Drought accelerates Cahokia's decline

1210

Extended drought conditions across the Mississippi floodplain stressed the maize agriculture that supported North America's largest pre-Columbian city. Cahokia's population, which may have peaked at twenty thousand, began dispersing into smaller settlements. The grand plaza fell silent and Monks Mound began its long erosion into the prairie. Archaeological evidence suggests increasing warfare accompanied the collapse, as competition for scarce resources turned neighbor against neighbor.