Скачать или смотреть The Megacity America Forgot: Cahokia, North America’s Lost City.

Long before New York or Chicago, North America had its first true megacity: Cahokia. Located near present-day Collinsville, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Cahokia was home to 10,000–20,000 people at its peak (A.D. 1050–1200)—larger than any other city north of Mexico at the time.
Cahokia featured Monks Mound, massive plazas, a woodhenge aligned with solstices, advanced farming, and trade networks stretching hundreds of miles. Its people crafted copper ornaments, shell jewelry, and other artifacts that traveled across the continent.

By A.D. 1300–1350, environmental strain, deforestation, flooding, drought, and social stress led to gradual abandonment. When Europeans arrived centuries later, the city was already gone.

Cahokia reminds us that human achievement can be fragile, and that history often forgets entire civilizations. Its story challenges what we think we know about early America and forces us to reconsider how memory shapes our understanding of greatness.
Engagement Question:
What do you think caused Cahokia to vanish: environmental collapse, leadership failure, or something else entirely?

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