of the city was destroyed by farming and construction by settlers who came to the area from Europe and elsewhere.

It’s thought that the land used to build the mounds came from the nearby burrow pits. Cahokian builders would have materials transported from here to where the earth pyramid was to be constructed.

The tallest of the pyramids that still remains today is known as Monks Mound. It was named by French monks who traveled to the area from Europe.

Welcome to Cahokia. Centuries ago, this area was home to a Native American metropolis bigger than London.

Its inhabitants included farmers, warriors, hunters, families, priests, village elders, and an elite ruling class. Cahokia had astronomers who studied the stars and builders who erected vast structures. Their designs included hundreds of man-made earth pyramids and wooden solar observatories.

Cahokia was one of the world’s most advanced cities circa 1250 A.D. But most have never heard of it.

SOURCES: WASHINGTON POST, LEGENDS OF AMERICA, WIKIPEDIA, CHEROKEEPHONEIX, CAHOKIAMOUNDS.ORG, THE GUARDIAN, NPR,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march/12/cahokia.htm
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/il-cahokia/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunkey
https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/index/10731
https://cahokiamounds.org/new-discoveries-from-cahokias-beaded-burial/
https://cahokiamounds.org
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/17/lost-cities-8-mystery-ahokia-illinois-mississippians-native-americans-vanish
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/10/513963490/1-000-years-ago-corn-made-this-society-big-then-a-changing-climate-destroyed-the

CREATIVE COMMONS

FLICKR / STEVE MOSES
https://www.flickr.com/photos/smoses/3391748349/in/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/smoses/3391749345/in/photostream/

FLICKR / PAUL SABLEMAN
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pasa/48581858101/in/photostream/

FLICKR / PRAYITNOPHOTOGRAPHY

https://www.flickr.com/photos/prayitnophotography/32434956237

FLICKR / EDEN PICTURES
https://www.flickr.com/photos/edenpictures/36277923014

FLICKR / RAYMOND BUCKO
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kishka_king/7483789266

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cahokia_monks_mound_McAdams_1887.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catlin_Tchung-kee,_a_Mandan_Game_Played_with_a_Ring_and_Pole_01.jpg
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / HERB ROE
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mississippian_culture_mound_components_HRoe_2011.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mound_72_human_sacrifice_HRoe_2013.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mound_72#/media/File:Mound_72_sacrifice_ceremony_HRoe_2013.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cahokia_Woodhenge_at_Sunrise_HRoe_2017sm.jpg
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / JAMES Q JACOBS
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cahokia_Woodhenge_and_Monk%27s_Mound.jpg
WIKIMEDIA COMMON S / JEFGODESKY
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bird_Man_Cahokia_USA.jpg

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / CHRIS LIGHT
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chunkey_P9121106.jpg

ALL MUSIC VIA YOUTUBE AUDIO LIBRARY

Narrated by Lawrence “MasakoX” Simpson. Stock footage via Storyblocks.